2012 continued

Duane Hettich, Brent and I in Barcelona

• Before leaving North Dakota, I travelled with a friend to Portage La Prarie, Manitoba, Canada for a special gathering at a special place that I last visited as a teenager with Lisa Swenson, who was there this time too with her whole family.....it was strange and wonderful to think of all the changes since the last time I was there.
• In  August,  Brent and I each flew half way around the world to meet up in Spain...he from Korea and I from California.  We spent a weekend in Barcelona where we attended an annual church convention on the property of our good friends, the Gutierrez family.  Another friend also attending was Duane Hettich, originally from South Dakota....I think we managed to surprise him!
• Brent and I left Spain (together this time) and flew to London where he attended business meetings and I attended the Olympics!....and a few other fun tourist attractions.  My favorite was Hampton Court, historic home of British royalty, including Henry the VIII, Queen Elizabeth I, etc.  Actors throughout the castle and grounds brought history to life.  I loved the gardens, outdoor cafe, riverside setting, etc, etc. Afterward I was invited to supper (although I think they call it tea) with a nearby family of friends.....we partook in the garden, in true British style!

Tea in the garden with friends

Hampton Court, one of many gardens on the grounds

Brent and I in London, August 2012

• September was back to school (and work) but we did get away for a few days to attend Hunter, North Dakota, church convention with Brent's family on the property of his cousin,  Mark Richtsmeier.  We were fed well there, both naturally and spiritually...and enjoyed special, uplifting days with family and friends.
• October was the month I began working at Dana Hills High School, filling in for a colleague out on leave, in addition to my regular assignment.  I don't have a picture of the students, but I will never forget their innocent, childlike honesty and the impression it made on me.  Most the the students were severly handicapped teenagers.  Mentally, they were not able to grasp abstract thought or sarcasm.  The words of Jesus came to mind " ...suffer little children and forbid them not to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven"
• We made our annual trek to Tanama, Mexico in November....loved it as always, but had to wait 4.5 hours to cross back over to the US side of the border.  We made it home with just enough time for Brent to pack his back and catch a flight for a business trip to Korea.
• December's memorable events were the farewell gatherings that were held in honor of Ethan's roommate, Nate Galuza, who started in the ministry.  Nate felt like a part of our family, and we can't express how much we appreciated his special qualities and friendship....we are all missing him already! 

Ethan, Nate, and Ryan at our farewell supper for Nate

Happy Holidays everyone, and Happy New Year from the Richtsmeiers!  May 2013 be a wonderful year of blessings for each one!

2012 It was a good year!

 
As the year draws to a close, I've enjoyed thinking about the highlights of the past year. Here are a few of them:
 

• A January visit from our good friends, The Rivelands ( =  They are full of fun and laughs!  They own a music studio in Grand Forks, ND, and come to an annual music convention in Anaheim.

• Meeting my bestie,  Lisa Swenson, in Phoenix last February.  We stayed at her daughter Amy's place, and made excursions from there....we shopped, dined, laughed, talked, made green drinks, and got caught up on each other's lives.  I'm SO thankful for friends like her!

 

• In March, My Grandma came all the way from Minneapolis to visit! Four generations...yay!

• June found us heading to North Dakota, where we attended the Myer's family reunion, and the Stump Lake camp out with friends.  After Stump, we went to Cando, ND, where my friend Lisa owns a photography studio.  Here is a foto of her hard at work taking Analise's senior portraits.....and the results!

Paella! Spain 2011

Here are the paella chefs, Loida and Antonita, with their culinary creation. Paella is a seafood and rice dish and the most popular meal in Spain. I love the shrimp, but not the heads. I decapitate them and give the heads to Antonita, who like the suck the brains, etc. out.

This is a rabbit and seafood paella. Grandpa Antonio (Antonita's dad), who sat across from me at lunch, got the rabbit skull, teeth still attached. He happily scooped out the insides with a spoon...yum!

Europe Trip '11 "The Good, The Bad, and the Ridiculous"

Thanks to Brent's many frequent flier miles, and kind friends who took us in, we were able to go to Europe this summer. The trip was 99% fabulous, and the highlight of each country was seeing friends! So topping the "Good" list was Fabienne (below) with her daughter Axelle. Fabienne lived with us one summer when she was 17. Ethan was 3 and Analise was 1 at the time. I was limited by a neck injury and she was an incredible help to me. It was so special to see her again after 15 years, and meet her husband Matthieu, and daughter, Axelle. Matthieu told the story of meeting Fabienne and all the blessings she has brought into his life....It was like a fairy tale with a good ending AND miracles included. Just thinking of them makes me happy ( = Good things about Rome: Espresso (adjectives fail me), gelato, pizza, pancetta, the list goes on.
Ditto for the chocolate and crepes in Paris!

The foto below is of Adrian with his parents. We met him 3 years ago in Spain. He was a student then. It was wonderful to see him again, this time in Switzerland at Villigen conv, now on the Swiss staff. ( =

Europe Trip '11 "The Bad"

The bad things about our trip mostly involved, Surprise!, TRANSPORTATION.

• Thanks to US airways, as I flew to Barcelona, my suitcase was on a plane bound for Zurich. We were reunited 48 hours later. In the mean time we were fortunately staying with kind friends who let me borrow clothes, underwear, a toothbrush, and other slightly necessary things ( =


• We loved everything about Rome except for the lack of bathrooms and the smell of the subways


• We flew (Not So) Easy Jet from Barcelona to Portugal and back. They try to scam you into checking all your baggage then charge you a fortune for it. Ethan got to stuff his suitcase in a little tiny metal frame and take it out again 4 times ( = I took a foto of him and Brent trying to get the suitcase out on the 3rd go around. He had to do it twice at the Lisbon ticket counter because the lady insisted he put it in, then "wasn't looking", so made him do it again!


• If I ever felt the need to rant, it was at the Philadelphia airport. The airport food there made me sick going over to Europe. On the way back, the agricultural inspection people took away the gluten free food I had packed in Spain for the 3 flights home. First I objected and made a fuss, then I got so frustrated I started to cry, which REALLY mortified my children ( Brent was on a plane bound for India at that point). Oh well, they have embarrassed me a few times too!
  

Europe Trip '11 "The Ridiculous"

Now for the Ridiculous ( mostly involving, ahem, restrooms and related subjects):





1) Paying to Pee in Paris. A large bladder would be a distinct advantage for any European traveler since public restrooms are few and far between. We did find this restroom in a park, which Analise claimed was discriminatory since they charged more for stalls than for urinals!





2)Likewise in Rome, if you need to answer the call of nature you must hunt for a bar or cafe, then politely buy something if they let you use the facilities. This ended up costing way more than the stalls in Paris since I purchased an orange soda for 3.50 Euros, or about 8 bucks...choke cough.





3)Isn't Paris supposed to be known as the "City of Lights"? Well, from our balcony, it looked like Paris is the City of Pigeon Poo. The neighbors liked to feed pigeons apparently, and everytime we stepped out, a cloud of pigeons took flight leaving their gifts behind!





4) So, hope your not tired of this subject, the best is yet to come! While we were at Lisbon for preps, we were served snails. Analise and I politely refused. Ethan was trying to be more cosmopolitan, so he dug in, no holds barred. After devouring a plateful, someone explained to him that you need to clean the bits of dangling excrement off the end of each snail before you eat it.......he didn't want any more after that!

Family Fotos 10-10

Greetings to all our friends from the Richtsmeier Family Brent and Aundrea

Ethan, age 17, Senior

Analise, age 15, Sophomore