Familie

Our "familie" from Germany came for a visit last week. Eric was brushing up on his Deutsch to get ready for conversation.

As they arrived in Atlanta, they had the best itinerary...none! They said whatever we wanted to do or show them or eat or whatever, was fine with them. They had never been to South Carolina and were open to anything.

We took them to play disc golf, bike riding on the Swamp Rabbit trails...

Cooled off with a few brewery stops..

Walked along Falls Park and downtown Greenville...

And cooked traditional US & Southern foods for them to try. Their favorites were peanut butter, all the watermelon we had cut up daily, and pumpkin pie (with lots of whipped cream). 

We then decided to take them to the lake for a little kayaking and jet skiing.

All went well until it was time to leave and the jet ski flipped over with all their clothes and towels. Great memories, though, and we laughed all the way home. 

Their light European skin showed sunburn by evening despite a heavy dose of sunscreen. A new remedy I learned, though, is to use buttermilk. The redness and pain was gone by morning!

Thier last night was bittersweet, as we really enjoyed our time with them. The little one was practicing her German pronunciation and getting so much better!

Before they left, we gave them a jar of peanut butter and a can of pumpkin to sneak back to Germany. Auf Wiedershen!

Cassini

Eric was outside when a little kitten scared him in the back yard. She looked to only be about 2 months old, and very skittish. We fed her milk and tuna, but kept our distance.

We slowly got closer to her, bringing a few toys and treats. Any noise or sudden movement frightened her away. But she kept coming around. Eventually, Eric was the first to pet her.

After two weeks, she finally trusted us enough to pet her on a regular basis. Although she didn't like to be held, I tried to pick her up and snuggle.

After the 3rd week, we decided to give her a name. Lots of ideas were suggested (including pickle, el penguino, and Brad), but we landed on "Cassini" like the Saturn space probe. 

It's been 18 years since we've had a 4-legged pet, and we had forgotten how much responsibility (and cost) that involves. But since we decided to keep her, it was off to the vet for shots.

Our daily sweet cuddles are worth it, though.