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The Cruise of a Lifetime-Part 5

22 Jun

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

After sailing all night, we have moved onto the Main River (pronounced mine).  Today was a sailing morning so we slept in.  We got up, showered, dressed and went to breakfast.  We were joined by Richard, Judy and Lucy, better knowing as Lucy B.

We went through one lock during breakfast.  We had gone through many locks overnight.  It is a fascinating procedure to watch…and sometimes a bit nerve-wracking!!  The ship is designed so that, when we go under a low bridge, all the chairs on the top deck are flattened, the sunscreen is collapsed, and the “bridge” is banished to its hiding place, so that everything up top is “flat.”

At 10:00 there was a glass blowing demonstration in the Lounge.  The glass blower did the traditional demonstration in the Chilhuly style.  He makes his products like Pyrex. According to the info sheet: “(he) creates an exquisite work of art from industrial glass in this captivating demonstration.”  He displayed his wares, and they were fascinating.  He had oil and vinegar bottles that I would have loved to get for myself and our girls, but we had to think about shipment, and so didn’t.  He had jewelry – earrings and such.  Really beautiful artwork.  Below are a few examples of Chilhuly glass works.

(Credit to:  By Patche99z – Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5328589)

After lunch in the restaurant,  we began the walking tour of Miltenberg, “The Pearl of the Main River.”

It is a neat old town.  Fred and I thought we had been there before, when we lived in Germany, but we didn’t recognize anything we saw.  Here are some good pictures of the town that we took.

They even have directions to the loo! 

We had a good guide.  (NOTE: all the guides that Viking uses are locals, and they really know their stuff about the towns we visited.  We were impressed)  There is a red sandstone that is used locally as well as sent all over the world, as it is quite desirable.  We walked and walked the town.  Quite unique.

Courtesy Wikipedia 

We were back on board the ship after a bus ride from the foot of the Red Stone Bridge.  The ship had traveled farther up the river, and we caught up with it and re-boarded. 

We had dinner in the ship’s restaurant, and our table mates were Velma and Jeff from Australia

and two others, whose names we didn’t get.  Velma suggested a way that she designated her pictures:  She would take a photo of the daily information sheet that is given to each cabin, with the date visible, and any photos following that photo belonged to that day.  I thought it was a good way to keep track of the photos I was taking, and began doing what she suggested.  It seemed to work out quite well.  I was impressed with her suggestion, and told her so with my thanks.

We were really tired and so to bed early.  Our old age is showing!

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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The Cruise of a Lifetime-Part 4

15 Jun

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Reblog

After the excursion to the Marksburg Castle, we were scheduled for a cruise up the Middle Rhein River (from Koblenz to Mainz), and to see all the castles along the way.  Unfortunately, the area had been having a drought for some time, and the river was low. 

Let me explain about the ship we were on.  It is a “long” ship (443 feet), only two passenger levels, since it must pass through some “locks” along the way.

A larger, deeper, ocean-sailing ship wouldn’t be able to navigate those locks.  Therefore, because the river was so low, we were unable to traverse the Middle Rhein River on the Gefjon.  All the passengers (185) – and a few of the crew – were transferred to another ship for the Rhein River cruise.  While our luggage and most of the crew stayed with the Gefjon, they were forced to dump of all the fresh water they had on board (over 100,000 gallons).  In spite of all that, there were spots along the way where there was only 12″ of water below the ship!  So I guess it was a good thing we were off!  Didn’t want to get grounded!

So, instead of seeing the castles from our ship, we all were transferred to the Konigsbacher – a tourist/sight-seeing boat – for the remainder of the day.

 We played “cat and mouse” with the Gefjon all the way to Bingen – we would be in front for a while, then the Gefjon would be in front.  Fun to watch, with the crew waving at us as we passed each other. 

 We did see some castles (we counted 31) while we sailed, and Carl West described them to us.  However, as it was beginning to get too dark to see any other castles, Carl announced that it would be another 90 minutes before we could board the Gefjon again!  Many groans!!  I looked at Fred and vehemently said – “where’s my Kindle???!!!”  Unfortunately, it was locked up in the safe in our room.  It was a rather boring 90 minutes, for sure.  Billie (our concierge)  and the boat’s crew brought out cake and tea for us – charged to Viking, which was nice.

There was a flag flying on the Konigsbacher and I wondered what it represented.  When I asked the crew, they said it represents their home town.

We finally stopped at Bingen, and both the Gefjon and the Konigsbacher were lashed together, so there were only a few steps to get across to get to the Gefjon.

We were finally able to get to supper at 7:30 p.m.  Our table mates were Nancy and Jim from Arizona (they formerly lived in Metro West in Orlando), and Rachael and her mother, Carol, from Sacramento, California.  Rachael earned her law degree from UNM (the University of New Mexico).

Bed by 10:00 p.m. and we were very tired!

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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The Cruise of a Lifetime-Part 4

8 Jun

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Re-blog

I’ve not mentioned that, before each meal, Fred and I would “excuse” ourselves from the rest of the table, to say our blessing.  This morning, at the breakfast table, as we were beginning to excuse ourselves, the other gentleman at the table leaned toward me, arm and hand outstretched across the empty chair between us, and said, “Looks like you are about to thank the Lord.”  When I agreed, we all took hands and prayed.  After prayer, I told him that he sounded like a preacher.  He grinned and said, “well…….”

They turned out to be Richard and Judy, with their widowed friend, Lucy (Richard called her “Lucy B”).  They are from Fort Worth, Texas, and he is the Worship Leader for the 8:00 a.m. service at the North Richland Hills Baptist Church.  He also directs the Senior Adult Choir there.  So while he is not a preacher, he is in the Christian ministry.

Richard and Judy flank Lucy 

We found several points in common:  His wife’s name is Judy – I am Judy.  She is a pianist – I am a pianist (of sorts).  I asked her one time:  If you are eating a piece of cake, what is your favorite part, the cake or the icing?  Her response?  THE ICING!  I gave an air fist pump and a whoop of joy – because that’s MY favorite part of a piece of cake, as well!  WOW….are we twins?

We struck up an instant friendship.   Judy is the pianist for the service at their church (he affectionately calls her “Sister Judy” – i.e. “play us something in the key of G, Sister Judy”).   He would address me occasionally as “Judy2.”

Just a note here to say that the first four years Fred and I were married were spent in Fort Worth, while Fred attended and graduated from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.  We are quite familiar with Fort Worth.

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, the Rotunda 

While Lucy was up getting her food, we talked about Fort Worth and seminary.  He mentioned that Lucy was a Baylor University graduate, and I told him about my Dad being one of the three students at Baylor in the very first graduating class in the School of Music in 1924.

When Lucy returned, he informed her that my Dad was a Baylor grad.  She blinked and looked at me.  Our conversation took off from there.  She is a die-hard Baylorite!

There is also another connection between Richard and us – he was the Minister of Music  for the First Baptist Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico – my original home church – in the 1970’s!   We began comparing notes on people we both had known while there.  Absolutely amazing!


Original building, First Baptist Church, Albuquerque, New Mexico 

Following breakfast, I wasn’t feeling very well, so I stayed in the stateroom, while Fred went on an excursion (walking tour) to the Marksburg Castle.  He came back saying that it had been a VERY difficult walk/climb, and I would not have been able to manage all the steps and the climb.  I was glad I had stayed home!  But he took lots of pictures, and said it was a delightful castle to explore.  I’m glad he was able to make the jaunt by himself.

~~~~~~~~~~Part 4 to be continued~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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The Cruise of a Lifetime Part 3

1 Jun

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Reblog

Our second morning began again with breakfast.   We shared our table with Tina and Bob.

We had sailed overnight to Cologne, Germany, and arrived about 10:30 a.m. Shortly thereafter, we began the walking tour of the historical center of the city.  Our guide told us that Cologne is the oldest city in Germany.  It dates back to around AD 50, when the Romans established a major settlement.   We had a really interesting guide.  He told us how the Romans conquered one side of the river – the side we were on – but couldn’t get across to the other side.  They called the people on the other side “barbarians.”  Now, the politically correct people call them the “cross-eyed” people instead.

In 1709, Italian expat and Cologne resident Giovani Farina created a citrus-scented toiletry he dubbed “Eau de Cologne” in honor of his adopted city.  Other perfumeries followed, especially Wilhelm Meulhens, who founded the famous “4711″ brand (named after the address of his manufacturing building).  There are several museums in the area, as well as a Chocolate Museum – which we didn’t get to!

Because it was Sunday we could not get into the cathedral until after services, so we walked around the outside of it and the square.  Our guide told us about the cathedral, how long it took to build which part, which was the oldest, etc.  He gave us other information about Cologne.  He was a very interesting man.

Many years ago, while we were living in Germany and took our own tours of the country, we visited Cologne, and found a fountain that depicted an interesting and funny story about German workers. 

Judy in front of the fountain – 1969 
The fountain in 1983 

 While on our tour, we walked right up to the fountain – called the Elves of Cologne.  We were so excited!  We thought we would have to find it on our own, and there it was!  

Wikipedia says:  The Heinzelmännchen are a race of creatures appearing in a tale connected with the city of Cologne in Germany.  The little house gnomes are said to have done all the work of the citizens of Cologne during the night, so that the inhabitants of Cologne could be very lazy during the day.  According to the legend, this went on until a tailor’s wife got so curious to see the gnomes that she scattered peas onto the floor of the workshop to make the gnomes slip and fall.  The gnomes, being infuriated, disappeared and never returned. From that time on, the citizens of Cologne had to do all their work by themselves.

After lunch and naps on the ship, Fred and I went back out into Cologne to find a book on the Elves of Cologne, which we found in the “information” building.  The story is essentially what I remember about it.

Our dinner companions that night were an Australian couple, Velma and Jeff.

We also had Jill and Roy from Albuquerque, New Mexico (actually Belen).  He is a retired veterinarian, and she is a retired nurse.  We had a most interesting talk about Albuquerque    We also had dinner with Rich and Mary from Pennsylvania who we ate with the first night on board.  

Back to the room and relatively early to bed.  These are long days, and we still aren’t over our jetlag.

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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The Cruise of a Lifetime Part 2 Reblog

4 May

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

The first real day of our cruise started with breakfast.  There is a “buffet” breakfast in the restaurant, with a chef making omelets – made to order. 

Our ship, the Gefjon (gef’- ee – on) is named after a Norwegian goddess.   Interesting. 

Our first excursion took us to Kinderdijk (kinder-dike), Holland (the Netherlands). 

This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  We saw a building with three huge Archimedes screws.  

From the original 150 windmills in the area, only 28 are left, and Kinderdijk has the largest collection of working windmills in that small area – 19 in all. 

We saw the windmills – went into one – and saw the polders the windmills gather water from.  The windmills are used to pump water from the polders using internal or external scoops into reservoirs on two levels.   We were amazed at the size of the mills, and sails that are placed on the blades – it is all mechanical.  We were also amazed to see that the caretakers actually lived within the windmill.  Small spaces, and usually when the father died, the son took over.

The one we went in was old – made entirely from bricks.  The newer ones looked like they were made from “shingles.”  Most of these windmills date from 1738 through 1740.

The ship supplied us with “receivers” and ear pieces that we plugged into the receivers that hung from lanyards around our necks.  Each tour guide had a “channel” that we tuned into.  That way they could talk normally and we couldn’t hear what the other guides were saying (different channel).  It was a very convenient way to do the tours.  We had them with us at all times on our excursions.  The ship also supplied us each with bottled water on each excursion.

Back on board, we began our sail to Cologne, Germany.  Still being rather tired, we both took a nap, until it was time for the mandatory safety drill – including wearing our life jackets.  We have to get over that jet lag!

We had a light lunch in the Aquavit Lounge.  Usually set up as a buffet on the Terrace – much quicker and as good as in the restaurant.

After lunch we checked on our e-mail.  Fred got one of the hostesses to set up our phones to receive e-mail. 

We took in a Dutch teatime in the Aquavit Lounge.  They served lots of goodies, and flavorful, interesting hot tea.

Nearing dinnertime, there was a “Toast to Our Guests” by Captain Marcel Stephan and Hotel Manager Harald Halswanter in the Aquavit Lounge. 

It was a welcome time for the guests of the ship.  That room was used for many things, including the daily briefing about the next day’s excursions by Program Director, Carl West.  Carl followed the tours on each excursion, taking pictures.  Each evening, those pictures would scroll through the two monitors set up in the lounge.  It was fun to find pictures of yourselves on those monitors.

Dinner in the restaurant.  Everyone at the table had the Chateaubriand, and it was  wonderful! 

Our table mates were Steve and Jane from Colorado, and Lola and Judy from Minnesota.  Jane had recently had back surgery, and while in physical therapy, fell onto her back and re-injured herself.  She was moving rather gingerly and always used a cane when she walked.

Another long, busy day, and the bed felt really good!!

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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The Cruise of a Lifetime

27 Apr

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

PART 1 – GETTING THERE– Reblogged.

We had been investigating a Viking River Cruise in Europe for a while, but decided they were just too expensive.  However, Fred was able to find a really….REALLY….good deal, and we snatched it up.  We were scheduled for November 5 – November 20, 2015.

Our flight was scheduled for departure on Thursday, November 5, at 4:20 p.m., but it was delayed until 5:06 p.m. with mechanical problems.  We finally boarded the plane hoping to leave soon.  The plane started to back out but the pilot said the engines were doing the same thing they were doing before, so he took it back to the terminal.  Fred checked with the Delta people, and they said our connection in Detroit would wait for us.  

We were delayed again when we entered the plane and then deplaned a third time.   Fred then checked with the international Delta people and they got us on a Lufthansa leaving for Frankfurt, Germany at about 8:20 p.m. – about 20 minutes from then!  That was four hours after we were originally scheduled to leave.  They said our flight from Detroit would NOT have waited that long for us.  We had been given some really bad information.  We were also quite glad we had carried all our luggage with us!

After arriving in Frankfurt on Friday morning, we boarded another Lufthansa to Amsterdam.  We finally arrived in Amsterdam about 2:30 p.m.  Fortunately, the Viking people were there picking up other late-arriving guests.  They thought we had decided to cancel, and just not come.  We took a Viking bus to the ship, the Viking Gefjon (pronounced gef’- ee-on)

and found our state room, number 325.

These ships are called “long ships” for a good reason!

After a late lunch buffet in the Aquavit Lounge Terrace, 

we rested some, then tried to email but had no success with that.  They had a computer station, but the laptops were “International” versions, with some of the keys rearranged, and with international symbols that we weren’t accustomed to.  It was a bit nerve-wracking to try to type any kind of message!

We had no time to take in anything in Amsterdam, much to our regret.  However, we have been to Amsterdam many times during our times living in Germany, so we didn’t feel too cheated.

The Chef’s Dinner was in the restaurant.  There is only one restaurant on board, and all meals are eaten there, and together.  Most tables are set for six people, with a few large enough for eight or 10.  Our table mates that evening were from Tucson, Arizona, and from Pennsylvania.  There was no assigned seating, and we were able to meet quite a few of our fellow shipmates during the cruise.  After we had ordered our meal, Fred left the ship and quickly went to a corner store to get some items we couldn’t carry on the airplane. 

We went to bed early, as it had been a long day.

Oh and by the way, as I was getting off the last flight in Amsterdam, overloaded with bags, overbalanced and fell getting off the airplane and into the jetway.  So far, no lingering effects from that.  

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Fear

13 Apr

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Re-blog

I would like to preface this re-blog for those who read my posts.  

My beloved, wonderful husband Fred, suffered a stroke mid-March 2025. 

 Because of that, I feel that I  need to concentrate on him and his care.  Consequently, I will be doing a series of re-blogs of previous postings.  Perhaps most of them have been read, but sometimes it’s nice to re-read something we enjoy.

But before I start with the “series” I would like to present this particular one.  It was written during the Covid lockdown, but in re-reading it, I realized that it fits my/our situation today just as much as it did then.

  I fear for my husband’s recovery…I fear for our new life – it will never be as it was, and I shall miss it.  

HOWEVER….I will NOT allow Satan to make me live in that FEAR!!  I serve and love and honor a loving, living God who only has good for me and my Fred, and we are willing to plant our feet, dig in, and conquer this stroke!!  Praise be to His Holy Name!

And so….

QUARANTINE TIME – TAKE 3 Reblog

I’m sincerely hoping that this will be the final “Quarantine Time” post I will make.  I hope that for the most part, it will be over by next week, and the country will be up and running as it should be.

However, along that line, there was something on facebook recently that really caught my eye.  I would like to present it to you here.

Each one of these has predicted the same thing – we’re ALL going to die!  Well, yes, we are – eventually.  As my beloved father-in-law said, “100% of us die.”  But we do NOT have to live in fear.

And that brings me to something else I saw on facebook:   

Fear does not stop death.  It stops life.  And worrying does not take away tomorrow’s troubles.  It takes away today’s peace.

And yet again:   I never thought I would see a time that so many people were so afraid of dying that they were willing to stop living.

I mentioned to someone recently that my step-father was the stereotypical pessimist.  For instance, as we were about to go to Germany in 1980 for our three year tour in Heidelberg, my step-father said to me, “well, I hope to see you again!”

Almost in a fury, I turned to him and said: “Sid, if the balloon goes up (world war 3) while we are overseas, one of two things will happen – I’ll either live or I’ll die.  If it is God’s timing for me to die, then NOTHING in this world can keep me here.  If I am to live, then NOTHING in this world can take me out.  I REFUSE TO LIVE IN FEAR!”

And that has pretty much been my mantra ever since.  My life is in God’s hands, and I trust Him completely.  And if it is, indeed, time for me to die, then I know I will be instantly in the presence of my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!  Nothing is better than that.  

The peace of mind that brings to me is far beyond anything I could imagine.  And as I said before, I REFUSE TO LIVE IN FEAR!’

Jesus promised:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.

I do not give to you as the world gives. 

Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

John 14:27

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:7

Do not live in fear!  God has your back!

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Let’s Eat!-Pork Tenderloin Roast

6 Apr

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

When Fred and I lived in Wiesbaden, West Germany (1967-1970), we made a trip to a town called Idar-Oberstein.  It was a fascinating town – with a church built right into the mountain wall.  Amazing!

Credit Google Search and Dreamstime

I don’t remember why we went there, and only a little about the shopping we did there.  Idar-Oberstein is known for the beautiful and sometimes rare gemstones mined in the area.  I did come away with a lovely necklace made from garnet.  The stones are not all exactly perfect or the same, but to me that marks it as unique.  

Garnet necklace

Box for the Garnet necklace – Engel-Stein store in Idar-Oberstein

But while we were there, we ate at a lovely Gasthause, and had a pork tenderloin roast that just melted in our mouths!  Each piece had been slow roasting or slow cooking most of the day, and the taste was amazing!  I’m not sure just what spices they used on this piece of meat, and I’ve had a difficult time finding something like it.  It wasn’t shaped like the tenderloin roasts we get these days, but was more like a “lump” of meat, about 5″ in diameter and round.  Truly amazing.

At one point in time, after Fred joined the U.S. Air Force, Fred’s mother gave me a cookbook published by the Air Force Wives.  In paging through it, I found a recipe for a “salt marinated” pork tenderloin that seemed as close to that tenderloin roast as I’ve ever found.  

Credit Judy Wills

While I don’t make it often, this is the recipe I use for it.  It’s quite good.

SALT MARINATED PORK ROAST

1 lb. pork tenderloin

1 tsp salt

⅛ tsp freshly ground pepper

¼ tsp ground thyme or sage

⅛ tsp ground bay leaf

Pinch of allspice

½ clove mashed garlic

1.   Mix all ingredients; rub into the surface of pork tenderloin.

2.   Place the tenderloin in a covered bowl; turn meat 2-3 times.  

3.   Scrape off marinade before cooking; dry meat thoroughly with paper towels. 

4.   Cover; roast in 325° oven 30-45 minutes per pound.

JUDY’S NOTES:

1.   Do this in the morning, or early afternoon, and turn the meat 2-3 times.  I put mine in a long, flat, Tupperware and just flip the whole thing over.

2.   I just use paper towels to get the marinade off.

3.   I cook it in a long pan, and cover the pan with foil.  You don’t have to turn the meat over as it is cooking.

ENJOY!!

~~~~~~~~~~The End – Unless I find something else~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Lunch with Friends with a Side Order of Covid

3 Apr

Florida weather is beginning to fully behave like Florida weather. The winter was very pleasant with a nice mix of chilly nights and mild days. Now that spring has arrived the chilly nights are history and the air conditioner is running 24/7. The weather forecast for the next seven days are predicted to be in the mid 80s.

As the saying goes, “the mountains are calling and I must go.”

Soon we will be packing and heading out. I checked the weather forecast for our first week home and lows will be in the 30s with highs in the 60s. I plan to soak up the last of the cold.

We can see on our security cameras that our daffodils are blooming and the Japanese maple trees are shedding their winter brown and will soon be flush in reddish purple.

Two deer visited a few nights ago. I think they were checking out my husband’s grape vines. He is convinced the deer believe he grows grapes just for them. Our hosta plants haven’t awoke from their winter sleep but they will any day now. I suspect the deer were checking them out as well.

For several weeks I have been trying to arrange a lunch with a life long friend. She had been dealing with dental issues and eating was a chore for her. Finally last week she called to say her dental issues were almost resolved and we could meet. Almost as an after thought she mentioned she had seen a mutual friend, T, in a store, who moved away several years ago. She asked if I would like to include her in our lunch. I said, absolutely.

The three of us met up in a newly opened Buffett restaurant. We talked and laughed and it was almost like we were those young women of long ago.

As part of reconnecting, we discussed where we were living. T knew of our plans to move the the North Carolina mountains and I knew that when she left Florida she moved to eastern North Carolina. I told her we divide our time between Florida and the mountains. To my surprise she said we do too! Turns out that our homes in the mountains are about 50 miles apart and I go to their town frequently.

In the course of conversations, I asked T where she was staying in Florida. When she named the street she has a condo, my mouth dropped open. Her condo is on the same street where we stay in the winter. She had been there five years! How could this be?

I was delighted to know she was a neighbor and we decided to get together again before we left for that mountains. That was on Thursday.

Saturday morning I received a text asking if I was feeling alright. My first thought was oh no, food poisoning. I told her I was fine. She wasn’t and neither was T. Both of them began feeling ill on Friday and woke up during Friday night with fever and chills. Turns out they both had Covid and feeling pretty miserable. Since both my friends are single ladies, I’ve been texting every day to see if they need anything. So far they have everything they need and thankfully they are on the mend.

We have been wondering why I haven’t come down with Covid. Our best theory is the Buffett may have been contaminated. They both ate peel and eat shrimp and I didn’t, so maybe that was the source.

We definitely are planning to meet up when we are both back in Western NC. And I suspect we won’t be lunching at a buffet.

We enjoyed our time in Florida with our daughter. We will miss her and grand dog Ollie.

Ollie enjoys sitting at the window watching the birds.

I will miss her fast internet. Our mountain internet delivers a whopping 6 mbps on a good day. Rumor has it that fiber is coming this year. Fingers crossed. Until then, I learn a lot of patience waiting for downloads.

PS Today is our 54th wedding anniversary.

I'm a winner

After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I’m a general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  

My 2024 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media.

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Let’s Eat! Fiesta Chicken

30 Mar

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wils

Some years ago, our oldest daughter, Karen found a recipe that she and Brian really enjoy eating.  It’s official name is “Fiesta Chicken Crock Pot” but they lovingly call it “yardbird.”  So when we – or they – talk about having “yardbird” we know exactly what we are talking about.  Fred really likes this dish, and since it’s a crock pot dish that I can put in the pot early in the day and just let it cook…I like it as well!

Try it…you might like it!!  (The comments are from the originator of this recipe – not me)

Fiesta Chicken Crockpot Recipe

Photo Credit on photo
  • 4 chicken breast (frozen or raw)
  • 1 packet Fiesta Ranch dip (by the salad dressing)
  • 1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
  • 1 can Ro-tel
  • 1 block cream cheese

Cook on high in the slow cooker for 4 hours or 6 on low. Shred with forks and eat over rice  or tortillas.

As I probably told you, I no longer buy the Hidden Valley Ranch Fiesta Ranch packet (though it’s certainly easy that way); I get a regular ranch packet and sprinkle the ground red pepper over the concoction instead. Same difference. I also don’t bother to rinse the black beans, but I do drain the can before putting them in. 

The cream cheese doesn’t need to cook all day with the chicken. In fact, it might curdle if you boil it. I typically toss it in about 40 minutes before we eat, it just needs to get soft enough for you to stir in.

My kiddos are typically difficult with new foods, so I made a few adjustments to keep the peace. I used Pinto Beans in place of the black and a taco seasoning packet, instead of Ranch. HUGE HIT! I also noticed it was soupy  so about an hour before dinner, I threw in a couple handfuls of rice – PRESTO! Problem solved! Thanks!

JUDY’S COMMENT:  The original recipe calls for adding corn to the mix, but neither Fred nor I can eat corn anymore (doesn’t agree with our plumbing), so I just leave it out.  If we are at Karen’s house, and she fixes this, she typically leaves it out, and adds another can of Ro-tel.

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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