Bell Gram: 2011

Saturday, December 31, 2011

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Notable Quote!

"Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way."
– Booker T. Washington

About Booker T. Washington

Booker T. Washington, the influential American educator, was the first African-American to be invited to the White House; he also had tea with Queen Victoria. He was born in slavery in Virginia in 1856. After emancipation, he worked in the salt mines. When he learned of a school that would accept former slaves, he walked much of the 400 miles to get there. He became an outspoken advocate of education and hard work for African-Americans and founded Tuskegee University. He died in 1915.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

German Memories & Frohe Weihnachten! (Merry Christmas)

This is the first place I stayed when we got to Germany. (Wayne had already spent 3 1/2 years in the southern part) On a page on facebook dedicated to the town of Butzbach, Germany I met a lady and started to correspond with her. She was from this town and her mother had known the owner of this guest house. She went here this Thanksgiving to visit and asked if anyone wanted pictures of anything. She took these first three for me. It looks about the same. We slept upstairs and ate in the restaurant downstairs.

Zum Stern - A Guest House (Bed & Breakfast/lunch/dinner) in Butzbach, Germany

Zum Stern on right (room with open window is where we stayed)

Butcher shop next door. This was a popular and busy shop because Germans tend to buy their food fresh daily.

The street was a walk platz which means cars didn't use it. You park at the end. We had a closed in parking lot in the back of Zum Stern where we parked the Thunderbird (which seemed huge over there :-)) If you walk further down this street you come to the Marktplatz.

This is at the end of the street. It's called MarktPlatz (market place) and they gather there to celebrate the beginning of the holiday season.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Sharing Recipes!

Jean's Yogurt Pie

Get a Graham Cracker crust for each pie. Combine one cup of strawberry yogurt (or other fruit yogurt) and a small size container of Cool Whip. Blend well and pour into crust. Add a sheet of wax paper over the top and chill.

Rikki's Pumpkin Muffins

1 package of spice cake mix

1 15 oz can of pumpkin

Mix these two ingredients, spoon into muffin pan and bake @ 350 for 16 - 18 minutes.

As I Remember It!

This is the first of a column that I hope to do on a monthly basis. My hope is that it will be informative, humorous and a place to go when you want to vent. I invite questions or comments from all. If I make a mistake on a fact, you are welcome to correct me. Just remember the title. We have such talent in our offspring that I encourage you to tell them about the column and ask them to participate. It may encourage them to read it and keep us updated. Rikki does a wonderful job of keeping us informed but we don't have information on some of the offspring and would like all to participate. I know there is something that we don't know and would love to hear about. Isaiah and Nick are in college and soon there will be others going away and we would love for them to keep the Bell Gram as one of their connections to what is happening back home. Until next month, may the wind be always at your back. Jean