Making use of our garden

It makes me feel really good that we not only have some outside space, but that we're putting it to good use. We recently bought a barbecue and some outdoor furniture, and with the weather finally becoming a bit nicer, we're spending as much time outside as we can. Last weekend we had our first bbq (aka liquor-cheeseburger party), and invited some friends over. During the week, Leo and I had an ode-to-Greece dinner, of grilled fish, haloumi cheese, and eggplant. Then this past weekend, we did a lot of sitting outside and reading, as well as planting another row of vegetables...i think brussels sprouts, cauliflower, spinach, and some sunflowers. We also tried laying down more grass seeds, since although the first bit of seeding did work, it was a bit patchy. I can't wait to see if we actually grow anything!

Wow, when did I become a person who talks about their garden all the time...I'm scaring myself. I promise never to speak about it again.

More pictures from Germany

Moselle Valley wine weekend

Last weekend, Leo and I flew to Frankfurt-Hahn (which is nowhere near Frankfurt) to visit our friend Stephen, who we've know since our days in Chicago. We had tried this trip once before in December, but due to a bad roast beef sandwich at the airport, we never got on the plane. This time, we did make it and Stephen picked us up in a very old, beat up van, which belonged to the vineyard he was working on. Luckily it was late when we got in, and I couldn't see the size of the mountains we were driving on, and the width of the road, so I didn't get nervous each time the van stalled or the gear shift didn't work. We got to his apartment around midnight and yet still managed to finish off 4 bottle of wine (all from his vineyard) before bed.

The next morning, we arose...probably still a bit drunk...and Stephen took us on a tour of Kerpen's bottling area and the wine cellar, where we tasted...let's just say a lot of wine. I have been to a couple wineries in California. I remember them being very clean, very hygienic, and very soulless. This place was overflowing with character...and wine. It was dark, and dank, with mold and cobwebs growing on the walls. It felt like the type of place wine has always been produced and will always be produced.After a morning spent drinking wine, we decided to spend the afternoon and evening drinking beer, so headed two towns over to Bernkastel-Kues. We had some wonderful jagerschnitzel for lunch, and a few weisens...followed by some walking around the town...followed by some more weisens and a pilsen...followed by some ice cream...then more weisens and pilsens. We stayed in Bernkastel long enough to have another meal and we decided to go for Indian (which made Stephen happy, since he's a vegan and made us happy since it fit in with us going to Asian restaurants in foreign countries). It was better than most of the Indian food I've had in London.
It was a fantastic weekend, though too short as usual.