More Adventures Abroad

This last four-day was exciting as usual. With all the hard work we have been doing, Nate and I rewarded ourselves with a little road trip to Italy. It was wicked awesome! Not only did we drive through (and stop in) some beautiful places in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Italy, we also got to spend quite a bit of time enjoying the Mediterranean air of the Italian Riviera! After a full 10 hours of driving and multiple tanks of gas at outrageous prices, we arrived in the sea-side town of San Remo, Italy. This small vacation town is the terminus of the longest one-day race on the pro-tour calendar, Milan-San Remo. This exhausting race, funnily enough, goes from Milan to San Remo...go figure. Not only did we get to see one of our favorite riders, Oscar Freire of Team Rabobank, win the race, we spent two days riding through the tough terrain of Italy and France.

Our ride the first day was challenging, but fun, as we made our way through some impressive Italian traffic and grime into a much less crowded and much cleaner France. Everything you have heard about Italy is true....it is very dirty, the food is awesome, and the men are just beautiful (no worries, Miller, I still prefer a scrawny, blond, pale guy any day!). Most things about France are not true. They do not hate Americans, they do not smell, and the people are really very freindly , even when you garble thier language while using a French-Canadian accent! When in France we ate some great bread and just enjoyed the gorgeous sea-side. I imagined Napoleon marching his troops on the same route we took, and envisioned the immense sea battles Admiral Nelson fought against Boney on that very coast. The history of the area was just daunting! After our ride, we saw the finish of Milan- San Remo and treated ourselves to REAL Italian pizza, tiramisu, and gelato. The food was really tasty!

With our fat stores built back up, we decided that a very long ride with a combined 33,000 feet of climbing was in store for the next day. We rode for over six hours, but took one rest stop at a great little pastry shop we found. We spoke VERY little Italian, so we pointed and gesticulated until we had bought a sample of nearly everything in the shop.....and two very cold Cokes with fresh lemon. It was certainly the most satisfying ride I have had in a while. After dinner and more gelato, we turned in for the night in order to prepare for our ten-hour drive home. Luckily the cats did not trash the house too much (only a few wild parties), and the plants were fine. I would say the excursion was a great success! I love you all, and wish that everyone could have these great adventures with us (especially those people who know some Italian...wink, wink, nudge, nudge, Alli).

What a difference a week can make

So spring is certainly on its way. As is the fashion in Bavaria, the feet of accumulated snow that we had last week, has retreated so quickly, it is as if it was never there. I sense this is not the case back home in NH, from the pictures Mum has sent me over black berry messenger. This week was busy for us, but considerably more fun than most, as we have been able to ride every day, except for the days I was in the field.

These riding adventures started last weekend. Nate and I planned to get our friend Chris off the indoor trainer for good last weekend. On Saturday, we had a chilly yet uneventful ride through the rolling hills in the direction of Weiden. Sunday, was much more eventful than Saturday due to the propensity of Grafenwoehr weather to be as unpredictable as New England's storm fronts. When the three of us started out on our ride, although cloudy, the air was dry and not very winding. We were enjoying our ride, yet seemed a tad dismayed over the increasingly darkening sky. Despite the potential for bad weather, we continued to ride only to be caught in the most impressive of snow/ sleet storms. We suffered through over ten miles of misery with precipitation that felt like razors hitting us in the face. When we finally made our way home, and took off our shoes, my feet were so swollen from cold that they looked liked like sausages with toes!

Despite bad weather and very icy conditions, Nate and I braved the cold to ride over lunch of Monday. On Tuesday and Wednesday, my company went to the field for some training. It is the battalion commander's guidance for us to gain experience in a more classic style of warfare than we are used to fighting, as he is trying to prepare us for less traditional deployments which may come down, such as for Africa or Eastern Europe. In otherwords, we are learning how to be the Army of the 80's. Although foriegn to many of my Soldiers, ROTC has prepared the officers for this task just fine. The infinite knowledge of my 1st Sergeant and older NCO's has proven indispensable. We convoyed out to the field site (with a slight detour, thanks Sam). Once out in the muddiest place I have ever seen, we set up our tents, camo nets, etc. and started digging in. This may not seem to be much of a process, but when you sink up to your knees in mud (Bean would have HATED it), it is not very easy! After spending the night, and teaching some different skills to our Soldiers, we packed up and started home, but not before Sam's platoon baptized him in the mud, as it was his first field exercise with the unit.

The rest of the week was uneventful, except for a poorly timed flat tire on Nate's bike over one of our lunch time rides. Luckily we were not far from home. Yesterday, we attempted to ride again with Chris, hopefully under better conditions. The weather held out, except for some killer wind. We wandered around our favorite ride routes and discovered many more. We climbed over 3/4 mile vertical, which was quite impressive, seeing that we rode less than 40 miles. We did see some great old ruins on top of one of the taller hills we climbed. Riding makes the week pass so much more quickly, and hopefully the weather will cooperate! Hope everyone will get a dose of spring like we did (not that we expect it to stay that way!).

Cute

This post is just cute cat photos....no other purpose than to preserve the cuteness of the world!

Odd things happen in Germany

So here we were minding our own business, cross country skiing. On Saturday, we trekked out to our favorite skiing location. As usual, we waxed our skis and got under way. Quite a few other skiers were doing the same. We made our way onto the trails and were enjoying some great cardio adventures, when all of a sudden we heard some funny noises. Dogs panting and people yelling is not usually what one hears while going out for a peaceful ski in the woods. Miller and I turned around only to see a team of dogs and a musher (I think that is what you would call a dog sled driver) barreling toward us. We promptly got out of the way of the dogs only to see another team following. It seems we had stumbled our way onto a dog sled race course. I say stumbled, but apparently, all the other skiers had done the same. The mushers thought nothing of us skiing, so we took that as a a sign that they would ignore us, and we would ignore them. So we skiied, taking care not to step in any dog poo, while they made sure their happy wagging teams did not run us over. It was fun not only to ski, but to see all the different teams of dogs, some composed of the average small, but sturdy husky mixes, to malamutes to one team of just ye olde mutts. Just another surprising day in the life of the Millers!

Boredom

Nate and I are two very busy people. So what is the best thing to do with our free time? Stay busy of course! As usual, the work-week has provided us with little to no time for relaxation. Luckily for us this weekend is a four-day training holiday. With ample time to do as we please, we have decided to redecorate. As Mum and Bean are very familiar with, when I get bored, I paint. I am not talking about impressionist or cubist works of art, but walls. We have decided that we are sick of our dimly lit, but nicely floored bedroom. Not even hard-wood can keep me in that room for much long, so we have decided to relocate our sleeping quarters to a brighter, yet much hated room in the house. So as those who have visted our very humble (and wicked crappy....no, don't give me the same junk about us having a nicer place than most 23 year olds....face it, I am too elitist to be happy with the "better than most" idea of things!) abode know, our formerly yellow room was by far the least used room of the house. I hated everything about it, the flooring, the light fixtures, and most of all, the color. I detest yellow with a passion I cannot describe. I think it may have something to do with the fact that blonds never look good in yellow....unless we are talking about gold, that is entirely different story (hint, hint, my hubby dearest). So we decided blue was the way to go, Blue bedrooms are inviting and calming, so off to Self-Help we went to pick up some blue paint. After about 18 coats of paint as thick as glue on the worlds oldest and junkiest wall construction, we are finished with the bulk of the work.

On an entirley different, and hopefully more coherent note, yesterday, like last weekend, we went skiing. Skiing in Mehlmeisel, a town about a half and hour away, has given Nate a bit more confidence on the slopes than our other Alpine adventures. I always seem to forget that the man is deathly afraid of heights. In my opinion, the best way to get over a fear is to face it. Hence skiing. Luckily for him, there are also cross country ski trails in the area as well, so we can do that when I am not in need of an adrenaline rush. The trails in the area are great and well groomed, and best of all, free. While the paint dries, we will be heading off there today! I hope everyone has been enjoying the weekend. Also, If you like what we write or just want to say "hello," please post a comment so we know that you all are reading our often-times pointless blog!

'Cross the Pond

So this week has been hectic. Very Hectic. Work has been super tiring, but as usual, there is very little that can be done about it. Luckily, we have truly been enjoying our weekends. This Saturday, Nate and I spent a great day cross country skiing. We were able to ski on some fresh powder through some really great trails. Although we spent our time switching who was in the lead to break track, it was still a ton of fun. Later in the day, we went to Liam's first birthday party at the Oradat's house. We had a great time, where luckily Jennifer and I share a love of scrabble, and were able to get our scrabble fix for a while. After three games and far too much food, Sam (one of my fellow ICTC LTs) gave us a ride home in his super ghetto, yet functional low rider, which he bought from a super sketchy South American, for far too much. After far too little sleep, Nate, Chris and I embarked on a great adventure.

With a 0530 wake up on a Sunday morning, the three of us piled into the VW with as much warm clothes as we could carry to head to Tabor, Czech Republic for Cyclocross Worlds. Upon arriving into one of the more sketchy cities in the country, we boarded a bus to be transported with many other cyclocross fans to the race course. First up was the women's race. Our American ladies did not do as well as we had hoped they would, but it was still a great time cheering them on. Katie Compton, who was in the running for the win, had to bow out in the first lap due to an ongoing injury. It was still exciting to see Marianne Vos power through to a great victory over the hometown favorite Katerina Nash. The men's race was even crazier! Tim Johnson, despite a poor start moved up into the top 20, along with Jamie Driscol (who we formerly raced with in the ECCC). Our other guys didn't do as well, with a truly poor performance from Ryan Trebon. Throughout it all, we enjoyed freezing our rear-ends off in the super cold weather while eating bratwurst and drinking Budvar Budweisser (which is about as nasty and tasteless as the American version). Chris enjoyed himself heckling and cheering. Nate took a ton of great photos, and I got to talk to a photographer from Cycling News. All in all it was a great time! We are looking forward to when World's is in Germany next year!

We have been quite busy, but that is no excuse for not writing!

So Nate and I have been quite busy lately. Longs days at work have translated to falling asleep on the the couch in the first five minutes of any leisure time activity. Never-ending power point presentations have sucked up all of our time, and leave only the time after all of our Soldiers have gone home to finally start our days work....at 1800. Hopefully it should slow down a bit though. Tom and Frank have been putting up with our extended work days with great indifference. As long as they get their food on time after PT, all is well. We do apologize for not writing as often as we should, so I will catch you all up on our recent adventures.

Last weekend, Miller and I checked into a cute hotel in Garmish for a bit of skiing. The hotel was grand (but cheap, go figure) with a wardrobe in our room that could have held all of Narnia. We (well, I) enjoyed skiing some of the challenging terrain in the German Alps. I will forever thank my mother for turning me into quite a profficient downhill skiier, as the skill has been indespensible in later life. Although the skiing was great, with plenty of powder, the trails were crowded with Europeans who apparently think it is a waste of money to pay for a lesson, and would rather tumble aimlessly down a black. As funny as it is to watch, it can become rather trecherous to try to navigate around bodies that are quickly reaching terminal velocity. We enjoyed eating sausages and drinking beer on the slopes. Although I much prefer the trails back home, they do have thier slopes-side cuisine down to a science! After a mid morning binding readjustment, my new skis were great. Unlike my old sticks, they have a narrow waist which provides responsive turning with a greater length to increase speed. I think I would give Alli a run for her money on these bad boys. Nate did as well as a guy who is deathly afraid of heights would be expected to do on a 10,000 foot peak. He increased his carving skills on some of the gentler trails and was able to challenge himself on some of the steeper inclines. Although I would not call his experience, fun, I would say that he is slowly working in the right direction to make skiing fun. As everyone knows, it is never fun to ski when you haven't developed the muscle memory for it. Off the slopes, we did get some good shopping in. Nate also found a great restaurant that serves tex-mex food, Guiness, and Bulmer's. It was wicked!

This week, my beau and I spent our lunches getting in some great running, as work has been so busy, we have been working through PT. We also ordered new breaks for the VW. As I have to shift down to first to stop, I think it is time to drop some cash on these very necessary parts. On a very exciting note, we will be adding a new vehicle to our car quiver! Yesterday we ordered a new Volvo XC60 which will be rolling off the production line in Sweden in early April. Miller nearly died thinking about the money we were dropping on this car, but with all the repair costs I have been sinking into our silver bullet, it will be worth having a new car with a 5 year, 60,000 mile warrenty (which includes wear and tear, like breaks and windshield wipers). We will be keeping our VW, as we have to own at least on standard car. We wanted the Volvo in standard, but it is not worth it in an SUV. The gas milage is actually worse with a standard in modern cars, and despite being fun to drive, the benefits did not out weight the costs. So my beautiful blue beauty will have a steptronic transmission (same as in my mum's car). The XC60 will be dark metalic blue with black leather interior, extended moon roof (it is almost the length of the car!), heated front and rear seats, 3.2 liter engine, all wheel drive, and so much more! I wish we had it now, but it will be worth the wait. Also, it will be quite inexpensive to insure thanks to some great safety features. Okay, now I will stop talking about the car! Anyway that about catches you up!
PS.
If you want to check out our new car, build one here: http://www.volvocars.com/us/models/xc60/Pages/BuildYourxc60.aspx

I love how wussy Germany is....no wonder they lost the war!

So Germany is full of a bunch of Sallies. At least when it comes to snow. Reading the BBC News website this morning, I discovered our dusting of snow to be front page news. "Germany Hit With Massive Blizzard!" The page read. I took one look out the window, and said to my dear husband, "What the heck are they talking about?" Yesterday post closed at 1200 due to weather. No business in Graf was open after 1400. Everyone battened down the hatches for the storm. Nate and I went out an skied. I get it, the roads get bad when it snows, but the reaction here is just a bit much. It has been consistently snowing for the last week or so, so we have taken the opportunity to enjoy it. Last Saturday we ventured out for a snowy cyclocross ride in the forests surrounding our little town. During the week, we went for various walks on the farm trails. Yesterday we cross-country skied in the darkness on the forest roads surrounding the town of Moos. All in all it has been fun, but a tad disconcerting that we have seen none of our fellow townsfolk (besides some hearty Americans) doing the same. This can only lead me to one conclusion...Germans are wussy. They seem to have the fortitude of the most warm blooded southerner. I never thought I would meet folks more afraid of the cold and snow than Southerners, but these Bavarian Germans have proven me wrong. Next weekend, hopefully we will be hanging with a more robust crew, as we have booked a place in the Alps so we can enjoy some higher altitude fun (aka skiing on some F-ing awesome trails).

On another cold-weather related note, Alli has been enjoying our place in Lincoln, taking advantage of mid-week ski rates, and a great vaiety of snow-shoe and XC trails. Alli had the privilage to see a pair of otter while snowshoeing in the back country. She couldn't get a photo of them, but has plenty of shots of their slides into the river. She also saw (ans smelled I am sure) a steaming pile of moose poo, which cut that hike short pretty quickly. I have been a bit jealous of the great snow conditions back home, but am happy with the activities here. Tom and Frank are now fast friends who spend the day sleeping in each other's company, vying for the sunny spot on the rug, talking to us in turn, or playing. They are truly fun together, and Tom has really welcomed Frank (except for dinner time at least, when Frank doesn't finish his food, Tom, being a fatty must lick the plate clean!).Anyway, housework beckons.

WTF mate?

So Frank is offended. Very offended. Poor Frank has very long hair, and occasionally, when using the litter box he gets a bit dirty. Well, not dirty, just has some .....remnants....sticking to the fur around his bottom. Having dropped Nate's parents off at the airport this morning, things were quiet in the house. Well, they were quiet until we decided it was a good idea to throw our new kitty into the tub. We had no need to wash the whole cat, but just the rear area. I prepped for this by taking our the aroma-therapy calming lavender pet shampoo and turning on a gentle stream of warm, but not hot, water in the tub. It all started normally with the usually very pissed off cat clinging to my husband's shoulder for dear life. No surprises there. After wrestling a very squirmy critter into the water and trying to direct a spray towards his backside, we soon figured out that the particles were far too affixed, more like cemented, to the fur. I tried everything to break it up, including, but not limited to thoroughly molesting my cat. Never have I had my hand in such close proximity to my pet's balls for such a long period of time. All the while, Frank was pitifully meowing while Tom stood at the door chirruping a not-so-comforting "better you than me" sound. Eventually the molestation had to stop....out came the scissors. After what seemed like pounds of fur and fecal matter came of the ass end of the cat, Frank was finally clean. We put him on a towel, where he just looked at us with utter disgust. Tom took one look at Frank, with his half wet body, and just sat down and seemed to laugh. Poor Frank. But at least now he smells nice. By the way, aroma therapy for cats is a crock of shit!

BTW we renamed our new cat: Benjamin Franklin.....Frank for short, it just fits him better

Manifest Destiny

So we would like to introduce the newest furry addition to the family: Meriwether Lewis. Our new Norwegian Forest Cat (yes, finally we have gone into the realm of pure bred pets) is starting to acclimate to his slightly less wealthy home. With an original staggering price tag and higher ranking owners, Lewis, as we call him, has condescended to agree to live in our humble abode. At five months of age, and already tipping the scales at 14 lbs. we expect that he may soon eat us out of house and home! He is just a sweetheart, that has very large feet (another harbinger of monstrous size).

On an entirely different note, Ma and Pa (Miller's rentals) are over from the 'States to spend some time over the holidays with us. We have enjoyed eating, hiking, and spending time with the cats (I love being able to say "cats" instead of "cat" again!). We hiked in Pottenstein yesterday, seeing the great geology of the area, and to a slippery walk up the extinct volcano in Neustadt am Kulm today. We enjoyed the crisp, yet lovely weather on both days. Ma and Pa came over the day after Christmas, leaving us to spend Christmas day liesuely getting lost while wearing the best pants in the world (thanks, Mum). We also greatly enjoyed speaking to the family and seeing the fabulous photos from Christmas Eve.

Work has been going fine, with the occasional delay due to snow. We really enjoy getting a delay, as it is reminiscent of snow days in grade school. This week should be fun, as we are taking a day trip to Prague tomorrow and will be heading to the Alps later this week. As always, please feel free to check out our photos on http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtwash125 .

Around the Next Bend. . .

One of the character building experiences of growing up in our houses was hiking. Once Jak and I had been dating for a while, we discovered that both of our parental units (or more properly, our Mothers) have a strange disability when it comes to hiking. While our mothers are normally experts on directions and distances, when hiking all destinations were strangely "just around the next bend."
Now in Ma's defense, while hiking in the Grand Canyon this is strictly true, however, it doesn't really count if you can see the campsite a half mile away. . .across the canyon. Only hours later would one actually reach that fabled "around the next bend." There is no defending Mum, there is no mythical bend that shows, well anything at all. Bends therefore have grown to symbolize that intangible feeling that comes from hiking in the woods. Or more accurately, that "Damn it I am tired and hungry and have no freaking clue what we are doing out here!!"
Now that we hike on our own, we have found that the disability is genetic, as both of us have inherited it to a greater or lesser extent. Jak to a slightly greater extent, as while she can without fail find a 1 square foot sign in the middle of a land navigation course, simple things like trails can on occasion defeat my fearless adventurer. Nathan has inherited Ma's almost perfect sense of direction, as well as her inability to be truthful about the trail ahead.
I cannot simply blame genetics, as the German's continue to make rather asinine decisions in cartography that do not help matters. Contour intervals are mere suggestions, trail markers a rarely seen oddity, and who in God's name makes grid squares that are 1400 meters wide?
Despite this all, we managed to have a wonderful time hiking down in Garmisch this week. We were down for a Marriage Retreat (what are we retreating from?) with my company, which in our chaplain's eyes is best served by having at most 2 hours of seminar in the evening and giving us the days to destress and relax. For most that involved relaxing in the pool or seeing the sites, perhaps with a bit of shopping. We strapped on crampons and mountaineering boots and climbed one of the smaller Alps on a path that can only generously be considered a trail. It was wonderful and relaxing, and exactly what we needed. Tom wasn't the most happy to be left at home, but considering he gets worn out after half an hour of "Throw the Catnip Mouse and watch Tom run into the wall trying to get it" with Dad, it was probably best he stayed at home.

So what, my cat is spoiled!

So Tom is a bit lonely. We have yet to find him the right friend, so we have been lavishing attention on him. The spoilage doesn't stop there though. Tonight, both Nate and I have been preparing for my company's Christmas party. I have been making my famous pulled pork, while he has been making his classic twice-baked potatoes. I have substituted the water that I would normally throw into the slow-cooker with the pork, for a Belgian Ale. We shall see how that goes. In the process of prepping the meat for cooking, I was removing any really large fatty pieces. Not wanting to waste anything, all fat scraps were thrown into my cast iron skillet, cooked, and then pureed for my feline child. I gave him a bit tonight, and he just went wild for it! It will be a welcome substitute for his special indoor cat wet food diet for the next couple of days (in addition to his dry food, of course). I know he is a bit fat, but I can't help in feeding him, as he is just so cute! Being a good boy, he never begs at the table, nor has he ever eaten "people food." I think he just likes to eat, which makes him a bit chubby. Hopefully we find a girlfriend for him soon, as he is just not meant to be in a one-cat home. I have been tempted by ads for pure-bred maine coons, but it would go against my belief that cats are not something that should be bought (especially at hefty 400 Euro price tags!). There are enough unwanted kitties out there, but none of them has yet to stumble their way into our lives.

So the Holidays are here...so everything must go wrong...it is in the rules!

I am not sure who wrote these rules, but they should be shot....by a firing squad ...no better yet, defenestrated! In short, this week was terrible, until today, that is. On a very somber note, we unfortunately lost our beloved Aaron Burr to a short illness. He passed away under anesthesia, so felt no pain. It was very tough for us and his brother, Tom. We have been lavishing Tom with attention, but he certainly misses his furry friend. As Pa told me, time heals all wounds, but right now, this one still hurts. Cats just are not meant to live alone, so when the time is right, Tom will be getting a sister. We are looking for an adult female cat in the Grafenwoehr area, so if anyone knows of a kitty needing a home, please let us know. Thank you all for all of your condolences, and thanks to our friend, Jen, who was a great help to us during this week.

So, after a tough week at work and the loss of our pet, what would feel better than a bike ride with friends? Yesterday, Nate, Chris, Joe and took out our bikes for some cyclocross practice. We decided to start the ride with a run up of our favorite dirt hill. I was the first to ride off towards the path with Chris, a ways behind me. No sooner had I passed a car parked off to the side of the road, when from out of nowhere came a large, black, vicious dog. It chased me for about 500 meters before I had to chose; either kick it in the face to stop it from following me into the road, or let it run into the road and let it get hit by a car. As much as this animal's demise seemed the best for it, as it was slowly taking chunks out of my ankle, I thought that that bitch of a woman who was half-heartedly yelling at it to come back, might miss it. So, I chose to kick it. Landing my size 8 cycling shoe right in its face, it quickly decided that I was not worth the effort. The rest of the ride was enjoyable and uneventful, for which I was quite thankful. After showering, we went to Obi to grab some Christmas decorations and went out to dinner with my commander, who rightfully thought that we needed to get out of the house.

Luckily, today was better. Nate put up with a cleaning frenzy this morning. He is used to this, as I do it at least once a day. When you own a cat that just won't stay off the counter (yes Tom, I am talking about you), you have no choice but to sterilize often! Our friend Chris, who owns a truck, came with us to pick out a Christmas tree. I chose both Chris's and our tree, while they cut them down and carried them to get wrapped. It was very manly to say the least. While waiting for the tree to dry, as it was a wet day, Nate helped Chris build a bike for his wife, while I put hooks on all the baubles for the tree. We took a break to ride down to the Advent Market in town and sample some Gluhwein (hot mulled wine), bratwurst, and roasted nuts. It was very festive. We put up our gigantic tree (about 8.5 feet tall!) and Miller is now bottling some home brew. Hopefully our life is uneventful for a while.

Oh, by the way, we both got promoted this week. No more butter-bar.

Victory is Mine!

So, sometimes in the Army you have to make some sacrifices in your daily life. One such sacrifice is the occasional food item at the commissary. This week it was celery, which being the week prior to Thanksgiving, was a crisis! Well, let's start this story right....they do not have any rhubarb, fluff, soup bones, nor gravy master. So why would we shop at a place that cannot stock even these simple items? Well, in one word: CHEAP. When faced with paying a Euro to Dollar exchange that would make even the richest folks faint at the thought, our American tax free food shopping is really the best option despite a limited selection. I would expect our commissary to not have regional items that are very New England specific, but some things you would expect them to always have. Celery is one of them. I mean, how would I make my stuffing or turkey salad? Well, in the end, we had to go back to get some, late on a weekday night. We were victorious, but it was a close call! There is an unwritten rule at the commissary or PX, which is, if you find something that you want, buy as many as you can, as who knows when they will stock it again. This leads to buying bulk in items that most people do not stock up on, like bread (our freezer is full) and ground pork (once again, limited freezer space). Next time celery is in stock, I may have to stock up on that, but I am still not sure how I would keep it fresh! I will miss the families for Thanksgiving, but you are all in our hearts and minds.