Happy V-E Day! What a great day to be in DC to celebrate 70 years from the end of the war in Europe!
It seems like just last month we were celebrating the 70th anniversary of D-Day. Of course, that was actually last June, and it's amazing to think about what ensued between D-Day and V-E Day 70 years ago. So many lives lost, so many lives changed, the course of the world shaped, one front at a time.
I was awake and working long before the crack of dawn today because I want to get down to the Mall today to be at the WWII Memorial for the fly-over. At lunch time, a whole bunch of WWII planes including the only remaining flying B-29 will fly over the Mall. So exciting. I imagine a fair number of veterans will be there as well, so I hope to be able to spend some time telling those guys how much their service means to me.
And fortunately, I'll get to see it! My eye is getting better! I woke up on Thursday and the pain scale was at about 2.5. It still looked awful, so red and bleary, but it felt okay unless I was looking right at the sun, which actually kind of hurts even when both my eyes are okay! By last night it looked substantially better.
Today, still a little red, but no pain! Yeah! Allergies? Scratch on my cornea? Not sure, but so glad it's resolving -- and so glad I had packed my glasses. Now it's a vanity question. Reunion cocktail party is tonight, then the big dinner with dancing afterward is tomorrow night. Do I risk contacts for either or both events? If I do, I'll absolutely have my contact case with me so I can take them out right away if it hurts.
Showing posts with label SGM. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SGM. Show all posts
Friday, May 8, 2015
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
2014 Reading
Another year where I want to keep track of what I read. Rough goal: 7500 pages, at least half should be fiction. Unfortunately, I think I stopped keeping track at some point (but the first one on this list took fo-evah to read, so maybe this really is the full list). I was just working on my 2015 list, and I figured I might as well pull this one together and share it.
My number one recommendation was a re-read: Flyboys.
Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power, by Steve Coll. Nonfiction, about 700 pages. Very interesting. About ExxonMobile, the largest and most powerful private company in the country. Mostly recent history, from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill (which I remember hearing about! it was early in my worldly/political consciousness), through the Deepwater Horizon spill in 2012. Lee Raymond was quite the character and makes the book so interesting. Fairly slow going for me, mostly because I wanted to soak in a lot of the details.
Dear Life, by Alice Munro. Fiction, about 325 pages. A collection of short stories. I didn't take good notes on my thoughts. I wonder if I even finished it? I have a vague recollection that I liked it though, so I think I finished. I remember several of the characters from stories, well-developed, great fiction.
The End of Men (and the Rise of Women), by Hanna Rosin. Nonfiction, 325 pages. Started strong, but it went downhill. My husband agreed, after I begged him to read it (particularly as he has a son who isn't exactly a go-getter (though he is wonderful and happy, which I think is more important)). The point of the book is largely about how women are outpacing men by many of the traditional markers of success (education and career largely), but there's still the whole wage gap thing. It focuses largely on a lack of ambition among young men. I really wanted to love the book, because it's such an interesting subject, but this wasn't it.
Gods of Guilt, by Michael Connelly. Fiction, about 400 pages. Connelly has two primary series, the Bosch series, about an LA detective, and the Haller series, a LA lawyer who is Bosch's half-brother. My husband has basically a man-crush on Bosch, to the extent that's possible with a solely fictional character that until Feb. 2015 had never even been made into a TV show. Well, this was a Haller book. My husband likes this series less, and I agree, though I still like it a whole lot. Quick read, another murder case.
Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, by David Sedaris. Fiction, about 275 pages. A few laughs, but I'm starting to think I just don't like his writing that much, which is a bummer, because the first book of his I read (Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim) was so funny. Recounting childhood memories, and opining on other issues, telling stories, etc. Not up my alley really. But a quick read.
Hostage, by Elie Weisel. Fiction, about 225 pages. A fictional story about an American Jewish story-teller who lives in New York and is kidnapped by an Arab and an Italian who are attempting to negotiate the release of several Palestinians in exchange for Shaltiel. An interesting book, enjoyable read. Highly recommended.
My number one recommendation was a re-read: Flyboys.
Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power, by Steve Coll. Nonfiction, about 700 pages. Very interesting. About ExxonMobile, the largest and most powerful private company in the country. Mostly recent history, from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill (which I remember hearing about! it was early in my worldly/political consciousness), through the Deepwater Horizon spill in 2012. Lee Raymond was quite the character and makes the book so interesting. Fairly slow going for me, mostly because I wanted to soak in a lot of the details.
Dear Life, by Alice Munro. Fiction, about 325 pages. A collection of short stories. I didn't take good notes on my thoughts. I wonder if I even finished it? I have a vague recollection that I liked it though, so I think I finished. I remember several of the characters from stories, well-developed, great fiction.
The End of Men (and the Rise of Women), by Hanna Rosin. Nonfiction, 325 pages. Started strong, but it went downhill. My husband agreed, after I begged him to read it (particularly as he has a son who isn't exactly a go-getter (though he is wonderful and happy, which I think is more important)). The point of the book is largely about how women are outpacing men by many of the traditional markers of success (education and career largely), but there's still the whole wage gap thing. It focuses largely on a lack of ambition among young men. I really wanted to love the book, because it's such an interesting subject, but this wasn't it.
Gods of Guilt, by Michael Connelly. Fiction, about 400 pages. Connelly has two primary series, the Bosch series, about an LA detective, and the Haller series, a LA lawyer who is Bosch's half-brother. My husband has basically a man-crush on Bosch, to the extent that's possible with a solely fictional character that until Feb. 2015 had never even been made into a TV show. Well, this was a Haller book. My husband likes this series less, and I agree, though I still like it a whole lot. Quick read, another murder case.
Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, by David Sedaris. Fiction, about 275 pages. A few laughs, but I'm starting to think I just don't like his writing that much, which is a bummer, because the first book of his I read (Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim) was so funny. Recounting childhood memories, and opining on other issues, telling stories, etc. Not up my alley really. But a quick read.
Hostage, by Elie Weisel. Fiction, about 225 pages. A fictional story about an American Jewish story-teller who lives in New York and is kidnapped by an Arab and an Italian who are attempting to negotiate the release of several Palestinians in exchange for Shaltiel. An interesting book, enjoyable read. Highly recommended.
Flyboys, by James Bradley. Nonfiction, about 335 pages. A relatively rare re-read. Favorite line of the book: "When Perry's Black Ships revealed the impotence of the Tokugawa regime, 'the Japanese had discarded their feudal Shogunate ... cast them off like worn-out garments after almost right centuries of exalted existence.'" The story of the Air Force's role in the Pacific theater. I never get tired of books like this and Bradley does a good job of looking at the complex history leading up to the war, and portraying the perspective from both sides. Highly recommended to all. While parts are very hard to read (for me, the napalm attack descriptions), I feel like it's our duty as young (okay, young-ish for me) Americans to learn about WWII and ensure it never happens again.
Double Cross, the True Story of the D-Day Spies, by Ben Macintyre. Nonfiction, about 400 pages. The story of German spies who were turned into double agents, which was critical to preventing Nazi anticipation of the landings at Normandy, and to instead, have them expect the invasion elsewhere. I thought it was pretty good, a story I didn't know much about already. But overall, it wouldn't be on my list of the top 20 WWII books. I had some trouble keeping everyone and their roles straight. But lots of character. My favorite passage: "'My heart is in very bad condition. My doctor, who is my biggest friend, said that it is too much alcohol, tobacco, and sin. The only remedy which I have found sufficient up until now was milk and chocolates. Please send $100 worth of any kind of chocolate you can think of. I don't mind what they are, I am taking them as medicine. Please send me at the same time $100 of nylons, in 9, 9.5, and 10. Don't think I'm promiscuous.' Ren did not believe Popov's claim of a medical chocolate emergency. The chocolates are intended to delight the interiors of those same exteriors which he wishes to decorate with stockings." Runner-up for favorite quote: "While waiting for a transfer to London as a refugee, the Marquis took up residence in a Madrid brothel where he spent spent four days and four nights, finally emerging exhausted and happy, but with a nasty dose of venereal crabs." Those spies were definitely characters!
Second Wind: One Woman's Midlife Quest to Run Seven Marathons on Seven Continents, by Cami Ostman. Non-fiction, about 300 pages. Received as a birthday gift a few years ago from the woman with whom I started my marathon journey (a dear friend, mother to my god-son, co-book-club founder, etc.). The author comes through a divorce and starts running, eventually deciding to run a marathon on each continent. If that whole Beijing marathon fiasco hadn't happened for me, maybe I would have considered this goal myself. The book grew on me, but overall, I didn't love it, as much as I love travel and marathons. What I didn't like about it was the self-centeredness that echoed of Eat, Pray, Love to me (which is one of my most-hated books of all time). Running is certainly different things to different people, but she was just so caught up in herself and her own happiness that it was a little sad for me.
Over a Thousand Hills I Walk With You, by Hanna Jansen. Nonfiction, about 325 pages. This was a book club pick and I enjoyed it. It's the story of a young Rwandan girl's life in the early 90s, then her experience during the genocide (fleeing, seeing her family killed, fleeing further), and a few bits about her life afterward, living in Germany with a relative. It calls to mind books like The Diary of Anne Frank and Zlata's Diary. I've been interested in Rwanda for a long time. Little known fact, when the trials started and the internet was still relatively new to me, I started printing stories about each conviction that I read about -- and um, I still kind of do (though there aren't any lately, the whole reconcilation thing). It was one of those things I felt I need to keep a record of. My favorite book about the Rwandan genocide is We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda, by Philip Gourevitch. This (Over a Thousand Hills) would be good particularly for older kids, young adults. Quick read.
What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding, a Memoir, by Kristin Newman. Nonfiction, about 300 pages. This was recommended to me by my husband, who heard about it on NPR. I desperately wanted to love this book, given that a.) I love to travel, b.) I have no children, and c.) I was still single at 30 (I'd just started dating my husband). But yeah, it just didn't resonate. It's a thirty-something woman's travel memoir, largely about trips she took and guys she hooked up with on vacation. It was interesting to think about the difference between a vacation romance and someone you'd date at home, she's completely right, it's a wholly different standard. While I did tons of overseas traveling before I met my husband, both solo and with friends, I never quite got into vacation romances the way she did. I guess it's because I don't tend to stay in the same spot more than a week. While she doesn't spend much time on the subject, it's true that there's a total double standard regarding women's sexuality, and I appreciate that she told her honest tale and wrote that she would not be "slut-shamed" out of doing so. I really wanted her to end up with Father Juan, this vacation romance from Argentina that she saw more than once, but in my limited vacation romance experience, she's correct that even if you go back, it's never quite the same (there was a particular guy when I studied abroad in Italy who called me his "anima" (soul) and I was convinced for some time, he was right, but yeah, after seeing him a few more times in the following 5 years, um, no).
Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer. Non-fiction, about 225 pages. How had I never read this before? It's an account of Christopher McCandless (aka Alexander Supertramp)'s decision to abandon the confines of a traditional life and hitchhike cross country to Alaska, where he went alone into the wilderness and set up camp in an abandoned school bus. I'm not entirely sure why there is such fascination with this story (seriously, why would there be any tabloid fascination?), but it's certainly a good book and a quick read.
Totals based on the listed books:
3900 pages of nonfiction.
1225 pages of fiction.
Not even close to my goal on fiction. Oops. I should have done less non-fiction, but I was short on my page count either way.
Double Cross, the True Story of the D-Day Spies, by Ben Macintyre. Nonfiction, about 400 pages. The story of German spies who were turned into double agents, which was critical to preventing Nazi anticipation of the landings at Normandy, and to instead, have them expect the invasion elsewhere. I thought it was pretty good, a story I didn't know much about already. But overall, it wouldn't be on my list of the top 20 WWII books. I had some trouble keeping everyone and their roles straight. But lots of character. My favorite passage: "'My heart is in very bad condition. My doctor, who is my biggest friend, said that it is too much alcohol, tobacco, and sin. The only remedy which I have found sufficient up until now was milk and chocolates. Please send $100 worth of any kind of chocolate you can think of. I don't mind what they are, I am taking them as medicine. Please send me at the same time $100 of nylons, in 9, 9.5, and 10. Don't think I'm promiscuous.' Ren did not believe Popov's claim of a medical chocolate emergency. The chocolates are intended to delight the interiors of those same exteriors which he wishes to decorate with stockings." Runner-up for favorite quote: "While waiting for a transfer to London as a refugee, the Marquis took up residence in a Madrid brothel where he spent spent four days and four nights, finally emerging exhausted and happy, but with a nasty dose of venereal crabs." Those spies were definitely characters!
Second Wind: One Woman's Midlife Quest to Run Seven Marathons on Seven Continents, by Cami Ostman. Non-fiction, about 300 pages. Received as a birthday gift a few years ago from the woman with whom I started my marathon journey (a dear friend, mother to my god-son, co-book-club founder, etc.). The author comes through a divorce and starts running, eventually deciding to run a marathon on each continent. If that whole Beijing marathon fiasco hadn't happened for me, maybe I would have considered this goal myself. The book grew on me, but overall, I didn't love it, as much as I love travel and marathons. What I didn't like about it was the self-centeredness that echoed of Eat, Pray, Love to me (which is one of my most-hated books of all time). Running is certainly different things to different people, but she was just so caught up in herself and her own happiness that it was a little sad for me.
Over a Thousand Hills I Walk With You, by Hanna Jansen. Nonfiction, about 325 pages. This was a book club pick and I enjoyed it. It's the story of a young Rwandan girl's life in the early 90s, then her experience during the genocide (fleeing, seeing her family killed, fleeing further), and a few bits about her life afterward, living in Germany with a relative. It calls to mind books like The Diary of Anne Frank and Zlata's Diary. I've been interested in Rwanda for a long time. Little known fact, when the trials started and the internet was still relatively new to me, I started printing stories about each conviction that I read about -- and um, I still kind of do (though there aren't any lately, the whole reconcilation thing). It was one of those things I felt I need to keep a record of. My favorite book about the Rwandan genocide is We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda, by Philip Gourevitch. This (Over a Thousand Hills) would be good particularly for older kids, young adults. Quick read.
What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding, a Memoir, by Kristin Newman. Nonfiction, about 300 pages. This was recommended to me by my husband, who heard about it on NPR. I desperately wanted to love this book, given that a.) I love to travel, b.) I have no children, and c.) I was still single at 30 (I'd just started dating my husband). But yeah, it just didn't resonate. It's a thirty-something woman's travel memoir, largely about trips she took and guys she hooked up with on vacation. It was interesting to think about the difference between a vacation romance and someone you'd date at home, she's completely right, it's a wholly different standard. While I did tons of overseas traveling before I met my husband, both solo and with friends, I never quite got into vacation romances the way she did. I guess it's because I don't tend to stay in the same spot more than a week. While she doesn't spend much time on the subject, it's true that there's a total double standard regarding women's sexuality, and I appreciate that she told her honest tale and wrote that she would not be "slut-shamed" out of doing so. I really wanted her to end up with Father Juan, this vacation romance from Argentina that she saw more than once, but in my limited vacation romance experience, she's correct that even if you go back, it's never quite the same (there was a particular guy when I studied abroad in Italy who called me his "anima" (soul) and I was convinced for some time, he was right, but yeah, after seeing him a few more times in the following 5 years, um, no).
Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer. Non-fiction, about 225 pages. How had I never read this before? It's an account of Christopher McCandless (aka Alexander Supertramp)'s decision to abandon the confines of a traditional life and hitchhike cross country to Alaska, where he went alone into the wilderness and set up camp in an abandoned school bus. I'm not entirely sure why there is such fascination with this story (seriously, why would there be any tabloid fascination?), but it's certainly a good book and a quick read.
Totals based on the listed books:
3900 pages of nonfiction.
1225 pages of fiction.
Not even close to my goal on fiction. Oops. I should have done less non-fiction, but I was short on my page count either way.
Friday, October 10, 2014
Europe Recap: Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp
Continuing tradition, while we are on vacation this year, I'm sharing some photos and details from last year's trip. Last year, you got to see China while we were in Europe. This year, you get to see Europe while we are in India!
While it's easy to go to Europe and just have fun, I feel very strongly that when you are in a country that had a concentration camp, it is very important to visit it. That is how we ensure that we never forget, and that history never repeats itself.
While in Berlin, we went to a new-to-me concentration camp, Sachsenhausen, which was at Oranienburg. It was my husband's first time touring a camp. Not easy or pleasant, but so important.
The first arrivals at Sachsenhausen were Polish Jews on Sept. 13, 1939. The Nazis had prepared for this by spreading the lie that these captives were Polish Jews who had killed Germans in Bromberg, just after the outbreak of the war.
Thus, when the first transport arrived at Oranienburg station, a crowd of people, men and women, including children, were waiting to see them. The spectators chanted "Kill the Bromberg murderers, kill the Polish snipers." They threw stones, bits of wood, nails, and dung from the street at the captives.
So much suffering on this land. Oranienburg and Sachsenhausen concentration camps, and then a Soviet Special Camp:
The Camp Commandant's house:
A small memorial park outside the camp's main gate:
The Sachsenhausen Camp's main entrance:
Inside the camp, the gravel rectangular plots were barracks:
The perimeter:
Another view of the markings of the original barracks:
A restroom inside one of the few preserved barracks:
Bunks:
A picture I took given the Shanghai connection to the prior year's vacation:
The camp prison:
Execution posts:
A memorial in the camp:
Indicating the nationalities of the victims who died there:
The shooting/execution pit:
Others' words are better:
The text is in the photo below (which I unfortunately don't know how to rotate):
While it's easy to go to Europe and just have fun, I feel very strongly that when you are in a country that had a concentration camp, it is very important to visit it. That is how we ensure that we never forget, and that history never repeats itself.
While in Berlin, we went to a new-to-me concentration camp, Sachsenhausen, which was at Oranienburg. It was my husband's first time touring a camp. Not easy or pleasant, but so important.
The first arrivals at Sachsenhausen were Polish Jews on Sept. 13, 1939. The Nazis had prepared for this by spreading the lie that these captives were Polish Jews who had killed Germans in Bromberg, just after the outbreak of the war.
Thus, when the first transport arrived at Oranienburg station, a crowd of people, men and women, including children, were waiting to see them. The spectators chanted "Kill the Bromberg murderers, kill the Polish snipers." They threw stones, bits of wood, nails, and dung from the street at the captives.
So much suffering on this land. Oranienburg and Sachsenhausen concentration camps, and then a Soviet Special Camp:
The Camp Commandant's house:
A small memorial park outside the camp's main gate:
The Sachsenhausen Camp's main entrance:
Inside the camp, the gravel rectangular plots were barracks:
The perimeter:
Another view of the markings of the original barracks:
A restroom inside one of the few preserved barracks:
Bunks:
A picture I took given the Shanghai connection to the prior year's vacation:
The camp prison:
Execution posts:
A memorial in the camp:
Indicating the nationalities of the victims who died there:
The shooting/execution pit:
Others' words are better:
The text is in the photo below (which I unfortunately don't know how to rotate):
No more words.
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Europe recap: The Wall
Continuing tradition, while we are on vacation this year (which starts today!), I'm sharing some photos and details from last year's trip. Last year, you got to see China while we were in Europe. This year, you get to see Europe while we are in India!
Kind of funny, that I'm recapping two trips in a row featuring a wall -- the Great Wall and the Berlin Wall. I wonder if there's some cool wall to visit in India so I continue the theme?
Anyway, first stop on last year's vacation extravaganza was Berlin. It was my second time in Berlin and when I went the first time, it was a solo backpacking trip all over Europe and I didn't like it at all. Everything seemed to go wrong. I got into one train station and my departing train that night was from another. So I went to the other train station to stash my backpack. I left to explore the city, and it started raining. Since I was in college and on a major budget, I went back to the train station to get my umbrella. It added up to wasted time. The city seemed very American, complete with McDonalds and KFC. I was unimpressed, having come to Germany from Italy (where I'd been studying) via Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary and Austria -- lots of smaller towns, nothing like Berlin. My main memories of Berlin the first time: going to the zoo and seeing pandas, seeing a huge section of the wall, and seeing an empty underground bookcase symbolic of Nazi book burnings.
This trip was much different. I was there primarily for the marathon, but coming in with a different perspective (15 years older), with money I could spend, with better weather, and straight from the US (as opposed to small town less-traveled Europe), it was awesome!
If I had to say what had changed the most in 15 years, it would be the Berlin Wall. There were large sections around the city last time I was there. On this trip, there were a few preserved sections and an amazing museum nearby called the Topography of Terror.
The Wall Monument
Construction on the Wall began on August 13, 1961. The Wall spanned more 150 km and was built by the GDR to seal off East Berlin and the rest of the territory from the GDR. Between October 1949 and August 1961, over 2.7 million people fled the GDR, most of them crossing the border between Berlin's Eastern and Western sections. The Wall was designed to end the stream of refugees and ensure that no one crossed the border unchecked.
Of course, there were ways around it. I recommend watching Der Tunnel (that's German for "The Tunnel") -- a great German movie made for TV in 2001 and released as a movie in 2005.
The Wall actually had several sections, a front wall and a hinterland wall, an inner track with a patrol path, watchtowers, and barrier fortifications. By 1989, at least 136 people had died at the Wall, 98 of them while trying to flee and most of them shot down by GDR border guards.
At the Wall, in part of a building's skeleton, there was a cool open-air exhibit with lots of photos and blurbs about the history:
Book burning photo:
As a lawyer, I had to take this photo:
This lawyer photo's caption is in the photo after it:
Stories of victims:
Inside the Topography of Terror exhibit:
USSR reforms, a growing protest in the GDR, and the flight of thousands of GDR citizens via Eastern European countries led to the peaceful fall of the Wall on Nov. 9, 1989. A news event I remember! Shortly after that, the first sections of the Wall came down, and by the reunification of Germany on Oct. 3, 1990, most of the Wall was gone from Berlin. The Topography of Terror exhibit ensured the remaining 200 meters of the Wall were preserved, with all the traces of destruction that occurred during the transitional period. More wall:
Kind of funny, that I'm recapping two trips in a row featuring a wall -- the Great Wall and the Berlin Wall. I wonder if there's some cool wall to visit in India so I continue the theme?
Anyway, first stop on last year's vacation extravaganza was Berlin. It was my second time in Berlin and when I went the first time, it was a solo backpacking trip all over Europe and I didn't like it at all. Everything seemed to go wrong. I got into one train station and my departing train that night was from another. So I went to the other train station to stash my backpack. I left to explore the city, and it started raining. Since I was in college and on a major budget, I went back to the train station to get my umbrella. It added up to wasted time. The city seemed very American, complete with McDonalds and KFC. I was unimpressed, having come to Germany from Italy (where I'd been studying) via Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary and Austria -- lots of smaller towns, nothing like Berlin. My main memories of Berlin the first time: going to the zoo and seeing pandas, seeing a huge section of the wall, and seeing an empty underground bookcase symbolic of Nazi book burnings.
This trip was much different. I was there primarily for the marathon, but coming in with a different perspective (15 years older), with money I could spend, with better weather, and straight from the US (as opposed to small town less-traveled Europe), it was awesome!
If I had to say what had changed the most in 15 years, it would be the Berlin Wall. There were large sections around the city last time I was there. On this trip, there were a few preserved sections and an amazing museum nearby called the Topography of Terror.
The Wall Monument
Construction on the Wall began on August 13, 1961. The Wall spanned more 150 km and was built by the GDR to seal off East Berlin and the rest of the territory from the GDR. Between October 1949 and August 1961, over 2.7 million people fled the GDR, most of them crossing the border between Berlin's Eastern and Western sections. The Wall was designed to end the stream of refugees and ensure that no one crossed the border unchecked.
Of course, there were ways around it. I recommend watching Der Tunnel (that's German for "The Tunnel") -- a great German movie made for TV in 2001 and released as a movie in 2005.
The Wall actually had several sections, a front wall and a hinterland wall, an inner track with a patrol path, watchtowers, and barrier fortifications. By 1989, at least 136 people had died at the Wall, 98 of them while trying to flee and most of them shot down by GDR border guards.
At the Wall, in part of a building's skeleton, there was a cool open-air exhibit with lots of photos and blurbs about the history:
Book burning photo:
As a lawyer, I had to take this photo:
This lawyer photo's caption is in the photo after it:
Stories of victims:
Inside the Topography of Terror exhibit:
USSR reforms, a growing protest in the GDR, and the flight of thousands of GDR citizens via Eastern European countries led to the peaceful fall of the Wall on Nov. 9, 1989. A news event I remember! Shortly after that, the first sections of the Wall came down, and by the reunification of Germany on Oct. 3, 1990, most of the Wall was gone from Berlin. The Topography of Terror exhibit ensured the remaining 200 meters of the Wall were preserved, with all the traces of destruction that occurred during the transitional period. More wall:
Overall, I prefer the old wall, but the new exhibit and features. It's definitely something worth seeing on any trip to Germany.
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Reading selections
You can tell a lot about someone from the books they keep, right?
Well, here in Pittsburgh, we are staying with one of my husband's brothers and his wife and their bookcase is interesting and quite different from ours.
Haha, yeah, so different. Oh well, as long as we don't talk about politics or killing animals (well, I don't think he really kills most of them, but actually, isn't it worse to hurt them by hooking their mouths, depriving them of water, and then throwing them back?), it's all good!
Actually, we're having tons of fun here. There is an amazing running trail (Montour Trail) that goes right near their house, so all 4 of us went this morning for about an hour. The weather was insanely perfect -- humid, but cool (low 60s?), overcast but not raining, and the scenery was lovely -- so green and lush. It was a slight incline on the way out, and downhill on the way back. One of the best parts was watching my heartrate on the way back -- sailing slightly downhill going faster than marathon pace and seeing my heartrate significantly lower than it is when it's 15 degrees warmer at home.
Also, I think we want to live in a retirement community. Now if possible, but apparently they don't take you unless one spouse is over 65. Thank goodness my husband is older than me. Not even 20 years to wait now. So many lectures, puzzles, movies, discussion groups, etc. It's a shame that only one of my in-laws seems to be taking advantage of it, but to each his/her own I suppose.
Tonight after dinner in the dining hall, we are all going to a lecture on the causes of WWII!
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
D-Day Dinner
There hasn't been much to report this week. Another glorious trip to Philadelphia for work in a few hours. So I figured I'd share a few photos from our dinner party Friday night.
It was a combination of a D-Day 70th Anniversary theme and a Blueberry Festival theme.
I was very concerned about how it would all come together. The total menu was a signature cocktail, 3 appetizers (plus baguette slices I toasted and pita chips we bought already-made), a salad, a risotto, a marinated protein (chicken for 3, tofu for 3), and a guacamole-type sauce to put over the protein, and for dessert, a three-layered cake, along with yogurt covered frozen blueberries.
As of Friday morning, all I'd done was set the table, grate the cheese for one appetizer, stick the blueberry vodka in the freezer, and make and put the yogurt-covered berries in the freezer. As of 9:00 a.m. on Friday, my husband hadn't even left to begin the shopping for the party (which he was doing with our weekly shopping, so I knew it would take a few hours).
Ugh. I was worried about disaster.
Anyway, one thing done was the tablecloth. That was my husband's job. I texted him this photo to show what I envisioned:
But I mentioned it had to integrate blueberries as well. This was the finished product:
An upside-down shot to show the blueberry integration by each person's name.
And the set table (appetizer plates were on the bar, and we individually plated salads, so those are missing too):
My husband got home from the grocery store just after noon, and I began cooking in earnest. I had spent some time during a boring morning conference call envisioning a plan of attack, so within 10 minutes of groceries hitting the kitchen counter, I had sweet potatoes roasting in the oven, the marinade ingredients going into the food processor, the dried mushrooms soaking, and I was starting on the cake from scratch.
A total of 9 recipes (not counting the yogurt-covered blueberries). By 2:00, with guests set to arrive at 6:45, I was pretty sure that I was in over my head, even with husband acting as sous-chef.
Cake baked, I used this awesome cake slicer thing to make the layers myself!:
Beginning to frost after it had finally cooled:
Frosted cake (untoasted baguette slices in the background there):
And then, I left the actual blueberry cake decoration to my husband. I gave no direction other than to say it should relate to D-Day or blueberries, and this is what I got:
It was a combination of a D-Day 70th Anniversary theme and a Blueberry Festival theme.
I was very concerned about how it would all come together. The total menu was a signature cocktail, 3 appetizers (plus baguette slices I toasted and pita chips we bought already-made), a salad, a risotto, a marinated protein (chicken for 3, tofu for 3), and a guacamole-type sauce to put over the protein, and for dessert, a three-layered cake, along with yogurt covered frozen blueberries.
As of Friday morning, all I'd done was set the table, grate the cheese for one appetizer, stick the blueberry vodka in the freezer, and make and put the yogurt-covered berries in the freezer. As of 9:00 a.m. on Friday, my husband hadn't even left to begin the shopping for the party (which he was doing with our weekly shopping, so I knew it would take a few hours).
Ugh. I was worried about disaster.
Anyway, one thing done was the tablecloth. That was my husband's job. I texted him this photo to show what I envisioned:
But I mentioned it had to integrate blueberries as well. This was the finished product:
An upside-down shot to show the blueberry integration by each person's name.
And the set table (appetizer plates were on the bar, and we individually plated salads, so those are missing too):
My husband got home from the grocery store just after noon, and I began cooking in earnest. I had spent some time during a boring morning conference call envisioning a plan of attack, so within 10 minutes of groceries hitting the kitchen counter, I had sweet potatoes roasting in the oven, the marinade ingredients going into the food processor, the dried mushrooms soaking, and I was starting on the cake from scratch.
A total of 9 recipes (not counting the yogurt-covered blueberries). By 2:00, with guests set to arrive at 6:45, I was pretty sure that I was in over my head, even with husband acting as sous-chef.
Cake baked, I used this awesome cake slicer thing to make the layers myself!:
Beginning to frost after it had finally cooled:
Frosted cake (untoasted baguette slices in the background there):
And then, I left the actual blueberry cake decoration to my husband. I gave no direction other than to say it should relate to D-Day or blueberries, and this is what I got:
Unfortunately, it appears that I took no other photos of the meal, but it came together perhaps better than any other dinner party we've hosted!
I had to have one guest (my bestie, so I didn't mind asking and she seemed happy to help) take the second round of appetizers out of the oven and put them on a platter, and she also made the salads, and she assisted hubby with cocktail preparation, but overall, it went really well.
My husband was in charge of grilling the protein and for a while, I was worried that would be a mess. He said the marinade didn't seem to have worked well, and he was worried about the cooking time (cue about 15 jokes about "enormous [chicken] breasts") and his lack of experience grilling tofu to know when it was done. But they both turned out perfectly! Everyone enjoyed the meal a lot. After dinner, while we were getting espresso and limoncello ready to go with dessert, I loaded the dinner dishes and ran the dishwasher again (I emptied it right before everyone arrived, so most all my prep stuff was clean and put away). That was totally awesome. By the time everyone left around 11:30 (late night considering we were doing a race the next morning!), we just unloaded again and loaded up the dessert stuff and the glasses, and the clean-up was basically done. That's my kind of dinner party!
As far as leftovers, there was no risotto, no salad, some appetizers (including a ton of the sweet potato dip), one piece of chicken (we made 4) and one piece of tofu (we made 4 again, in case a single person wanted seconds or someone wanted to have some of each), and tons of the blueberry guacamole (this recipe also made a large quantity). And of course about half the cake, which unfortunately I've been enjoying pretty much every day since the party! I finished off the guacamole with some beans on tacos I made for dinner last night, so now all we're left with is the sweet potato dip!
So I'd rate my stress level for this dinner party as off the charts high (11/10), but execution at 8/10. Very nice! Usually stress is more like 8 and execution is more like 7!
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