Drinks, Dancing Dog, Bread & BBQ

10/6/12
I almost cursed the weather person today!  We had planned another trip to the Rhine but moved it to tomorrow because rain was predicted for today, & by noon, we hadn't seen a drop.  But it did show up--all afternoon, so our decision was affirmed.  We hope to do that trip tomorrow & used today for errands & housekeeping.  Don't remind me later, but it actually felt good (maybe familiar is the right word) to vacuum, dust & do laundry....

I digress from the title.  Let's drink!  First beer.  Getraenkmarkt, is the word for a beer store with some wine, & today a big vat of apple cider, slightly fermented.  These places almost feel like supply houses, or a beer distributor.  Beer's available in all quantities (but I haven's seen six packs or canned beer yet).  Today, Chris & Dave bought 2 cases of half liter bottles of beer for about one euro per bottle.  The cases are plastic, & most people just swap their empties for full ones at the time of purchase.  The bottle deposit is about 10 cents apiece.

Large, one liter bottles of water, sparkling or still, are also available at the drink store.

This is the delicious unfiltered unpasteurized cider they brought home.  It tastes just like crisp tart apples.  I know the photo doesn't make it look good.  I was too lazy to lift that big container out of the frig.

Dave & I bought these 2 breads today, & both were quite good. The first is a seed bread, & the second is called farmers bread.  Both are sturdy with delicious crusts.  My trusty bread baker husband gave them thumbs up & even says he thinks German bread is better than French except for baguettes.  Yikes---that's high praise!

Dana & Chris really did like the placemats we bought them, & here they are on the table.

We had another tasty dinner thanks to Dana.  Chris grilled pork chops & veggies with Diego's help.

And Dana made a traditional German salad, 3 in 1, 3 salads together in one bowl.  It's a carrot salad, a white radish one & a Caesar.  Quite different & good---a salad buffet if you will.

It's still raining, & I'm about to go to bed.  I hope the weather predictions are correct for tomorrow with only a 20% chance of rain.

Here's a great picture of my favorite granddog, Diego, dancing!

THOUGHT OF THE DAY:  Penn State just beat Northwestern, so Dave's happy, & Laura Beth isn't.