The weather guessers predicted heavy snow falls for last night/today. Yesterday we had blue skies, which made those predictions hard to believe.

They were right! It is now SNOWING with big huge snow flakes!!

It’s beautiful!

I’m glad I listened to the forcast and got all my shopping done yesterday. BUT… this afternoon my family is driving to my son’s home for his birthday. For me it’s only a 15 km drive, for my daughter much further…. hmmmm.

Tomorrow the snow MAY be gone again…. blue skies forcasted. I have a work-related class to teach…..

It has been a CRAZY winter!

Dorrie

Yes, I’ve been boring lately….. no new entries. Sorry, I just haven’t felt like writing. But I have been visiting journals and occassionally writing comments.

Last night was dance class again. Yes, that’s the class I thought would get canceled for lack of members. Last week 3 new people signed up…. and yesterday TWO MORE! And we now have 3 men in the group! Soooo, looks like it won’t get canceled after all! I had hoped for an extra night free, without the weekly long drive, but it’s better when the group continues.

Tomorrow is another special day in the world of Westy. Check out this cute little kid….

and later this cute picture,

and this one, taken during a visit to Charleston, South Caroline….

well, this is him in 2010….

Tomorrow, March 6, this kid, my son, Carsten, will be 36 years old!! Gosh it’s hard to believe…. *sigh*

Dorrie

P.S. send your prayers to our dear Gina… she’s very ill and can’t walk upstairs to use her normal computer, and the laptop she’s does use can’t upload KCL (too slow). She has been writing in her live journal and that’s where I got her message… she says “hi” to all!

… I have the time to write, I will.

It’s Sunday morning and since Friday my doctor has once again insisted I be legally LAZY! My cough kept up and was at times pretty nasty, so she signed me off sick until, and including, next Wednesday. Since I have no fever, a good appetite, and I feel generally fine, I don’t fear of my pneumonia acting up, but I MUST take care. There was just too much going on last week (see my entries below) and that didn’t help my cough much.

And neither does the weather. We are having rainy, chilly (but not cold), and VERY windy weather…. restricts any outdoor activity anyway.

So, if any of you wonder why I’m spending so much time here… now you know!

But I will be spending a lot of time in bed reading! As some of you may or may not know, our dear Blackbird sent me volumn one of Diana Gabaldon’s highland series, “Outlander”. Well, I managed to read it a few weeks ago, now I needed the follow up volumes. I found them, in German, at a local book store the other day and picked up volume two and three. I’m into volume two already. Each volume has around 1000 pages, in fine print, and there are SEVEN volumes all together! Thanks Blackbird for getting me addicted on them!

Now off to reading I go……

Dorrie

P.S. winds are now (2 p.m.) up to 60 knots!! uff

Wednesday was, as usual, dance class. Before the class began, my dancers marched into the room together, one gal carrying a try with candles, the others each carrying a yellow/pink rose. They made a circle and one of the gals read a poem she’d written (see below). Then, as another gal read off a meaning for each rose in a poem (Number one is for….., etc.), each dancer one by one presented me with their rose. It was very sweet!

Sorry, the poem is only in German (and I’m too lazy to translate at the moment heehee)

Für Dorrie zum 60. Geburtstag

60 Jahr, kein Grund zu trauern

und schon gar nicht zu versauern!

Mit 60 ist man reifer,

manch werden steifer.

Das gewiss gilt nicht für DICH,

denn das Tanzen hält DICH frisch!

Machst die Sprünge, fast Spagat,

dass ich nur Bewund’rung hab!

Ja, auch liebe ich dein Lachen,

wenn wir andern Fehler machen.

Locker soll die Gruppe sein,

hüpft auch mal ein falsches Bein.

Tanzen lehren, das bringt viel.

Tanzen lehren, das hat Stil!

Fachfrau sein beim RP:

Manchmal tut die Arbeit weh.

Kollegen-Männer, das ist bekannt,

sind nicht immer nur charmant.

Tochter, Sohn und Enkelkinder

fordern öfters auch nicht minder.

Dennoch DORRIE

don’t worry

be HAPPY!

Tanz mit uns in dieser Halle

lange noch, wir wünschen’s alle!

Bleib gesund, hab frohen Mut,

das tut DIR und uns auch gut!

Tanzen lehren, das bringt viel,

Tanzen lehren, das hat Stil!

My Thursday night class didn’t do anything special, but then the group is too small.  We had only 8 sign-ups for this semester, which started tonight, and I thought I’d tell the group that we would (finally) discontinue. What a surprise when THREE new people showed up tonight! So, I guess I’ll continue. I have mixed feelings about it since it IS a long drive to go there and I have two nights in a row of dancing (I’m getting too old for this stuff LOL). Anyway, the new members are 2 gals and 1 guy. The gals did excellent (both had previous dance experience) and the guy really did try…. he’ll learn in time. So we now have 11 people, which makes it a lot easier to work with.

OK, that’s all the partying. Tomorrow I get a new dishwasher delivered…. hand washing just doesn’t do the trick!

I hope you all enjoyed the pics. Now off to bed I go!

Dorrie

After a short stop at home, I then drove to Regina’s where the party continued, this time with cake (which my daughter baked herself) and coffee.

Later, Carsten arrived with his family. Except for when I picked them up at the airport on the 15th, I hadn’t seen Karen and the kids since November 2009!

Carsten and Shiana…

Little Priyasha…

It wasn’t easy trying to get a group picture of me with all 4 grandkids… one of them was always acting up! lol

I had brought the balloons from the office, and Priyasha really liked them!

Carsten drove his family home, then we met up again with Regina and her friend, Sven, for dinner at one of my favorite restaurants. It was definitely a fun day!

Dorrie

First of all, yes, it IS considered bad luck over here if you wish someone a happy birthday BEFORE the actual birthday. But, that’s all superstition, right? RIGHT?

I was quite surprised when I arrived at my office that it actually DID get decorated! It’s only done when someone has a “round” birthday (one with a “0″ in it), but 5 of my collegues were not there on Monday and the two remaining… well, let’s say “we don’t get along that well”. But, it looks like they took on the job and did quite a great job!

I picked up the goodies for our breakfast. I had ordered a plate of cold cuts, cheeses, and a basket of rolls from a local butcher shop. Yes, over here the birthday person treats everyone else. Of course, the birthday person does get presents but the party he/she has to pay for.

This is really a typical German breakfast. In the picture it doesn’t look like much, but it was plenty. I had ordered for 15 people and the amount was perfect. Coffee, orange juice, apple juice, and champaign was offered also. My collegues enjoyed it (yay!) and there were hardly any leftovers to bring home. I won’t say how much it cost me…..

I now have to get ready for my dance class…. maybe later I can post part 2 (visit with the kiddies).

Dorrie

P.S. thank you EVERYONE for all the lovely entries and comments!!

I will be entering the next decade of my life. Yes, DECADE!! Multiply 10 x 6 ….

I remember when I used to think 30 was OLD… or even 20! Now I have kids over 30, and I myself turn 60!

Yes… tomorrow/today… Feb. 23… I turn SIXTY!!

Damn I feel old all of a sudden……

Tomorrow morning I’ll be passing around goodies to my co-workers for breakfast (I can’t avoid it this year lol).

After that I’ll go to Regina’s where I’ll be together with ALL my kids and grandkids! Then later I’m invited to dinner with my kids to a favorite restaurant of mine for dinner.

So, if all goes well, it should be a fun day. I just wanted to “warn” everyone in case you don’t see me around here……

Luckily my cold has gotten a LOT better!! Still a stubborn cough, but no more snifles. If the cough persists, I’ll go see my doc on Wednesday. I took Wednesday to Friday off! YAY!

Now I plan to take a nice hot bath and then disappear to bed! An “old” girl needs her beauty sleep even more then before. heehee

Taken, October 2009 in my office:

Dorrie

Most of you may not have heard the news about the heavy rains and flooding on the island of Madeira. Already there have been over 40 deaths! Here’s the link to the CNN report about it:  Madeira

It’s hard to believe that I visited that place just last December! It was beautiful then, as you can see by the pictures.

What’s with our climate? Was Al Gore right after all? Today, when driving to the class, it was snowing AGAIN! The snow stopped after class and was all melted away, but the wind was still icy …. not good when suffering a cold *hatchi*.

Class went well, as always. I’m feeling a bit better. I still have a horrible cough.

Well, that’s all for now. Have a great Sunday everyone!

Dorrie

Isn’t it always the same…. you make lots of plans for a “free” Saturday, like get things done around the house, go look for a new dish washer (mine went kaputt about 2 weeks ago and hand washing dishes just doesn’t do that job!), AND a visit to my two babies Shiana and Priyasha. And what happens?

You come down with a COLD…… sniffing and sneezing, watery eyes, tired…. oh, and coughing.

I had to cancel doing everything! I feel like shit! I hate it!

And tomorrow I have another work related class to teach! I can NOT cancel that! For one, it gives me some over time, and for two… there is no one available to take it over for me. So, I’m “trying” to be lazy today so I’ll feel better tomorrow. I already took two little naps….

Of course, I immediately panic when I pick up a rough cough again… memories of my pneumonia last September come to mind. Sure don’t need a re-run of THAT!

Anyway, next Tuesday I get a free half-day off (for my b-day). In the morning I’m bringing some goodies in for everyone.

Then in the afternoon I’ll have ALL my children and grandchildren around me! In the evening my son, Carsten, and daughter, Regina, will be taking me out to dinner in Frankfurt. I’m sure my cold will be better by then…. it BETTER BE!

So, enough whining and looking for pity….

Unfortunately I don’t have any chicken soup left…. grrrrrr

Dorrie

The weather couldn’t be better today. it’s a bit nippy outside, but we had blue skies today. Perfect for all the carnival parades going on.

This year, for the first time in ages, I didn’t attend one. For some reason I’m not much in the mood for high-life and party.

Originally I had planned to go to the movies to finally see “Avatar”…. but I forgot. I had left my cell phone at home by accident and yes, I think I’ve become addicted to that darn thing!

So I came home instead…. and stayed home.

Carsten and his family arrived safe and sound yesterday. I had no time to take pictures but I’ll be visiting them soon. “Unfortunately” they followed some kind of tradition and shaved all the hair off Priyasha…. Shiana had it done to her, too, when she was 1 year old. Luckily it’ll grow back…..

So, that’s all for now…. almost time for       

Dorrie