Frau Angie got her way in the end – the longest session of the German Federal Assembly finally elected her faithful party soldier Christian Wulff to the office of President of the Federal Republic of Germany. The opposition candidate Joachim Gauck, a civil rights activist in Stalinist East Germany, made a respectable showing, but the [...]

Here are more pictures of our new, 9-year-old Tennessee Walker “Funny You Should Ask” aka “Cleo” Click on the picture for a larger version. More pictures below …

Yes – undeniably England was robbed yesterday. Of one goal. Not of a game, probably.  But it was also an amazing, fateful decision that brought back football history and the moment when Germany was robbed. Not just a goal, but possibly the title, at Wembley stadium in 1966 at the Worldcup final when a goal [...]

… is the name of the 9-year-old, blue roan mare we bought yesterday. Her stable name is “Cleo” and she is a registered Tennessee Walking Horse, which is a peculiar, uniquely American breed. She is a very gentle, curious soul with an impressive pedigree. We had planned to start building the fence yesterday, but there [...]

Three days of football fun so far. I watched the opener, USA game and the Germany game at Dain’s Place and the Ghana game at home. I wore my South Africa shirt for the opener and Gloria (Dain’s cook) almost killed me!  Dain had to wear a Mexico shirt just to avoid having the kitchen [...]

Today was the hottest day this year, so far: 96 Deg. F / 35 Deg. C and max humidity at 90%. Summer has begun in Durham!

If you have ever traveled or lived in a tropical country, you can appreciate the value of a fridge there – especially in rural areas with no access to the electrical grid. There is nothing quite like getting a cold drink from the only refrigerator within miles on a scorching hot day. However, beyond cold [...]

Although Memorial Day is a a bit of a somber holiday, to most Americans the long weekend at the end of May is less about death and patriotism and more about celebrating the beginning of summer; about cookouts, parties, fishing trips and other family fun. For us, last weekend was all bout bonding with our [...]