Book: Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Just finished the book: Between a Rock and a Hard place.

How do you like this quote from the book:

"Our bodies even take on a look that is largely the result of our lifestyle."

I also liked this one:

"Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents, which, in prosperous circumstances, would have lain dormant." Horace

My favorite:

"I had fallen prey to the mentality that places sole value on achievement while overlooking the process of achieving".

Oh and one more:

"People say we are searching for the meaning of life. I think we are seeking an experience of being alive."

Lastly:

"Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do." Goeth

Perks of being part of the Paris Mission....

I tried not to get the same old, same old shots, but some are just too good to pass up.

Always pleasant along the Seine.

I thought this was a different shot...kind of cool. I was taking this picture when a gypsy came up to me and asked if I had lost the gold ring she found. I took it. She of course wanted money to compensate for finding the ring.....I fell for it. Gave her 40 cents. She was mad. I gave her the ring back, but wished I would have kept it, then what would she have done?

I was trying to get lost.....trying to find new places. This bldg I have never seen...really unusual!

Montmartre...you have to get a nutella crepe. No option, you have to, so I did!

Dinner together: I had to veto the first place Dan picked b/c it was too expensive. He is used to dining on the company expense tab!

Lara saw this first, but I couldn't resist getting a picture as well: who knew that exaltation was for sale? and at half price! what a deal!!!

You can bike in the rain!

This trip to the Mosel river wasn't the typical....we stayed at Hotel Zehnthof in Urzig. We had an upstairs window with a view of the river.

The sunset was really pretty over the village and water.

Tom was convinced we were crazy to attempt it in the rain. Everyone was a trooper and we had a great time, despite the rain! We had good rain gear so we stayed dry.

Notice the '12' is at the bottom of the clock instead of at the top. I still don't know why the clocks were this way, but they all were....Seth do you remember why?

Even grey, dark, misty days are pretty

The foursome. A little rain never stopped us.

Bernkastle Kues. Larry and Robyn were tons of fun to hang out with. Always ready for an adventure and thoroughly flexible. I would travel with them again in a heartbeat.

Super Dads

It's not often we have more than Tom here to honor as a great father....but this year we had Dan, and Larry as well as Tom

Pineapple Upside-Down cake. Still Tom's request when he has the choice. Great to have Dan and Lara here to celebrate with. We chatted so much that time slipped away way too fast.

It's a nice day to reflect on your Dad...and how much they have sacrificed and loved you....so a big thanks to my Dad as well, who is really grand, and who I still miss sometimes.

Varenna

Peaceful setting. Varenna is a small village across the lake from Bellagio.

The fishermen actually caught something.

An alleyway with homes and shops.

We ate dinner at this exclusive villa. There was a party coming in after us...but for my picture, the table was set and ready for them....doesn't it look inviting? Tom thinks it's another great idea for Heber: the pillars, the green overhang....all overlooking the view.

We are smiling now, but we haven't received the bill yet....just kidding, it turned out to be a good price. Did they get it right? Still don't know.

Still at the Villa/Restaurant....nice view off of the veranda

More views.

Tom ordered spaghetti vongole.....and it had more clams than noodles. He was happy.

We definitely hit two of the gems of Italy. The Dolomites and Lake Como. I hate to think that might be my last time to that area.

The Jet Set

Villa on the peninsula....but are they happy? (probably!)

We were all happy to have such gorgeous, sunny, warm weather!

Swimming in Lake Como. We all went in....except Larry who manned the boat and the camera.

Waterfalls abound....and so do the picturesque villages

Captain Herway

Car Ferry

Bellagio

Shopping!

The veranda. I always wanted to go back....and it's as good as I remembered.

Val Gardena in the summer

such a lovely mountain stream. it's like there was a little fairy to plant the wildflowers!

Looks more Austrian than Italian. I think that's the idea, however!

The Greens are fun to hang out with. Especially since Larry has to practice every day, we get our own concerts. It's fabulous.

Quaint little church in the mountains: Val Gardena Italy

In front of our Pension. We had this view from our balcony

Cute little dairy farmer who was outside of our pension taking care of his cows!

It's been really rainy and wet all spring. The wild flowers are loving it.

Doesn't it look like a manicured golf course??? Who mows it?

You can see our car in the car park. We hiked up another 30 minutes or so to the top. I love being outside all day.

Early B-day

the view from our window in the morning

the same view at night

we could have watched the barges all day long!

The Bistro

Tarte flambee....with rucola and ham. So good!

The Kloster

Konigswinter ferry

Top floor apartment....Tom lived there when he was 10 and 11 years old! Still looks the same. (the apartment that is!)

The Presbyterian Church

Stake Conference got in the way this year: so Tom and I decided to celebrate my birthday a couple of days early.

We drove to Bonn Germany...well, really Plittersdorf. We got a room at the Petersburg for the night. It's a luxury hotel that is perched on the hillside across the Rhine from Plittersdorf. We had an amazing view of the Rhine. Loved the food and the views. We swam in the pool and went into the sauna and enjoyed the sunset.

The next day we took a hike among the thousands of trails in the forest and came upon a cool Kloster (church). As it was a religious holiday, there was lots of preparations going on for a big production of some kind.

Then we took the ferry over the Rhine and walked through the old neighborhood where Tom spent his 5th, 6th, and 7th grade. Lots has changed of course, but the apartment is still the same! And we thought of his mom, Edna, when we saw that the Presbyterian Church is still functioning...she spent many, many hours there.

And just to make the trip a total success...we stopped at the base on the way home and I spent over $1,000 in groceries that we had to buy and load, and unload and put away. Ugh!