We woke to a windy and cold day: it’s 0° if you are here. (32° if you are in the states.) That’s cold, but the sky is clear so no snow will be seen.

Dan immediately got to work on his super Brussels sprouts. The bread that he made yesterday (and didn’t finish until rather late) looks wonderful. His sweet potatoes went back in the oven. Greg headed out in the freezing cold to pick up breakfast.

More prep work occurred, and eventually Greg and I walked across the street to get some coffee. It was easier than trying to work around all the food prep. Then we sat down for breakfast.

See this photo I’m thinking I sure do need to learn to sit up straight. Hah!

Then it was more food prep. Jan was starting her turkey. Out of vegetables. SO cute! Greg worked on his dressing. Dan finished his Brussels sprouts. And I figured out what I would bring for our next, somewhat short trip tomorrow. (Stay tuned for the destination!)

Oh … and Dan started some laundry. That’s one of the any advantages of staying with family!

No matter how much one plans, the made rush at the end is always there. So it was with this. But it’s not like a concert, right? No one will fire us if we arrive a bit on the late side with all the food!

But, really, we weren’t “late-late” as I might put it, and no matter if we were: we were the first to arrive.

What fun to see Vanessa, Avni, Levin, Maya, and Hannah … and how the kids have grown since we last saw them in the summer of ‘23. Levin gave me a tour of the house, which was so darn sweet, and proudly showed me his English vocabulary books. Hooray for Levin!

After Lydia and Peter arrived we went to see Hannah’s kindergarten’s Christmas tree, then enjoyed gluhwein at their Christmas market, and headed to the Schwetzingen Palace to walk around the grounds. We were last here in 2013 in the heat of summer, so this was quite different!

Then back to the house we went, and let the food prep begin. When Anna, Hendrik, and Lillith arrived we had a toast and started with some tasty bites.

Finally on to so many different selections of food I didn’t even get to them all. The turkey had ended its cooking time on the grill and it was just perfect. Everything from start to finish was amazingly delicious. And I now feel like a stuffed turkey.

Back home I packed up for our next excursion: we catch the streetcar at 8:15 AM or so and I want to be ready!

We ended with a glass of port before bed. Quite the fine day!

Side note: as of today I’ve worn every bit of clothing (not counting my rain jacket since we’ve not hit significant rain yet) I’ve brought, and some I’ve worn quite a bit. I’ve also worn both pair of shoes. It always makes me happy to know nothing should have been left at home..