Day -1 Berlin Trip

Saturday, April 10, 2009

Good morning. Today is the day before we leave. We are cramming at Perkins restaurant after breakfast. We have finished our first pot of coffee.

Mom and Dad have been having a hard time in Berlin so far. They arrived in Berlin on Friday. They have had to change apartments already. The hotel owner had to cancel our original reservation because the previous tenants had trashed the place. And, as it is Easter weekend their apartments are tight. So, in order to accommodate us, we'll have to move around.

We fly out mid morning tomorrow. Luke and I do not know where we will stay yet. We'll wait for a location given to us by email from Mom. What a crappy set of circumstances. I feel bad for mom and she, I'm sure feels just as bad. One can't help but feel anxious.

Our bags are 99% packed. I have to reinforce a pair of Luke's pants, print out our itinerary and other important documents. Then, that's about it.

I have to sing in church on Easter Sunday for 2 services. We'll see how long the services take. We'll have the bags packed and at the door.

Luke and I bought some shoes yesterday. Luke finally found his European style tennis shoes, in his size no less. I think they are particularly attractive. I got some too. That was the reason we went to Rogan's shoes in fact. Mine were half the price of Luke's and I got mine half off, as that was the promotion.

Kaiser is going to stay with McKenzie and Mike/Joan for the week. I don't know if he knows what is going on or not. We'll see. Poor dog. :(

Trip planning for Nerds!

Do these computer stations look similar. We both have the same books and reference materials out for use. We got these little books in our Christmas Stocking, each have post its and a laptop!! Haven't gotten much planning done yet! Must get to work after post!



I found this photo in my picture folder when I downloaded the other picture. This is an extreme close up of my "no fail" fudge. You know the kind where you melt the chocolate chips in the microwave then add vanilla and sweetened condensed milk....well.... this one....failed. I should send this in to failblog.org. Fudge- Failed!!!

Fenton Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas Friends and Family!



As usual, we hope that this greeting finds you happy and healthy this Christmastime!



This year I contemplated the need for a Christmas letter. Luke and I live pretty boring lives. You don’t need to hear chronicles about our JackRat Kaiser. Like that he can give high five, balance a treat on his nose and flip it into his mouth on our command. You don’t need to hear that we keep the house temperature so modest that he wears 2 shirts and doesn’t leave the shelter of his dog blankie during the daytime hours. Poor dog.



You don’t need to hear that Luke is still gainfully employed at the Rochester Athletic Club as the Kitchen Manager. I do have something that I am proud of to mention while we are in the job category…I got a promotion. I am now a “ Mobile Research Unit Coordinator.” Sounds sophisticated doesn’t it? It translates into; more stress, an office, no night shifts/holidays/weekends, slightly more pay and my very own pager. I will be the problem solver for our new-ish research branch that provides the service of research personnel and research tasks outside the walls of our Mayo Research Center .



Luke and I went to Paris in the springtime. It was a very busy trip. We were running around ALL the time. We saw so very much art- we feel like our palettes are becoming increasingly well rounded when it comes to “the masterpieces.” We enjoyed the Rue Cler street market that was just steps from our apartment. The Eiffel tower was viewable from our humble yet spacious apartment. We enjoyed, though almost too late in the course of our trip, French coffee and very perfect very French pastries. WOW about the pastries. WOW. Words can’t express. We shared the apt with Rodger and Beth Tveiten. Rodger was our own personal ATM, he had POCKETFULLS of Euro coins.



We stayed at a rustic cabin in Spring Valley , MN in October. It was chilly weather, we got to use the wood burning stove, see some wildlife, read our books and generally relax. The cabin was so rustic that it did not have running water or indoor bathroom facilities. We lived through the week….barely. I





didn’t see any enormous spiders. However Luke did and it took two hard smacks to incapacitate it. I am so glad I did not see it or it would have wrecked my vacation.



Thank you for listening to our standard Christmas letter drivel. We are so thankful for our close friends and family. We hope that you all have a blessed, family focused, cozy, and relaxed Christmas Holiday.



Boringly Yours,



Lisa and Luke Fenton

Spring Valley Vacation Pictures

The outhouse is SO far away!

View from the loft.

The Loft, the ceiling is as tall as between Lisa's shoulder blades.

Our house got broken Into

Check out this link to the Post Bulletin to see the News Story covering the incident!

bunny vids