I'm NUTS About My Neighbor!

A few days ago, my neighbor dropped by with a little surprise for me. She had a big plastic bucket filled with these nuts. She called them Castania nuts, and said they were for me! How cool is that? I told her that we love nuts, but I'd never heard of this kind. She told me to crack them open and roast the insides on a cookie sheet. I'm going to give it a shot this weekend! I can't wait!

A couple of hours later, I had another surprise. This time she had two bags: one was filled with walnuts, and the other with hazelnuts. I know what these are, and they are delicious! Sweet!
Did I pick the perfect neighborhood to move into or what? If you find yourself in the area, she told me that there are plenty more where these came from, and I'm welcome to all that I want. Can anyone say "walnut brownies"? Gotta love my neighbors!

Road Trip to Germany

Jess was in England for the weekend, playing volleyball, so we decided to take a little road trip to Germany on Saturday. (It's a tough life over here for a teenager, isn't it?) Russ has been to Spangdahlem several times through work, but I hadn't seen it or Bitburg yet, so off we went. Germany, like everywhere else we've been over here so far, is beautiful! Where Belgium is mostly flat, Germany has lots of rolling hills and valleys. They also have alien technology. OK, maybe not, but they do have lots of these wind generators. I must say, though, that I did get a little bit of a disappointment during our trip. After all the buildup that I had heard about it in the states, seeing the Autobahn was a tad of a let down. I don't know what exactly I was expecting, but it looked just like any other interstate I've seen. I think I pictured a fancy, black-topped road with lots of Lamborghini's screaming by at 200 mph. Oh, well. It was kind of cool to be able to drive any speed we wanted (even though we didn't go much over what we would on any other road). Something else to check off my Bucket List. Spangdahlem was a nice little base, and we checked it out and headed over to Bitburg. It's a tad bigger, with a pretty nice BX (that's a military version of Wal-Mart to you civilians). That's not important to you people in the states, but to those of us who really enjoy picking up a few items from the US that you can't find in local stores, it's a BIG DEAL! Oh, and guess what the best part of the trip was...I GOT TO EAT LUNCH AT TACO BELL!!!!!!!!! Once again, don't knock it until you've been out of the country for a few months. I love the local food, but some things...you just miss.

It wasn't long until we were on the road back home again.

An extra bonus of the day was finding the little antique shop at Bitburg. She just happened to have some antique keys in her stock. These were on my list of things I've been looking for, so I picked up a few. Poor Russ thought he had me far away from the "old, used stuff", but he was mistaken. Silly man!

NATO Tiger Meet Galabal 2009

For the last two weeks, Kleine Brogel AB has been hosting the 2009 NATO Tiger Meet. To say that this is a big deal is a HUGE understatement. Last night, they wrapped up the festivities with the Tiger Meet Galabal, and we were lucky enough to get invited to the party. Now I think I've said this before, but just in case you haven't been paying attention...when Belgians throw a party, they REALLY throw a party. This was the most impressive event I've ever been to!

The Ball was set up in a huge tent, just beside the KB flight line, complete with crystal and candelabras. After walking down the candle lit red carpet leading to the entrance of the tent, we were handed little boxes of chocolate and ushered out to the deck between the tent and the flight line. The theme of this years event was "Fly Me to the Moon." All around the tent, they had set up video monitors that showed pictures and movies about the military and space.

Did I mention that it had an open bar? The drinks were included in the ticket. I told you that these people know how to throw a party.
Out on the deck, we were treated to a constant flow of hors d'oeuvres and champagne. The waiters brought everything from oysters on the half shell to little chicken filled pastries. As the sun began to set, we were treated to a private air show. I could really get used to this lifestyle!

When the show was over, we headed back inside for a fantastic meal. Once again, this was not the type of food that you normally get at military functions. There were several courses, and each was presented with a different wine selection. We had fish with white wine, veal with red, croquettes next, then wrapped it all up with a raspberry torte. Yummmmm!

At 10 pm, the band started up and the dancing began. Now it was time to work off all of that food!
The ball was a complete success, and we thank our hosts for letting us come to their party. They put on quite the show!

To Antique Or Not To Antique, That Is The Question!

Such a deep topic for a beautiful and relaxing Friday afternoon, but it does seem to be the question of the day. The hubby and I were talking about the chairs I found yesterday at the Antique shop. Let me just start by saying that Russ is pretty easy going, and rarely comments about anything I spend money on. (I say rarely, because we've all had those moments when we've brought something home and the hubby says "You spent good money on THAT?????") Anyway, I've been looking for a couple of chairs for our living room for almost two months now. We've been to furniture stores, antique shops, etc. I've found lots of things I like, but not the perfect item yet. (It doesn't help that I'm easily distracted by all the other goodies that they have at these places!) Last night, the hubby asked me these questions: Do you really want an old chair that hundreds of strange butts have been sitting on? Why would you spend that much money on a used chair when you can get a brand new one for the same price--or less? He does have a point. Technically, something has to be at least 100 years old to be a true antique, but there is a lot of gray area here, depending on who you talk to. How do you decide whether something is antique, or just old? It does seem like a strange practice to get old furniture from someones house and then put it in your own. Technically, that would mean that antiquing is nothing more than a snobby form of garage sale shopping. Just the word makes the item so much nicer. Think about it. I got this chair at a garage sale. Eeeeeeewww! I got this chair at an antique shop. Oooooohhhh! I guess the hubby does make some sense after all. Now I'm back to searching for chairs in furniture stores. Check out this FABULOUS coffee table I found while looking. Wouldn't that look great in the living room? (Didn't I mention that I'm easily distracted?) Besides, it's not my fault. The hubby sent me here to shop. Oh, in case you are interested, when Russ came home last night and saw the pig trough sitting in the corner of the dining room, he took one look and said, "Do I even want to know what that is?" "Uh, no," I replied. "You don't."

Speculoos Cookie Molds And Mooooore

I have been bad once again. I haven't blogged anything for about a week. In my defense, the hubby was away on a TDY and I just didn't get out and take pictures of things like I normally do. Well, I did take pictures of a few things, but The Teenager doesn't want pictures of her playing volleyball and sweating making the rounds on the Internet, so I was banned from blogging about that. (Now the picture that created in your mind was SOOOO much worse than the actual pictures I took, and that will be my revenge against The Teenager! I'm just saying.) To make up for my bad blogging behavior, I forced myself to get out today and go to the antique shop. I didn't want to, mind you, but I knew that you wouldn't be happy unless I had something to blog about. I drug Denise with me this time (I'm sure her husband will thank me for that) and we found lots of lovely goodies to entertain ourselves with. I did have something specific that I wanted to buy, though, and I am very proud to say that I stuck with it. I picked up three Speculoos cookie molds.

Speculoos cookies have been referred to as either spice cookies or ginger biscuits. They taste kind of like graham crackers, with a hint of gingerbread thrown in for good measure. You can buy them at the local bakeries and grocery stores, and they are delicious. They are traditionally made around Christmas time, and the dough is pressed into cookies in these hand carved wooden forms. They also have a Speculoos paste that is really yummy! It looks like peanut butter, but is much sweeter. It tastes more like caramel, and spread on the Speculoos cookies...mmmmmmm! For another treat, follow Brandon's advice and try the Speculoos ice cream. That's the only type of ice cream he wants to eat now, and they serve it up at freshly made at Leonidas in Peer. Anyway, back to the important business of shopping. These molds were on my wish list, and they will look quite nice hanging on my kitchen wall. As I was checking out the molds, this beauty caught my eye. I'd seen them before and always loved them, so today I decided that this one was coming home with me. It's a beautiful, hand carved wood bowl called a trog. I had some ideas about what it was used for, and my number one guess was something that they put bread dough in to rise. Baked goods are very popular in this country. Google translator was soon to send this idea crashing to the ground.

Farm animals are also very popular in Belgium. The word trog is Dutch for trough. So now, I will be decorating my house with something that was once used to slop the hogs or feed the cows. Somehow, it seems to work. This way, when someone asks my kids if they were raised in a barn, they can say with all confidence, "My Mom is working on it!"

Note to hubby: If you happen to read this entry, they had this pair of lovely chairs at the shop as well. If you were to happen to drive by there in some large vehicle, and they happened to find themselves in the back of said vehicle, I wouldn't have a problem with that. I'm just saying.

NATO Tiger Meet 2009

Today was Family Day at the 2009 NATO Tiger Meet at Kleine Brogel. It's hosted by a different European country each time, and this year it was Belgium's turn. It's a pretty big deal, and Tiger Meet has lots of activities that span from September 14 - 25. Today was our day to go out with all the locals and check out the aircraft. Tiger Meet was originally started in 1959 as a way to build relations between the individual squadrons in NATO. The squadrons shared the Tiger as their symbol. It stands for "strength, speed and hunting prowess." What started as a small social event has become a pretty big show over the years. More and more countries are getting involved. And yes, that is one snazzy little paint job!
Tiger Meet isn't just a social event. It has evolved into a flying exercise, as well as a competition. They fly combat exercises, or "Tiger Games." The squadron that does the best is awarded the Silver Tiger Trophy at the end of the Meet. Belgium's 31st Tiger Squadron has won the trophy 8 times. We're really proud of our local fellows.

I know it's hard to see, but this is the new tail flash that was unveiled at this years Tiger Meet. It's the side of a white tiger's head.
This one was pretty impressive as well. It's a painting of a Hawk in flight.

This pilot was heading to the flight line when we ran into him. I took this through the windshield, so excuse the fact that it's a little blurry. He was flying by so fast, it was all I could do to get the picture before he was gone. (Check out his copilot.) For most people, it would be hard to drive this and still look cool. I'm happy to say that this fellow pulled it off quite nicely. If you would like to learn more about the NATO Tiger Meet 2009, here is a link to their official website. http://www.natotigers.org/

Tongeren

We stopped by Tongeren on Saturday on our way home from Liege, so I thought I'd share a few pictures with you. Tongeren is the oldest town in Belgium, founded in 15 BC. This is the Basilica of Our Lady. To say it's an amazing sight, is a huge understatement. The bell tower is 64 meters tall. We stopped here because I really want to get a picture of the front of the church. My plan was thwarted once again. The first time I saw the Basilica, it was on a Sunday (Antique Market day). I had only been in Belgium a few days, and was still dealing with jet lag, so I didn't get many pictures. Besides, I was really focusing on the antiques. Who could blame me? This time, they were setting up for a carnival of sorts, so there were rides and food vendors everywhere. Darn, I must force myself to visit the town once again. It's a tough life, isn't it?

Something amazing did happen, though. When we came around the corner to look at the front of the church, we noticed a sign by the door. "Open to visitors." We actually got to go in! My only regret is that I didn't get any pictures, but there were locals inside, and I didn't want to be rude. Let me just say that it was more than I could have imagined. The main section of the church is huge and all open, with amazing stone arches in the ceiling and stunning stained glass windows on each side, reflecting the light. There are lower roofed sections along the left and right, with confessionals and alters in each little area. Each hand carved, dark wood confessional is different from the next. In the back of the church was the largest brass pipe organ that I have ever seen. It looks like nothing has changed in hundreds of years, and that's what makes it so perfect. Just outside the Basilica is an archaeological site, where you can see the remains of an excavated Roman tower from the 4th century. I understand that most of Tongeren is an archaeological wonderland. As we walked along the streets back to the van, we happened upon this deserted road, with thousands of lilies hanging above it. I wonder what the story is behind that...