The Heymann Family Journal

Juergen and I looked at one of these ovens today.

There is a 550 million power ball lottery jackpot in America tonight.  I asked my mom to buy me a ticket (just one).  I figure my chances of winning are pretty poor, but I would love to be a part of this anyway.  What would you do with that kind of money?  I personally would get a lawyer and some good advise.  I think money can really mess you up.  So I think I would give each of my brother and sisters and parents a little money in a trust that gives them an income of 2 to 4 thousand a month.  That way they can keep working, or retire.  But know one would have enough to buy private airplane.  And I would give myself the same amount.  Enough to make life easier, not enough to ruin things.  I would set up education money for my nieces and nephews and  my kids. But I wouldn't give them cars of houses.  It's hard enough to get them to work.  They need a reason to learn , and I'm not going to give out cars and houses. Th...

Nicole and I collated seeds from our baby pumpkins today. I now have more seed then I can use in 20 years.  But I'll plant some plants in my garden, and maybe some to sell.  Maybe I can set up a stand in the front of the house to sell plants , flowers and vegetables.  We will see! 

Sarah's advent calendar Philip and Thomas in Italy Nicole in Italy It’s almost December and I’m busy making advent calendars and ordering Christmas gifts on eBay and Amazon. I don’t actually have the time to go shopping at the stores. I personally hate the crowds and the stress. And it’s so stressful shopping for a big family. I made myself sit down and buy everyone’s gifts in one day. And now I just have to wait for those gifts to arrive in the mail. I do love eBay! And now I have the time to think about our Christmas letter. I guess a Christmas letter is a good way of looking back on what you have managed to get done in the year. And we have done allot. I won’t bore you with all the details. But we grew! For example Thomas was in another school last December. And we moved him to a local school so he wouldn’t need to travel 2 hours a day. It took awhile for him to feel good in his new school. But I think he has turned the corner. And he lo...

I was on my computer all day long. And I also got lists from my kids. Philip usually doesn't care what he gets for Christmas. But he had given it some thought. I got a giant list of very specific requests. I kept telling him I wouldn't be able to buy everything, I am on a budget. But I did manage to buy some great stuff. And I bought it all on eBay. Some things I got new, and other things used. I asked the kids ahead of time, and they didn't care if I got some used stuff. So for example, I got Sarah over 250 Euros worth of Lego for 40 Euros because it was used. She is going to be trilled. I had a budget, and managed to stay very close to it (about 4 Euro over budget including postage). And I didn't need to pay for parking, and there was no impulse shopping. I am pretty happy to get it all ordered. Now I just need to wrap things. I am missing my family for Thanksgiving. I hope to be calling my parents. I downloaded the audible book "The greatest ge...

I do not do black Friday shopping, I do eBay and Amazon. And today my shopping is nearly done! The idea of getting up early to stand in line (in the cold) seems a little crazy to me. I’ve done it once…and that was enough for me.

The ground floor of the house was clean before the party. Juergen told me to take pictures. I didn't manage to clean the upstairs. I also got pictures of our pies. They are all gone now. They were pretty good if I do say so myself. The crust was a little too thick. But I am way out of practice! We did manage to raise some money for send a cow. So poor farmers in Africa will be able to feed their families too. And I’ve got left over’s, so I don’t need to cook much this week. That makes me happy. We raised enough money at our thanksgiving party to pay for seeds, tools, and education for a family. We also paid for milk for one child for an entire year. http://www.sendacow.org.uk/

We had a very nice Thanksgiving pot luck party. It's quite today. It's cold outside. I have time to watch garden video's on you tube and time to dream of next year.

Juergen worked with the kids in the garden. They got allot of work done. They cleaned up all the stuff around the greenhouse. Everything is put away for the winter. Then Juergen put a coat of paint on the wood that did not get plastered on the greenhouse. It's too cold outside for the plaster to dry, so we will need to finish that job in the spring. The boys chopped 2 wood pallets up. We now have wood for a new years eve bon fire. And Nicole and I cooked. We made 3 pumpkin pies and 2 apple pies from scratch. We used one of the pumpkins we grew in the garden. And I also made stuffing. And I filled 7 zip lock bags with turkey fillets that are marinating with onions, garlic, limes, oranges and olive oil. The whole turkey I could find was too small to feed a crowd of 30 people, and cost too much. So we will have turkey fillets instead. All lean white meat. I'm cooking them tomorrow in oven bags. Our Thanksgiving pot luck is after church. I'm very tired from all...