Eine Guten Reutsch!

Wow. It's been a wild ride this year, but everything looks to work out in the end.

Hedgewitch and I are planning a fairly low-key New Year celebration, good food, good wine with fireworks and champagne after. We've got t-bone steak, some nice shrimp and Texas blackeyed peas and cornbread for supper, and since we're not driving anywhere, are already sipping good wine (Badische Mueller Thurgau in my glass, an Italian chardonney in hers).

The local custom is for everyone ot go outside and shoot fireworks at midnight, and neighbors usually get together to toast the New Year.

Otherwise, we've begun the ramp-up for the Big Move back across the pond, and are de-cluttering and re-organizing.

We have the Euro-specs BMW up for sale (e-mail me if you're in Germany and in the market for a very, very, sweet black BMer), and have bought a Honda Elefant, er, Element to take back to the States.

We're planning, plotting and setting timelines for the things we have to do to make the move happen.

It's gonna be an exciting, albeit bittersweet, 2008 as we leave our Bavarian home and head back to the USA.

So, for now, Happy New year, from Bavaria, hope yours goes well and happily!