Some day I want to go back. On the weekends, we walked across Mariabrucke into the city centre, hopping on the trolley that followed Ringstrasse. Our favorite stop: Stadtpark.

Packed with rolling landscape, aged trees, winding sidewalks, thick, crisp patches of grass, and lots of people, Stadtpark was the perfect place to spend a summer evening in Vienna. We'd find our place on the grass and enjoy eating the sandwiches or slices of pizza we picked up from a street vendor along the way.

Dusk is when it would start. The Vienna Orchestra would start playing their stringed instruments at a place called The Kursalon, which had a wide veranda outside. On nights when the humidity was low and summer air didn't make you sweat out your dinner, we would sneak up as close as we could, sit in the grass below the hedge surrounding the veranda, and watch the dancers waltz into our evening of bliss. The women wore elegant ball gowns, and the men wore suits and tuxedos.

We spent hours there getting to know each other. I was mostly with my friend Anne, and we made plans for the future, talked about frustrations, longed for things American, and relished in the dream we were living. It was a mixture of longing, and belonging.

I Want Snow

If it's going to be 4 degrees. I want snow. Buckets of it. Where I have to shovel out for weeks and weeks and get to stay in my pj's all day and make warm chocolate chip cookies for breakfast if I want.

Snows Days when I was a young child were spent in coveralls and mittens and boots outside for the first part. By noon, back inside where Caron and I made grilled cheese sandwiches...and Chef Boy R Dee ravioli from the can.
Then a game of monopoly would ensue, where I most often would win just because I was the banker. And sometimes we would play checkers and 4-cross on a tattered cardboard checkerboard. The checkers were stored in a small round blue peanut tin, and our games, for that matter, were stored in an iron tub in the corner of the room on the fireplace hearth. That hearth was the best hearth I think I've ever seen. In fact, some day, if I ever build my own house, I think I want a replica of that hearth. It was made from Arkansas stone and spread across the entire wall of the living room. The ledge went across the room as well, and we stored things on it, like the iron tub for games, a stack for newspapers to help start the fire, the fire utensils, and wood. Man, I'd like to see that hearth again. It was the place for family portraits, from the day my sister won homecoming queen, to night Janet, Tina and I dressed in our formals and went to dinner. The beautiful mantel at the top of the hearth sported a grandfather clock, owl paintings, family antiques, family photos, and most unsightly school pictures.

Dancing Pencils

I love watching student writers. Fingers pluck keyboards. Pencils dance across the page, sometimes not fast enough to get down every idea. This is a distinct sound, lead on paper, transferring thoughts. Hands resting the head are placed on foreheads or cheekbones, feet tapping, earbuds neatly hid down sides of faces. Sometimes, they stop to think and stare off into the distance, or out the window. Sometimes they hand over journals and ask their neighbors opinion. Sometimes, brows are furrowed, and sometimes, smiles creep across faces. But the pencil still dances. I love watching student writers.

Come from behind Winners...a Tribute to Whitney and Caron

Where did we go wrong? Was it when we played the King too early and couldn't catch the three? Was it when we forgot about the Big Joker being able to trump the Little Joker? Was it when we bid 7 three times in a row and thought we might have a shot at winning our first match from a negative 8 deficit? I don't know, but Wanda and I could not seem to get our cards to fall in the right places together. And neither could Caron and Whitney. They got smoked so bad by Dad and and Tom the first game that they were finished well before our game and had to spend some quality time in the kitchen munching on cheesecake bites, fruit and dip, and chips and guacamole. (Of course, this didn't upset them at all.)

When Wanda and I finally lost and were met with the other first losers, we thought our game was going to turn around. We had come back from the negatives to actually playing competitive, so we figured our luck would come with us to our new table. And yes, it did. We lost that game in another landslide.

So Dad and Tom beat Faron and Spencer, and went to the table to play Caron and Whitney, who had to win two games in order to claim the championships. And this, much to everyone's dismay, they did. They both pocketed a whopping $7.25 and left full and happy.

During the championships, the rest of us, not too interested in watching someone else play, decided to play 9 rounds of Mormon Golf. This got a little intense when Wanda, a new player to golf, was kicking the daylights out of all of us. She did end up winning, but not before I got to hand out 20 points to everyone! :) (Oh, and so did Wanda, but since she won, it doesn't count, right?) :) Next time, we'll have to play for a few quarters.

Here are some super easy and super delicious recipes that were big hits Saturday night. They are perfect summer and spring recipes, but I think everyone was craving fresh fruit in the dead of winter.

Super Easy/Super Delicious Guacamole Dip
2 avocados
1 Roma tomato
1 lime
salt

Peel and mash the avocados, dice the tomato and add to the mixture. Slice the lime in half and squeeze one half of its juice into the mixture. Stir. Add salt to taste. Serve with tortilla chips (I'm in love with Tostitos Multi-grain.)

Super Easy/Super Delicious Devonshire Cream Fruit Dip
1 small Hiland whipping cream
1 cream cheese (softened)
1 cup sugar

Whip the cream cheese, (yes, it will stick in your beaters), add the whipping cream and when a little fluffy, add your sugar. Whip to your desired consistency. Serve with apples, grapes, kiwi, and other fruit of your desire.

I'm a Keeper

This is Preston. He wore this shirt today. Here are his thoughts on why he wore this shirt: "I always get the worst kind of girl...so I just thought I'd wear this shirt today to prove to everyone else that "I'M A KEEPER!"

So really, it's his tactic to attract the kind of girl he wants. So if someone actually believes his shirt, he should be swarmed by girls. But today, he says, "it's not workin' out too good, but maybe it will when I go to town tonight." Poor Preston. I know he will make a fine husband and father...someday.

It's the first Friday of this week. This class is behaving miserably. They are not writing, but smack-talking their way through the last 25 minutes. We had accomplished nothing until the yearbook girls walked in and had everyone complete a form to order their 2009 Williamizzou. This, I thought, might get us back on track...but nope. It didn't. They went crazy as usual.

The only thing I've accomplished is this:

Amanda, guess what I have?

What?

Since the summer I've been collecting the nice candles jars that the White Barn Company uses for their candles.

REALLY??!! How much do you want for them???

We'll talk about that later...but would they be something you are interested in for you senior project?

Oh, yeah. Definitely.