Just A Summer Day in Stetten...

This is really the first full weekend we've had something that resembles Summer. We finally got around to cleaning up the front yard, pruning our rose bushes, and pulling up the biggest dandelions you've ever seen. We also ate dinner outside and sipped Apfelschorle on the patio for only the second time this year. Then we ate German ice cream sandwiches from Aldi. It was lovely.

We concluded our Saturday evening with a stroll around the neighborhood.

Now, try to ignore Chad and the dogs in this picture. I really only had him stand there so our neighbors didn't think it odd that I was photographing their homes and vehicles. Although I'm sure they still thought it odd that I walked around the neighborhood with my camera. Anyways... the point of this picture is to show you all the German flags hanging from people's cars and homes. Did you know that prior to the World Cup in 2006 nobody hung a German flag? In fact, it was considered a little taboo to own one for home use and it was difficult to even find one in the country let alone purchase one. It wasn't until the World Cup 4 years ago that Germans began waving their country's flag as a show of support for their national team. World Cup 2010 is no different and the Germans will proudly wave their flag and show their colors in hopes that Germany goes all the way (and with Italy out... it may happen).

Go Deutschland!

On another note, we got some very sad news yesterday... our dear neighbor, Helga (you can read about her generosity and kindness here) lost her husband back in April. We had not seen him around for awhile now but we also have not seen her so we weren't too alarmed. Unfortunately, he died unexpectedly a month before his 81st birthday. It goes to show you that it doesn't matter where you're from or where you've been... grief is all the same.