Visitor

My mom arrived from Germany on Tuesday. She'll spend Christmas and New Year's with us. Lufthansa has a direct flight from Frankfurt to Portand, which is maybe just a 1/2 hour longer than the flight from Stuttgart to Atlanta. My mom was even impressed with the food she got on the plane.
It continues to snow here. PSU was closed yesterday, just like the schools here on the West side. Schools in East Portland were open because that part of town is totally flat, unlike the hilly West. The small streets in our neighborhood are very slick but public transportation is back on a somewhat normal schedule.
My mom is getting a headstart for our cookie party on Sunday and started making the dough for one kind of cookie. I wish we could celebrate our tradition with our friends - we'll miss them. The nice thing is that my mom will join us this year.
My mom brought MANY goodies from Germany, mostly the edible kind, including one of my favorite German sweets: Dickmanns (marshmallow cream on a crisp wafer with a thin chocolate coating). Now that you can't put them in your carry on luggage, it's hard to keep them from getting smashed in the suitcase but she managed somehow.