The 366 Project: December

 

This is the last month of my 366 project - yes, I did it. I took at least one photo each day of the leap year that 2024 was (hence 366 and not 365). Many days it wasn't difficult at all, especially while traveling, but on some days I struggled and sometimes even only remembered to take a photo shortly before I went to bed.  I'm glad that I kept at it, but I'm also sure that I won't do any project similar to this anytime soon.

So, here's December:

As you can see, the month started with rather familiar images like the winter lights on our home,

and fall vibes we still enjoyed in the first month of winter.

On two Saturdays I worked as a substitute teacher in my old class which was a lot of fun. And then, when we were talking about whether we want to invite friends for New Year's Eve, the Geek came up with an "alternative idea", as he called it - why not a road trip to the American Southwest like we so often did in winter years ago and haven't done since 2014? It was a crazy, spontaneous idea, and of course we went for it.

We took Highway 50 through Nevada, the "loneliest highway in the US" and into Utah where we visited beautiful national parks like stunning Bryce Canyon,

crowded Arches (first in fog that eventually gave way to sun),

beautiful Canyonlands (this is the Needles District),

enjoyed the last sunset of the year over Grand Canyon in Arizona,

and visited state parks like Cathedral Gorge, Kodachrome Basin, Gobelin Valley and Dead Horse Point as well as Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.

More about this in much later posts, because I would like to continue sharing more of our trip to Europe.

But I do need a drink for Bleubeard and Elizabeth's T Tuesday. Can you believe that I didn't take a single shot of a drink in December? So I need to turn to the jerk - unfortunately, when you go to national parks you also can't avoid a lot of jerks. One of them we saw on the last day of the year at Grand Canyon. While most people enjoyed the sunset quietly from the viewpoint, this guy went to the top of the rim, unfolded his camping chair in front of allof us and set there for everyone to witness how he drank his can of beer and being a - well, jerk. That's my drink contribution this time - I wish it was without the jerk.

Since I was away from Blogland for more than two weeks, I didn't have the chance to wish you a happy new year. All my best wishes to you for an enjoyable and healthy 2025.

The 366 Project: November

 

It's just two weeks ago that I posted my 366 project for October, and here we are in December and it's time for the November 366. The month began in France, took us to Belgium and the North of Germany and finally back to California.

As you can see, there's a beautiful coffee mug in these collages, and that is my first ticket for Bleubeard and Elizabeth's T Tuesday. My daughter brought this mug from South Africa where she attended a congress in her beloved Cape Town in September, and she gave it to me while we were in Münster.

Get ready for some random pictures that I took in Münster. My daughter told me that I need to go to Dille & Kamille, a Belgian shop that has a few stores in Germany as well. I was very tempted to get one these houses (you put a tealight in it) since they don't only look like buildings in Bruges or Ghent, but also like the ones in Münster. However, in the end I only bought a tiny ornament.

At the other end of Prinzipalmarkt was a cheese shop where they sold Gouda in all kinds of flavor. You can tell that the Netherlands aren't far from Münster...

My daughter's flat is above an Italian ice cream parlor (called "Eisdiele" in German), and when the weather was nice, we sat on the patio and enjoyed some wonderful Eisbecher (sundae).

Or would you prefer German cheesecake (not made with cream cheese, but with Quark) or Tiramisu?

Of course I had to visit my favorite clothing store, Gudrun Sjøden, a Swedish company. The walls are full with pictures of their patterns and even the stairs had the flower pattern on some steps.

While I was looking around, the Geek was served coffee - nice touch for the waiting husband - while he sat at the table chatting with Kaefer.

A cozy little corner to sit in one of the little alleys close to the Dom.

If nature calls in this café, you know where to go.

Especially if you had a few of these delicious cocktails, a Hugo. This is an alcoholic aperitif that originated in South Tyrol and is very popular in Northeastern Italy, Austria, Switzerland and Germany. It is based on prosecco, elderflower syrup, seltzer or sparkling water and mint leaves. My second ticket for T Tuesday.

A pillow I saw in Kaefer's neighborhood bakery - "lovely that you are here".

I wish all of you a lovely last month of the year and leave you with this shot that I took this morning in my front garden. The sun always rises.

The 366 Project: October

 

It's rather late for the October part of my 366 project, but since we only came back from our 4-week trip to Germany, France and Belgium the day before yesterday, it still seems on time for me. The first half of October was spent in Santa Rosa and ends with the drive over a very foggy Golden Gate Bridge on our way to San Francisco Airport.

The second half of October was spent in Germany and France.

On the first weekend in Germany - in Münster, Westfalen - we had our Bartz family reunion with the Geek's parents, his two brothers and their families.

On the last Friday of our trip we met with my brother and his wife.

And in between the three of us - the Geek, Kaefer and myself - travelled in Germany, France and Belgium. Here you can see us in Hamburg's Miniatur Wunderland, which has become the no. 1 tourist attraction in Germany and has been on my list for quite some time. Definitely a must-go!

The best part? Seeing Kaefer again. It had been almost two years since we saw her the last time.

There will be future posts about this trip, but for now I want to share these faces with Nicole's Friday Face Off. It might take me a while to visit your blogs, since I still haven't quite arrived yet. I wish all of you a lovely weekend.

The 366 Project: September

 

September had hardly begun when it was already over - at least that's how it felt. It was a busy month.

My friend Kris and I went on some beautiful walks in our regional parks where we saw the first signs of autumn.

At the lake we discovered a huge hornet nest.

Look at that intricate work! Isn't it impressive?

I love to be at the lake early when the water steams and is backlit by the morning sun. Such a beautiful and slightly mystical mood.

It also was a busy month in regards to knitting. I was often sitting in the garden knitting up hats and socks, often with Kibeau as my reliable but mostly sleeping companion.

At the farmers market I could still get peaches and made buttermilk peach cobbler. Next time I will not make it in the cast iron pan because it was a bit of a pain to clean out the baked-on parts, even though my pan is well seasoned and it shouldn't be a problem.

We were very excited that the Mourning Doves came back to their nest and had another brood. I'm happy to say that they raised both babies and about a week ago I saw them taking off. I still see the little ones occasionally in our big tree. The other excitement was that I noticed a bird in my garden that I hadn't seen before. After consulting Merlin and my Sibley and confirming with David, I now know that this is a Black-headed Grosbeak. This little guy is very camera shy.

And of course we're getting closer to the election. Campaing signs have turned up in our neighborhood. I love the cat ones, but I love the handmade signs by children even more. I asked one of my little neighborhood girls whether she would make one for me, and we now proudly display it right next to our frontdoor.

Unfortunately, there was also this:

I have no idea what people who steal campaign signs want to achieve with that. Do they think people would change their mind? Hardly. This behaviour makes me mad, and I would be just as mad if this would have happened with Trump/Vance signs. I wish we would return to respect and civility.

Together with other neighbors we were busy writing letters to voters in states with voter suppression laws to let them know how they can get heir voter ID. That there even are voter suppression laws in a country that boasts about its democracy is shameful.

Last but not least, September is a special month for the Geek and I. 28 years ago we had our first kiss on top of the tower of Stiftskirche in Tübingen. You can see the tower here - taken on a cold but clear and sunny winter day. It was warmer back then on that day in September, but there was a constant drizzle - which didn't prevent us from kissing.

For us it's a reason to celebrate and open a bottle of bubbly. Cheers, my friends!

With all these faces, I'm linking up with Nicole's Friday Face Off.

The 366 Project: August

 September already! Can you believe it?

This was August:

These were my thoughts that I wrote down on the last day of August: 

August was a month that flew by too quickly, again. The month brought fresh summer fruit and produce, tons of tomatoes and therefore time in the kitchen making tomato sauce in order to keep the ripe tomato flavor through the winter. It brought gatherings with good friends and fun game nights with my "old" students. Time at the ocean and in the redwoods. And time to read, garden and paint. It was a good month.

August ended on a very high note when the Geek and I spent a long weekend in Gualala (pronounced wa-LA-la) on the coast. We had booked the same cabin where we stayed back in 2019 - it had changed just a tiny bit since then. The furniture in the sitting area was re-arranged since they had added a microwave to each cabin - result of the pandemic, I assume. I did like the sitting nook even better this time.

We did a few outings - down to the beach at Gualala Point Regional Park...

... twice to the hidden Bowling Ball Beach...

... to the Point Arena Stornetta Public Lands...

... and to the Bluff Trail in Gualala Point Regional Park.

We enjoyed beautiful sunsets and evenings with a lot of atmosphere.

I will write more about this long weekend in future posts. For now I wish you a lovely first week of September.