The Strangest Thing Happened

I bought eggs today.  I BOUGHT EGGS TODAY.  Since we got chickens in 2012, I haven't had to purchase eggs from a grocery store.  In fact, there are many times when I'm overflowing with eggs and I'm gifting them like crazy.

 These ladies have been on strike.

 It's been well over 100 degrees for at least two weeks now with several days at the 110 degree level.

Apparently, heat of this caliber stresses them out.  When chickens stress out, they stop performing and sit around panting.

Something I wish I could do when I'm stressed out, but no way, Jose.  I'm still doing laundry AND cooking dinner daily.

This little ball of fluff doesn't even leave the egg box.  I think she's pretending to lay her eggs, but nothing every shows up. I kick her out as much as I can to get her to eat and drink but she just tries to bite the hand that feeds her.

So, without eggs arriving daily, I have had to buy eggs.  From a store.  The temperatures have cooled to an even 100 degrees and the nights are feeling a little cooler, so maybe eggs are on the way.

I've built them a small swimming pool in the back yard and they love it.  They spend most of their days around the pool getting their feet wet and muddy.  They mock me. 

I'm getting ready to make my yearly purchase of baby chicks that will start laying in February. Maybe these ladies will pick up the pace when they see replacements on the way.

Time will tell.

Time Goes By

I don't think I meant for time to go by in such a big quantity. It's been two and a half years since I last posted, and I really hate it when bloggers apologize every time they skip a few months.  No apologies here, but, dang, life is troublesome.

Most of my excuses revolve around technology and some changes that happened that made it hard to put my pictures on the blog.  It became difficult, so I let days turn into weeks, etc.  Then teenagers reared their rebelliousness and declared their independence and things had to be reined in.  It didn't take long, but my attention was diverted and it was much easier Not to blog.  I've still taken tons of pictures and kept up my romance with Instagram, but that has waned too.

Here's to another go around and hopefully it's a lasting one.

Stay tuned . . .

Double

 The day after leaving Vienna, we were able to sail to two different cities.  We arrived in a small village overnight and toured through it early in the morning.  No one was about and it was very windy and cold.

 It seems every city, big or small, is built around it's church.

 Tiny alleyways to us are their major streets.

 The village is named Durnstein and it is a farming/wine community

 This is one of my favorite doors - it opens into one of the wineries. 

 We got back to the ship and just before lunch set off for Melk.  

 We arrived early afternoon and took a walking tour through the Melk Abby.  It is famous for it's renovation during the Reformation - basically the time the Catholic church felt that their people were leaving to join other churches, so they beefed up the goods and made everything over the top to encourage people to stay.

 And I mean over the top.  Everything here was beyond opulent.

 There were gold statues and artifacts and so much finery it was overwhelming.

 We walked across a courtyard to get to the famous library, where no pictures were allowed.

 We ended in the chapel area.  Un. Be. Leivable.

It is still in use today.  This is their advent wreath that they use each Sunday in December to celebrate Christmas.

We boarded out ship and again had a wonderful five course meal and set sail for Passau.  We decided to sign up for the optional tour of Salzburg.  In the morning we would board the bus for a two hour drive through the mountains to see the city of The Sound of Music!

So I Lied

 Yes, I was going to be super blogger and do a daily post to get through our vacation, but I failed.  Ha.  This may be a long and painful process.  

One of my favorite places in Vienna was Schonbrunn Palace.  We were able to tour the inside, and afterward, we visited the Christmas Market located in the courtyard just outside the main gate.

 Here is where my obsession with the European Christmas Tree begins.  These Noble Firs are everywhere.  The shape.  I die. I want.  I want.  I want.

 This was one of my favorite Christmas Markets.  It had the most unique booths.  These hanging decorated branches were everywhere.  I must copy this.  Now.

 I couldn't resist taking a photo of the woman with the Christmas hair.

 Gingerbread everywhere.

 Such nice people!

Martin and I tried roasted chestnuts for the first time.  Very popular street food.  Meh.

After our adventures every afternoon, we would go back to our ship and have a five course meal.  We were very spoiled.

We tried to get to bed early because there was something planned for us each morning.  We would sail at night and arrive in a new port for the next day.  Our two days in Vienna were awesome.  I told Martin that it would be no problem to go back and just do a vacation in Vienna.  It was more beautiful than I expected.

Vienna

 Let's be honest here.  Martin gave me the chance to choose where I wanted to go in Europe and I said I wanted to go to the German Christmas Markets.  We had heard of a River Cruise that sailed the Danube River and visited all the Christmas Markets along the way.  Beyond that I didn't really investigate our trip.  Martin booked everything and I thought we were headed to Germany.  Well, half of our trip was spent in Austria.  Who knew it was such a wonderful place?  Not me, but I found out quickly that it is spectacular.  The architecture alone was killer.

I don't even know what half of these building are, but I couldn't just let them pass by without getting their picture taken. 

 Our cruise consisted of nightly cruising and daily touring.  We had several guided tours as well as free time.  

 Our guides educated us on the history of Austria and what the significance of what these building are.  This is a government palace.

 Just outside the palace grounds there is a Christmas Market.  I didn't know this either, but there are many markets in each city.  Each with a different flair.

 We didn't have time to shop this one - just passed through on our way to the next event.

 Everything was so romantic and Christmasy.  Horse drawn carriages were everywhere.

 We rounded a corner and came upon this street that was totally decked out for Christmas.  There were hanging chandeliers every ten feet or so all the way down.  At night they were lit up and were so fabulous.  

When our free time came, we had to try the street food.  I have never seen so much sausage in my life.  Martin was in heaven.

I was absolutely taken with Vienna.  I had no idea it was such a beautiful city with so much history.  I don't want these posts to get too long and out of control.  It's hard to squeeze it all in without overdoing it, but I'll try.

Tomorrow - Schonbrunn Palace!