A Zwetschge or Two

We planted a plum tree in front of our house last summer.  I didn't figure it would have any fruit this year, but surprise!  Last week I realized there were at least 4 hanging from its branches.  I prematurely picked two and ate them...not ripe, but still, the satisfaction of planting and growing a tree tasted pretty sweet.  Naturally I didn't think to take a picture before I crammed them in my mouth.  So here's the only proof I could produce.

Yesterday I was outside and discovered some of the last ones disappeared (probably a bird) and there is one lonely piece of fruit left.  I think I'll pick it today, ripe or not, for fear it might not be there tomorrow.

A Late 4th of July Update

We celebrated the fourth with some friends from church.  I usually pull out all the stops and we invited lonely Americans over for a BBQ.  But this year Adrian had, had his last day of school on the same day and we had been so busy, that I put it off.  Thankfully our friends were on top of things and we still celebrated.  I dug out all our flags and took them along for decoration.  On the drive over I sang all the patriotic songs I could think of to our boys - including the national anthem.

 I made fruit pizza and rice crispy treats for dessert.  

The weather was warm and the company was nice.  I think it was a success!

A Dress for the Niece

David's sister is coming for a visit with her three kids.  My boys are pretty excited to play with them.  I am pretty excited I have a cute little girl to sew for!  I found this dress pattern and made it yesterday.  I hope it fits.  

I was going to just have a regular hem, but then I found this cute little trim in my stash of things.  

I'm very excited to give it to her.

In other news, Adrian had his last day of kindergarten last week.

He's so excited to head to first grade.  I'm excited for him.

Last day of kindergarten

He worked on this pin cushion through out the year and  brought it home for me.

It has found a home in my sewing room with all my other sewing supplies.  I like it!

Kindergarten Gift

Kindergarten is coming to a close.  Adrian is very excited to start first grade.  I'm a little sad that kindergarten is over.  We really enjoyed his teacher and I think she really likes Adrian.  As a thank you, Adrian helped me with a bag for her.

I got the measurements from the MADE website.  Her bags are a little more simple.  No liner.  I added a liner, a zipper pocket and...

 Adrian added a little message for his teacher.  I had him write his note on a plain piece of material with fabric markers and then I sewed it into the lining.  

I hope she likes it.  I think it's cute.  I'd use it!

Venice

Venice was another exciting stop this summer.  I really enjoyed it.  We started out in an area that wasn't very crowded or touristy.  That was nice.

It was a little stormy when we first got there.  We found out later that there was a large tornado on the other side of the island just as we arrived.  The weather cleared up and it was sunny the rest of the day.  Weird.

We had to get a little gelato while we were there.

We also found some very fun picture opportunities for the boys.  Aren't they cute?

Venice has been one of my favorite cities and I think it wins a place above Paris.  

Paris

David and I went to meet some very good friends in Paris and spend the weekend there.  It was so much fun.  

I'd never been to Paris.  Thank goodness David can speak French.  We would have been totally lost without him. 

I really enjoyed seeing all the sites and I especially enjoyed Notre Dame.  

I must admit.  I'm not a big city person.  I wasn't very thrilled about the metro or all the people.  It's a crowded city and I was glad to get on the train and head back to Schaffhausen.  We traveled to a few other places, so stay tuned for more news.

Abrupt Halt

I've been away from the blogging scene.  Since my last post a lot of things have come about.  The race season began and David felt like it was going to be a strong season.  It really did start well.  Then it came to an abrupt halt.  Literally.

During a Wednesday night evening road race (two weeks after I took the pictures of the boys at a similar race) he was cut off by another biker, during a sprint.  The back tire of the rider in front of him grazed his front tire and over he went.  His last reading on the bike computer read 64 km/h or 40mph.  Needless to say, I got the dreaded phone call every wife of a biker does not want to get.  He'd crashed off his bike and was being taken to the hospital.  I threw the boys in the car and drove way to fast to the hospital.  Thank the Lord we only live about 5 minutes away.

Long story short he's OK.  But, his bike is totaled.   

 Helmet is done. 

His clothes are finished.

 He was left with a concussion and some pretty bad road rash.

I'm so thankful it wasn't worse and that he is on the mend.  It was a stressful few days after the crash. He's almost fully recovered and started riding easy rides to get back into the swing of things.  That was 3 and a half weeks ago.  Since then we've had guests in our home and been traveling around with them.  They are gone and we are slowly getting back to normal life routine.  

When I get all the laundry done (Who am I kidding? That'll never happen!)  I'll get back to normal posting.