Black Bananas

As a kid I can remember my dad giving my mom a hard time about the black bananas on the counter, and now I get the same strange look about those fermenting black bananas. But, when it comes to great banana bread it's just what you need. My mom gave me her recipe, and I make it pretty regularly. The best part about making it is that you use the bananas after they have gone black. The bread doesn't come out the same if you use just slightly brown, and don't even try yellow! It takes a nice deep black, and they need to be a little smooshie. It sounds nasty, but believe me! Let me assure you there is not a single complaint when the bread is being devoured. Until it's gone that is, and then we wait for the next batch to "ripen".

Nana's Black Banana Bread

1/4 cup butter 3/4 cup sugar 1 egg 3-4 "ripe" bananas 3 Tblsp milk

2 cups flour 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg bananas and milk.

sometimes if I'm feeling a bit spunky I put in a little vanilla and Cinnamon

Mix in dry ingredients.

Makes one loaf or about 18 muffins

Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes for loaf and 20-25 minutes for muffins

Rothenburg

Rotenburg is a well preserved medieval city about 2 hours from us. The city walls are still standing and you can walk on and around them. While visiting this adorable village we visited a Toy Museum, a medieval Torture Museum and had a walking tour.

The tour was at night with "The Night Watchman" who proudly dressed the part. It was very interesting to learn some of the history of the city and have an interactive experience. Eyan and Naomi loved all the facts and were right up front drinking in all the facts and stories. Silus and Toben on the other hand not so much. Silus fell asleep in Toben's stroller and Toben rode on Martin most of the hour.

Silus didn't want to get anywhere near the Night Watchman and that's why he's not in the picture.

One funny thing that we learned from the tour was that the city door that stands 0ver 10 feet tall has another very small door. So a door within the door. The city had a curfew and if you were outside the city walls after curfew you would have to convince the night watchman you lived in the city and if he let you in, it was through the tiny door. Then you had to pay a fee for being late. What a great way to keep people on time. I think when the kids are old enough I might adopt the fee portion!

Wordless Wednesday

Playground

Not far from our house there is a small playground. For the most part it is a playground much like the ones we have at home. There is a metal slide, sand galore and a tunnel that the kids can run through or hide in. It has one very unusual feature and that is a swing that looks like a gigantic birds nest. The nest is big enough for all 3 boys to lay down and get pushed. Naomi gets a great running start and pushes her heart out. The boys scream with delight and the afternoon is passes with lots of fun.

Reading

Naomi has been helping Eyan read a German book for school. They read a few pages each night and go over what the book is about. It's a lot of work reading it and then translating , but they have been very diligent and finished.
Good Job Guys!

Heidleburg

The sun is shinning and it's time to pack up and see what's out there. We hit the road and went to Heidleburg. This trip was more planned out, but that's not to say things went as planned. After driving around without finding the entrance TO the castle we fed the ducks and walked by the river. Blessed are the flexible. The river was full of pattleboats and barges.

On Saturday we got actually found the castle and found parking and ventured in. A beautiful place to spend the morning. The castle was the biggest one we have been to so far, it's hard to put all of it into words. And I guess I really don't have to I can just upload pictures. One of the most interesting things was not the castle, but a small salamander that had lost his way in a freezing pool. The kids with help from Dad rescued this little guy who was pretty waterlogged.

An Itch

We have the itch. The itch to travel. On Saturday we loaded up the car. Snacks. Kids. GPS. Gas. Coats. And so on... We left with only one objective. To see what we could see. I am a planner by nature, so this was a bit foreign. It worked though and we all had a great time.

We didn't wander too far. About an hour away. We visited one of the oldest cities in Germany. Trier. We had a great time. One of the highlights was a Roman Bath House. The kids got to run in and out of ancient ruins, pretending to be lost in a world long long ago.

This little journey only fueled the flame and the itch has begun to grow. Grow. Growing. Growing. AND GROWING!

Plans for a long weekend. Castles. Museums. Cobblestone Streets......