Claire's Blog

For Harry Potter fans

2011-11-16T22:07:00.002-05:00

I belong to 2 book clubs. One we all read the same book and then discuss it. The other we all buy a current hard cover book and pass it around. So we get to read a wonderful variety of current fiction or non-fiction books. We meet once a month and have a speaker talk to us, usually stimulating us to read something else.

Last night Judge Karen Morris spoke to us about a book she wrote. She is a local judge and also teaches at Monroe Community College. Because she teaches, she also writes text books so went to a book sellers convention several years ago. As she tells it, she loves the law and because she teaches, she likes to make what some people think is dull, fun.

Karen had not read any of the Harry Potter books, but at the same time as this convention one of the books was going on sale at midnight and she wondered who would turn up for a kids book at midnight. She was amazed at the crowd and the variety of ages. And subsequently found out that other authors were writing books such as 'The Science of Harry Potter'. Karen got the idea that it might be fun to write a book about the law and Harry Potter.

So Karen Morris wrote 'Law Made Fun Through Harry Potter's Adventures'. Her review was fun and the book is available through Amazon and Barnes and Noble on line in paperback and e-reader. Last night I couldn't resist and ordered it on my Kindle and have started reading it. It is interesting the way she compares "Hogwarts" law to "muggle" (regular people) law. This is a fun book for Harry Potter fans. The good thing about the e-reader is I have the book right away and the problem with the e-reader is that Karen can't autograph it for me. (She only had a few books with her)

Where Does The Time Go?

2011-11-04T13:10:00.003-04:00

Colleen was here for a visit a few years ago and asked me what quilt projects I was working on. So I showed her and was surprised to find I had 10 projects in various stages of being done ... or not. I have moved on from there, but still have projects I'm trying to complete.

Last night Colleen called to chat and during the conversation she mentioned an organization that might like some pillowcases ... "and it shouldn't take too long to make 25 of them by Christmas, would it, Mom?"

So I dismissed it after I counted up all the projects I had in various stages of "doness" now. Let's see, 2 baby quilts (I Spy) for expecting neighbors, 3 comfort (charity) quilts basted ready for quilting, a quilt for our bed because the one we have is getting thread bare (1/2 hand quilted), a neighbors quilt top I acquired at a sale (3 years and still hand quilting), a Germany remembrance and a small Thanksgiving wall hanging that I finished last night.

This morning I had to go down to the sewing room for some laundry and what did I find myself doing? Laundry? Oh, no! I was going through my stash of fabric to see what I could use for pillowcases! Now my mostly cleaned up sewing room is not so pristine ... again!

And that's where the time goes. Not to a current project, but to new ones. Now I'm going to work on finishing ... something ... but those pillowcase fabrics are calling. I think I'll email Colleen the directions for making the pretty pillowcases. She can do some, too.

Oh, yes, PT is working. I'm bending my leg back to 120° so PT is almost over, although Mike (PT) said that in order to keep in this good shape I should think of exercise as a life long activity. But there are those pillowcases to get done!

WooHoo!

2011-09-21T15:26:00.002-04:00

It's been 4 weeks and 2 days since I had my left knee replaced and I'm making headway. Today I had PT and Lynelle had me do several exercises all the while encouraging me to do my best. I knew I was further along than I was with the right knee at the same time & Lynelle was also curious so she looked up my records.

At 4 weeks and 2 days with my right knee I was bending my leg to 74 degrees and today I'm bending my left knee to 100 degrees! And this time I'm also able to straighten my leg better. I am very pleased!

The funniest part of the day was when Lynelle wanted me to do some exercises on the floor so she asked me if I could get down there. I said, "Sure, but could I get up again?" Down I went and went through all Lynelle asked of me. Then I had to get up. I'm SO glad there was no camera. We laughed a lot, but with both legs not 100% healed it was a challenge, but I made it. I sure do need to work on getting off the floor gracefully. Did Chuck or Lynelle help me? No. They were too busy laughing along with me. I'll not be gardening for a while. Next spring will be better, I'm sure.

New Left Knee

2011-09-02T09:01:00.003-04:00

This is the year of replacements ... my right knee, Chuck's left hip, refrigerator, floor in computer room, both bathrooms painted and now my left knee. We are so lucky that all physical problems have gone smoothly so far. Well, except for the first schedule of the knee when I went into atrial fibrillation ... but that is under control and seems to have been a fluke. How quickly we forget.

This left knee seems to be easier than the right one for me & I don't think it's just because I'm familiar with the procedure. The medical staff have told me they usually find the opposite; people have more problems with the second knee. My problem is not doing too much as my bone is still weakened. It feels so good to stand at the sink with equal weight on both legs and be comfortable.

Bending the leg is pretty good, too. I was not anywhere near 90º after 2 weeks last time nor was my leg as straight. I am not as swollen, either, but a lovely black, blue & green. And, yes, I am taking those pain pills. I'll be so glad when I can situate myself in bed comfortably. I like to sleep on my side and have difficulty as my knee says it doesn't want to move that way.

We have had some meals delivered and they are such a wonderful help. Chuck has been doing a great job of waiting on me and I love that the weather is warm so I can be outside. I've picked a few weeds and dead headed some blossoms and the yard looks pretty good. What I really want to do is some real digging in the soil. Some of the daylilies need to be divided. I know, it won't be long. Patience, Claire.

So I'll sit and read. "The Geeks Shall Inherit The Earth" is an interesting book about cliques in school & I enjoyed the new Ursula Hegi book & if you like a different mystery "Sister" is very good. And I forgot to add Ann Patchett's new book "State of Wonder. Good reading!

Time for my pain pill as I have physical therapy in 1 hour. Those PT people are so good at encouraging me to push just a little harder. It hurts, but the end result is SO worth it!

Got it!

2011-07-01T23:08:00.002-04:00

We now have the new refrigerator in the kitchen and the one that was in the kitchen is in the basement and the "broken" one from the basement is gone. When the men were finished Chuck asked me if everything was working OK ... and I said no. The basement one was plugged in, but was not running. So when Chuck went down to look at it, he saw that it was not plugged in to the correct socket. I didn't know there was a "correct" socket. I used the one that was used before.

What we finally figured out was that the electricians who were doing some electrical work unplugged the refrigerator and then plugged it into another outlet that was right next to the one that was supposed to be used. Now every time we turned off the light we also turned off the electricity for the refrigerator. Of course, we didn't realize this until we got the new appliance installed. And by that time they had tossed ... yes, actually tossed ... our perfectly good basement refrigerator on the truck and hauled it away.

The moral of this story is that I need to pay attention to the things Chuck has been doing. That means I need to pay attention to car care. Luckily I am in the know about our finances.

The great news is that Chuck went for his 6 week checkup for his hip replacement and the doctor said he was in excellent shape with no restrictions. He is at the 3 month stage after only 6 weeks. He is SO glad to be independent. We are very lucky to have our older years just be inconveniences.

Getting it!

2011-06-23T15:06:00.003-04:00

We went window shopping at Home Depot for a replacement basement refrigerator/freezer. I was explaining to the salesperson what I REALLY wanted (see previous blog) and when I said it was too wide to fit down our stairway she said, "Even with the doors off?"

So when I got home I measured ... and it will go down with room to spare! I called and asked if when they delivered, would they make a 3 way exchange ... bring my kitchen refrigerator downstairs, take the basement one out and bring the new one into the kitchen. The answer was, "No."

Next I called Charlotte Appliance and they said, "Sure!" It will be delivered on Monday and is the same price as the one at Home depot.

Now I'm taking a break from cleaning up the basement so the exchange will go smoothly. We have 3 big coolers to store cold food in, but they aren't big enough for all the food to be out before the big, strong men lift, haul, push, or lug the appliances into their proper spots. I'll have to cook (ugh) and eat (mmm) before they deliver the new beauty. No more perishable food shopping until Tues!

New refrig ... dream on ...

2011-06-21T13:40:00.003-04:00

So the basement refrigerator died and I got all excited! I have wanted a refrigerator with a freezer on the bottom for years, but am too thrifty to just get one while the ones I have are very serviceable. So I took my yardstick and measured all spaces. Yes, my kitchen one will fit in the space of the refrigerator that died. Then I found one that fits in the kitchen space ... and it was on sale!

So next I shared the information with Chuck. He looked at all of it and said it wasn't bad, but did I measure the doorway to the basement? He thinks of everything! The kitchen refrigerator is too wide. We'd have to take off all kinds of door frames and then get them back up. With all the other work we have going on, we'll do without the freezer on the bottom.

What other upcoming work? We had de-icers put on the roof & now will have some electrical work done ... something with the main electric box. We are having the front porch painted, the floor in the computer room is getting new flooring ... rug is the pits ... and both bathrooms will be painted. That's enough for this season. The computer room will be the most work as we have lots of "stuff" in it and that all needs to be sorted, tossed & cleared out. I've started. I have a LOT of outdated computer things.

Cindy planted the rest of the annuals for us and we are going to enjoy the abundance of color in the yard. It looks pretty good.

... another knee

2011-06-11T11:18:00.002-04:00

2 days after I had my right knee done I thought, "Why would anyone have this done again!" As I got better I began to not totally reject the thought. And after only a few weeks the cortisone (which I had 2 weeks before my right knee got fixed) has totally worn off my left knee and now I can hardly wait for the work to be done.

The cortisone has quickly worn off my left knee, it is throbbing, bone on bone, the leg is no longer straight and because I am on a blood thinner I can't take an anti-inflammatory to reduce the pain to a discomfort level, so it is time. Dr. Niles is going to give me another new knee on Aug. 22. When I told him that was the date I wanted he asked if I could wait that long. I want Chuck to completely heal, not spend the whole summer inside and it is when Colleen said she could come and help.

We are so lucky because Chuck's new hip is doing very well and I am finished with out-patient physical therapy so we are well on our way to total recovery. Chuck is still with home PT and Jessica gave me some exercises to continue my progress, which I am doing in the pool 2-3 times a week. West Irondequoit has a free swim for seniors and being in the water takes the pressure off the left leg so I can really work on those exercises.

Now Chuck and I are off to 2 outings ... a Red Cross luncheon and our neighbors (mother - MS and son - HS) graduation party. First outing for Chuck ... besides chatting with all the neighbors that pass by while he is outside.

Ahead of Schedule

2011-05-13T13:15:00.002-04:00

I can't believe the progress. Jessica, the physical therapist, told me after she got my leg back to 120˚ that if they had an ad for their facility and I was in the ad, they'd have to put a disclaimer saying that all do not progress as well as I have. I looked at her skeptically & thanked her for the build up. No build up she told me. I'm doing very well and am ahead of schedule. Then she said she didn't want me to get tendinitis from patting myself on the back so much. Funny woman!

Cile, a woman I swim with also had surgery, but on her foot and I asked a mutual friend how Cile was doing. Maggie replied, "She is like you. Ahead of schedule and complaining that she hasn't done better." I really think that doing the water exercises before surgery helped a lot with the healing.

And now I'm ready for Chuck to get his hip replaced. Surgery is set for 7:30 AM on the 16th. He is SO looking forward to feeling better.

Colleen is coming up to help so that will be good. Now I'm going to get those last minute quilt projects finished before the show June 3, 4 & 5.

Swimming!!

2011-05-02T14:22:00.002-04:00

Well, water walking. I got a call from PT that my therapist went home with a stomach bug and therapy was canceled for today. So I decided to try the pool. It has been 7 weeks and felt good.

First I was greeted like royalty and then cautioned to not over do. Believe me, I didn't. The knee felt funny, but the exercise felt good. I did what the therapist had me do last week, but in the water and it took the pressure off the other knee.

I went for a walk last week and as I was nearing home I felt my knee was bothering me. I laughed when I realized it was not the repaired knee, but the other one. I will get it evaluated, but not going to have surgery right away. I want to enjoy the nice weather. I had a cortisone shot in my left knee about 2 weeks before surgery and it lasted about 8 weeks. I really used that knee a lot & now it's saying "enough!"

I was so glad when Dr. Niles told me I could drive. Chuck had me drive home and I have no problem.

Chuck goes in for his much needed hip replacement on May 16. Poor Chuck is very uncomfortable, but it isn't stopping him. He just is doing some moaning. I know when Chuck complains of pain it is REALLY bad. And he will be having Lynelle and Tracy for his therapists, too. Our neighbor Jeff brought down the lounge chair for Chuck and he is somewhat more comfortable. No, I was not going to give up mine. It is the perfect height and is so nice to be able to have the leg comfortably up after working the leg.

The washer is calling me to dry the clothes, so I'll take care of that and then perhaps a nap ... forget the perhaps.

Wow!

2011-04-21T17:45:00.002-04:00

Today was another day of PT and I didn't feel I'd progressed, but I have! I bent my leg back 100˚! That's from 96˚ 2 days ago! And it's getting easier each day. I have 2˚ more to go to get my leg completely straight. Walking is more comfortable each day and I have not taken pain pills ... except before Lynelle comes. And then ice after PT. Now if the weather would co-operate and stop the snow & rain, I'd get out to walk more.

Standing is still a problem. Chuck got me a fresh pineapple which I cleaned and cut up ... and then I was ready to sit. Before that I was antsy about 1 minute after standing.

Tues. I get my 6 week check up and he'd better tell me I can drive! I'm ready!

Progress

2011-04-19T15:59:00.002-04:00

I'm sitting and icing my knee after PT, but only because Lynelle said to; not because I'm hurting. Yes, she pushed me, but I'm finding it easier. I only have about 2 degrees more for straight, but can't see how that will happen until all the swelling goes away. "They" tell me that may take 3 months. And bending is consistently improving.

Last night I walked up the stairs using alternating legs! It wasn't easy, but it worked!

Last week after downloading some software ... security updates, etc. my computer started acting strange. I tried "fixing" it, because I always seem to think it's something I have done, I finally called the Apple store. We made an appointment at the Genius Bar and they fixed it. We were there from 2 until 7, which was a long time up and about for me, but the good news was that I did it! I even walked the mall somewhat, exercised, listened while the Geniuses told me what they were going to try next ... Greek to me ... went to dinner, Chuck bought a pair of slip on shoes for his impending hip surgery and enjoyed a Starbucks Chai. Wish I had remembered to bring my Kindle ... next time.

A week from today I see Dr. Niles & am hoping he'll say I can drive. I still can't stand for long, but even that is getting better.

Reality Check

2011-04-12T10:12:00.005-04:00

OK. It's been 4 weeks since the new knee and I thought I'd be much more independent by now. I expressed my frustration to Lynelle (PT) and she patiently explained that even though this is now a routine procedure, it is still major surgery and that I am progressing very well. Lynelle also said the next progress will not be in big leaps and bounds, but that I am walking very well and gaining more stamina each time she visits. She is pleased so I guess I should be, too. Now if I remember correctly, I recall being told the first few weeks are the toughest, not that I'd be all healed. Oh, how we read into what is said and not the reality. I'm now adjusted so will be content with my progress.

Yesterday I walked outside quite a bit ... oh, it was such nice weather & felt so good! I saw Matt Truesdale on my walk and he asked how I was doing. I told him that I would be having the Physical Terrorist this afternoon. No sympathy from him! He grinned and said that means she's doing her job.

I'm going to try and machine sew on the binding to Judy's quilt as I don't have a therapist visit today. Yes, I'll do my exercises even without the PT visit, too, but I haven't been in the sewing room for 4+ weeks. I'm having real withdrawal!

Tomorrow I'm going to try choir and Thurs. is quilt club. I'll go for show & tell, lunch and the speaker. Then Fri. is the Pops concert. The last August Wilson play is on Sunday afternoon @ GEVA. I'll see how I do at the Pops concert before I decide about the play. I hear it's a long one. But I don't want to miss it. See? That's my problem. I don't want to miss anything.

Just got a notice that Sue Nickels, our quilt club speaker, will not be able to come as she is attending a family crisis. So Pat Berardi has agreed to do a trunk show. I like Pat's work!

Off to do something physical ... walking, stretching & bending. Have to get in good shape to take as good care of Chuck as he has been doing for me!

Yippee!

2011-04-07T16:44:00.003-04:00

Yesterday we met with some friends at Bill Gray's & there wasn't enough room for all of us to sit together so the "boys" got a booth & the "girls" had a table. I've been watching Chuck grimace each time he gets up from a chair & trying to encourage him not to wait for me to heal completely before he starts the process of getting his hip replaced. The "boys" convinced him so he called Dr. Niles and has his first appointment April 14. Yippee!

I had a different therapist yesterday and have to work harder on getting my leg straight. The bending is S L O W L Y progressing, but straightening seems to be at a stand still. Lynelle measured 5° and Tracy measured 10° so I'm stretching every hour or so and rubbing and massaging.

I went outside today and tomorrow is supposed to be warmer ... 60°s. Perhaps we can think of putting away our winter clothes soon.

Off to bend & stretch some more.

PT?

2011-03-30T16:54:00.002-04:00

I'll bet you thought PT stood for Physical Therapy. Officially that's correct, but now I know why I've heard it referred to as Pain and Torture or Physical Terrorist. Lynelle looks like such a sweet, gentle young woman. She has a way of getting my new knee to do things that I didn't think it could do yet. Those muscles & tendons are being WORKED! And it's working! My knee is bending and straightening better with each exercise session ... with or without Lynelle's supervision. Ice, pain pills and rest make it all worth it.

And we have been blessed with friends that have shared meals with us. It's like going to a different eatery with a delicious variety of shared food & company. I'd better not get too used to this. Chuck really appreciates not having to think about what to fix or standing to fix dinner as his hip is ready for Dr. Niles to repair.

The "snow" word was mentioned again in the weather forecast. Lynelle said we could go outside as soon as the weather gets warmer. I'm SO looking forward to warmer weather and being out in it. I hope I remember being cold when the weather gets too warm. Not much we can do about the weather. And we are looking forward to grilling weather.

Time to do another round of exercises. Those PT people know what they are doing, so I'll follow their instructions.

It's Good to be HOME!!

2011-03-25T17:09:00.002-04:00

I'll try this again. Just as I was ready to "publish" I received an "error" message & lost what I wrote ... except for the title.

I know the Unity Joint Replacement Center did a wonderful job, but there is nothing like being at home. I am keeping up with some exercises even though they did not give me a regiment to follow. So, ankle pumps, butt squeezes and leg raises are the steady diet. Plus I am working at gently bending my leg back while at the kitchen table. I don't want to loose what I've accomplished so far.

Had Kristen, the nurse, check me out this morning with good results & tomorrow Diana the PT will be here. Kirsten said they do not expect you to do much work on the knee so the swelling goes down before the hard work begins. I thought what I did was hard work. Apparently that was a warm up. I asked Diana to be gentle and she said she would be ... the first day.

And we don't have to fix dinner for 2 days thanks to our neighbor, Michelle, and one of my "sisters", Kay.

My goal is to be well enough to sit at my sewing machine to work on a quilt or wall hanging. In the mean time I will happily do hand quilting. Of course, if I can go down to sew, I'll be able to do laundry & I don't know if Chuck is ready to give that up because he is doing a wonderful job.

I'd better get started on that hand sewing. It will also keep me warm.

82°

2011-03-22T11:01:00.002-04:00

That's 9° more than yesterday that I could bend my leg back ... hurts, but worth every ache! The aches are now occasionally rather than constant. I'm also on less pain medicine. Every bit of advice I've gotten from former recipients of new knees is true. Work hard = good results.

The big news is that they are looking to send me home on Thurs. No more overcooked veggies! Still lots of PT at home & looks like lots of visitors from health related fields checking in.

OK. Short nap time before lunch and the next PT ... unless a doctor, phlebotomist, nurse, aide, dietician, social worker, visitor, secretary, etc, etc. need me for something very important.

Progress

2011-03-21T15:03:00.002-04:00

... a little each day. Only 72° today, but that's 1 degree more than the last time. That's not the temperature, but the distance I can bend my leg back ... and it hurt. And I folded towels (for balance & how long you can stand) and then had to pick up dropped clothes and hang them on the hanger (more balance).

I finished "Sarah's Key" by Tatiana de Rosnay which is an excellent book. It's about WWII Jews in France. The author did a great job of weaving facts of history with an imagined story ... a very moving story.

Remember that brown roast beef I mentioned yesterday? Today it was beef tips with noodles. Great oatmeal for breakfast.

Enjoy your day!

Lifted my leg ... without support!!

2011-03-20T13:35:00.002-04:00

Sunday is the day of rest? Not here, unless you call a little sleeping in and only 1 therapy today, rest. But even though I'm griping, I'm making progress. Holding my leg in the air without a person or strap for support, as I get out of bed has been a killer, but I did it today. Walking & stairs aren't bad. Sitting with the knee bent isn't comfortable. But each day is a visible improvement because I can do more or it's easier. Got my pants, shoes & socks on by myself.

My incentive? Nancy ... no last names of the innocent are used. She was the woman in the room next to me at the hospital that screamed all night the first night & made me sleep deprived. When we went to PT, there she was ... sound asleep & nobody could wake her up. She missed 1 entire day of work and I heard her yell several times during the day. I felt so sorry for her as she looked like she had other health problems too and would be rehabbing much longer than me.

Yesterday in rehab she was raising her knee replaced leg off the bed unassisted like she should, and I must say, she looked healthier, too. Not fair. Today she went home ... her goal ... to her 1 story house.

I've never been known to be speedy (no laughing) about anything, so I'll be happy to do my usual slow and steady.

When will I be home? When I can walk a distance and the therapists are across the room not worrying about me ... same with the stairs & when I can bend my knee back to a 90° angle. My incentive? Chuck's grilling! Veggies here are overcooked, gravy is a staple, beef is very brown ... no redness. I am eating healthy & don't have much of an appetite & there are lots of choices ... certainly not loosing weight, even with the hard work. They serve small portions with plenty of calories.

That's all for today ... nap time!

It works!

2011-03-19T13:37:00.002-04:00

I tried to get the computer to work in the hospital and it didn't, but here at the rehabilitation center it is working like a dream!

So, I have a new knee and it works ... not well or easily yet, but every day is an improvement. Surgery was on Monday and they had me dressed Tuesday morning by 6:30 AM. Shannon was firm and kept pushing, but I hurt even with the pain pill. I wanted to punch her because I was SURE I couldn't do anything. I did. When she left me in the chair I bawled. Then I scolded myself and ate breakfast. Then Colleen called and I unloaded for 2 minutes when they picked me up for therapy. I couldn't believe how much better I felt after therapy! I called Colleen right back after that session and she was so glad to hear the difference in my attitude.

Of course it didn't help that I was sleep deprived on Tuesday because the woman in the next room was in pain and screaming all night ... then they couldn't wake her up during therapy. I also napped, but after therapy and everything has been moving S L O W L Y since then, but moving forward.

Ready to go

2011-03-11T17:23:00.005-05:00

I'm ready ... mostly. I got my second pre-surgery haircut and Laurie said that's all I get for the right knee. Surgery is scheduled for 10:00 AM on Mon. I've got my clothes ready to be packed, phone charged & Chuck will bring the computer on Tues. for me to report progress. Now to relax.

Yesterday was a great day starting out with quilt club. Pricilla Kibbee did a wonderful garment trunk show and then I went to the RPO, the first one without Judy.

... and speaking of Judy, we (Karen Alexander, Sue Donovan and I) got her friendship quilt top pieced and ready to sign and show her. Judy loved the Laurel Burch fabrics we used.

Karen, Mary Lu, JUDY, Martha, Rosalie, me, Chryss and Sue. This picture was taken by Sue ... isn't the timer on a camera handy for getting the photographer in the picture, too? And it worked!

Cindy suggested I also make a quilt for Ozzie, because the cat is moving, too, so I did. Thanks for adding to the fabric stash, Cindy.

I think Ozzie will like it. I know Judy did when I gave it to her. And I got assurance from her family that they will take good care of her. (I know they will, but had to ask anyway.)

Ups & Downs

2011-03-05T15:56:00.004-05:00

It's been a long time ... again, but I think I'll try to continue. It will be an easier way to keep everyone that is interested up-to-date with my knee replacement starting on March 14.

I'm ready now and hope I'll behave properly. Some of you may know that it was scheduled for Jan. 31 and I got as far as the operating table and had atrial fibrillation so they postponed surgery until they figured out why. After all kinds of tests and not finding anything ... no blockage & a strong heart they blame it on? You guessed it! Age. So I'm on meds and am ready to go ... again.

And I'm getting ready by finishing up some projects. The first is my Puzzle Quilt that I started in a class from Paula Nadelstern. It is done and on the wall. There are 16 blocks and each of 6 pieced blocks are repeated 2 or 3 times. Here is the key:
Block 2 Block 1 Block 2 Block 3
Block 5 Block 4 Block 5 Block 4
Block 1 Block 4 Block 2 Block 3
Block 6 Block 1 Block 5 Block 6
That means all the Block 1's are made with the same pattern pieces, but the different fabrics make them look entirely different. All the block 6 blocks look like the same pieces to me, but all the block 1 blocks do not, but is. Fabric placement is key.

What a lot of work and lots of fussy cutting, but so much fun and a big challenge. I'll do more like this, but table runner size.

Published ... Kindle, too.

2010-12-29T15:16:00.003-05:00

For Christmas, Cindy had my blog published so I decided to reread it. It's much easier to read when it is in order, rather than going back and forth, so, thanks, Cindy. As I was reading it I noticed 3 typo's, all on the same blog page, which I corrected. One was a grammar error, another a spelling error (which was underlined, but I didn't catch) and the last one was "quite" instead of "quiet". And I read it ... how many times ... before publishing it?

I do like the book, but miss the links, so if you want to access the links, the blog is the place to go.

Chuck got me a Kindle and I do like it. No, I haven't given up books completely. I still like quilt books with patterns in book form and some older books are cheaper in paperback. I downloaded Mark Twain's autobiography, published this year 100 years after his death & a very big book, and John Casey's new book onto my Kindle. Now I need a trip to not have heavy books to cart with me. I did start reading the Twain book & like it.

I'm going to try and be more diligent about blogging

March

2010-03-18T22:23:00.000-04:00

We have been having a great time at The Villages, but not all the days have been sunny, and that’s been a blessing. The first day we got here we had dinner with Risë and Denny then Risë and I went to a Central NY gathering while the boys stayed home and watched WVU play basketball. We got home and I got up early the next morning to go to an 8:30 AM quilt meeting. Next was some grocery shopping and getting to know the house & that evening was the monthly quilt meeting. YES, I went!

From there it has been walking with some Greece people ... former teachers & their spouses. We walked every day ... except I miss Tues. mornings because I HAVE to go to the quilt meeting. But Chuck walks. But we are only fair weather walkers.

We got to sleep in 2 mornings because it rained & it felt good. Chuck kept occupied with all the basketball ... it’s endless in March. Even with the rain, it was warm so I set up a sewing room on the screened in porch. Beth Brandkamp had given me oodles of stripes of fabric which were leftovers from some project she got carried away doing and I decided to finally use them up by making comfort quilts.

I was happily sewing away when the phone rang and it was Risë wondering what I was doing and when I told her about my porch set up she asked me if I heard a weather report. No, I had my iPod plugged in, but I knew it was raining heavily. She thought perhaps I should go inside and I told her I would take care ... but ignored her. That is until the phone rang again with a tornado alert. When I got back to my sewing, some of my fabric was quite wet because the rain was not coming down straight anymore, but sideways. So I went to the kitchen table. Oh, yes, the tornado hit Ocala, not us, but it was a productive day.

And those of you that saw my facebook entry and were wondering why I was complaining that the iron was cold, thinking I’ve lost my marbles because I was ironing ... it was for the quilt which only needs binding now And I have enough to make another one, but have to shop for some backing.

My Paula Nadelstern Top

2010-01-29T16:54:00.000-05:00

This is how to spend a cold winter day! I couldn't wait to get these blocks together and I LOVE it! The photo doesn't show it quite square, but it will be when I quilt it and hang it properly. I think I'll do that in FL in March.

I didn't mention, for you non-quilters, why it is a puzzle quilt. There are 6 repeat blocks made with the same pattern pieces, but using different fabrics in the blocks. There are 16 (I know I said 25, but that was not correct. Guess I couldn't count ... or type. I was probably thinking about the other designs that are still running around in my head!) blocks and I made 2 blocks twice and 4 blocks 3 times each. That was a huge challenge because they had to go into one quilt and I had such a variety of fabrics. I didn't buy ALL new fabrics as I have quite a stash already. I think that's why I'm so pleased with the end ... almost ... result.

I haven't heard if the new babies are here across the street, but I have to do their "I Spy" first. Allison was scheduled for a "C" section today.

If you want to see the individual blocks up close, check out my previous blog. I labeled the blocks so you can see which blocks use the same pattern pieces. I did change the one block 6 so it is pieced as the other one ... a change from the Nadelstern block 6, but still using the same pattern pieces. I just oriented half the block differently because I liked the way the center looked.

Puzzle Quilt

2010-01-26T22:41:00.000-05:00

When I went to my first quilt workshop in the early 1980's, I agonized about what fabrics I should bring. Did I have the “right” ones for the project? Was there enough variety? What did the teacher have in mind? I probably had more questions and I expressed my frustration to a classmate. She said she never fussed over that because she just concentrated on learning the technique. From there on I adopted her view. And it worked.

Until I took Paula Nadelstern’s puzzle class. I bought the “perfect” fabric ... until I worked with it. I used the fabric and certainly learned the technique, but it just didn’t work. See? I matched most of the parts, except for that one center block, which I didn’t notice until I posted this picture. But that wasn’t the problem.

Paula kept telling us that “more is better” and she was right! The more blocks I made, the prints I used became smaller and not as large as in this first block. These are puzzle block # 5.

So I’m using these 2 and the first one I made will be a pillow. Next I became obsessed with all the possibilities. These are so addictive! This was my next block and the camera came in very handy. The blue corners did not work for me, but I like the corners now.

Can you believe it? This is the same block pattern as the one above! Yes, the exact same pattern pieces were used in block # 3. The blocks are from Paula’s Puzzle Book. There are 6 blocks in the book and Paula has us making 2 of each. And then I was off and running ... well, that’s stretching it. I’ve never been known to do anything fast, but slow and steady was my way.

Next came block # 1:

And then block # 4:

And I never noticed that I turned one of the parts the wrong way on this until a couple of weeks later. See it in the lower left corner? I’m so glad it was not in the middle!

Block 6:

There. Done. Now to find a sashing. I went to Patricia’s House of Fabric’s because I knew my daughter, Cindy, was taking a class there so I’d take a peek at her work and have help picking out the fabric. Cindy had already gone home (I thought the class ended at 4, but it was 1). Pat Pauly was still there so I laid out my 12 blocks and she ohh’d and ahh’d appropriately and we picked out a purple batik. Chuck was also there when Pat said, “Have you thought about making it a square?” I hadn’t, but Chuck thought it was a great idea. So in 1 week I made these 4 extras:

So now all I have to do is put the sashing and cornerstones with all these blocks and quilt it. It isn't as polished as Paula's quilts, but she has done many more of these, but I really like the blocks.

Please don't hold your breath waiting for the finished product as my next quilt is another "I Spy" for a new baby and that will preceed this one.

Renate Neeman

2010-01-14T19:31:00.001-05:00

It was a perfect day today. First, the sun shone and that is so welcome after all the snow and gloom we've had. Next it was a quilt club day and that's always a wonderfully inspiring day. Then I met Renate and last ... I picked up my wedding ring. I took it off to knead my stollen and had a difficult time getting it off. It seems I have arthritis in the ring finger knuckle & then when I finished the kneading, I couldn't get it back on. So off to the jeweler to get it enlarged ... and they found that I needed the prongs repaired, too. Since it was Christmas, it took longer. It looks like a shiny new ring.

Here I am with Renate Neeman. Thanks, Ulla, for putting us together. It was such a pleasant visit ... about 2.5 hours. We did not run out of stories to tell each other. We both came upon our history recently so it was interesting to compare notes. Renate, also, was not as aware of all the historical drama as she was shielded. Renate is older than I am, but she was in Germany during the war so her story is different than mine but she felt she was sheltered with family & then a family that nurtured her when she went to Amsterdam, she did not feel like she had a difficult life.

Renate gave me a copy of the manuscript translation that her mother wrote shortly after they arrived in the states and I will read that tonight. I understand a Weinberg is mentioned, but after talking to Renate, I'm not sure it's a relative. The English version is scheduled to be published in the spring by Ulla. Renate had the German version of the book that has the memoirs in it and showed it to me. It seems Renate's cousin met Ulla because the cousin is in the book where I'm mentioned. After the book was published former school mates contacted Renate, just like our press conference. I love the connections!

It was wonderful to meet Renate today. I'm sure we will meet again.

Weinberg Saga Continues

2010-01-07T13:28:00.000-05:00

Last night, a little before 6 P. M. the phone rang. If I'd had an clue what this phone call would be about, I would have taped it or taken notes. The woman introduced herself (I'll put it in my blog after I ask her if it is alright & for now I'll call her R. N.) and told me she got my name from Ursula Bernhold. I remember Ulla asking me if it was OK if she gave my information to her. Of course I accepted. Especially since she had some of my family history.

When I asked how she got the information, she chuckled and said it was kind of convoluted. (That sounds like how I got my history.) It seems R. N.'s family is Jewish, from the Wesermarch area and managed to escape. I think she said they hid in Amsterdam(?). Sometime after the war they came to the U. S. Sometime after that R. N.'s mother wrote her memoirs and when she died R. N. received all her things, including the memoirs which were mixed up with the rest of the items. R. N. didn't know they were there. So they, like Opa's writings, languished somewhere.

In 2002 R. N. was going through all those things and found the memoirs. After reading it she asked her cousin who lives in (Oldenburg?) Germany if she would like a copy and the cousin said yes. The cousin was familiar with Ulla's research and asked Ulla if she was interested. Ulla was and these are slated to be part of a book that is expected to be published in the spring. But R. N. has a partial English translation and has offered that to me now.

I finally had the sense to asked R. N. where she was calling from and she said Buffalo! That's right around the corner! I don't know if she is going to send them or give them to me when I meet her on Jan. 14. It seems she has a doctor here that she visits once a year! I'm so excited to meet her.

And the reference to Weinberg? It seems Opa (perhaps Dad) was offered a political position in Brake, but only if he would become baptized. He refused.

Now I'm so curious about all the new found information. Stay tuned, as surely there will be more!

Working on ...

2009-12-29T13:30:00.000-05:00

Just before Christmas I was asked what I was working on and couldn't tell because it was for my brother (who has quite a few cowboy boots and coyotes rooming in his area) & sister-in-law. They called and thanked me so here they are!

I found the pattern online and apparently liked it so much I ordered it ... twice ... once about 3 years ago and then again this year. When I found the Christmas coyote fabric I knew I had to get busy. The directions were clear, but not easy. The stocking itself was not difficult, but the pieced front with similar sized pieces had to be carefully placed and not interchanged. I would have enjoyed templates, but that probably is not as accurate when sending the pattern online and using different printers. They were fun to make as I enjoy a challenge. I actually made 3 of them & kept one for us. There is nothing in it, but it looks good hanging at the fireplace.

Good book!

2009-12-24T17:39:00.000-05:00

Just a quick note before we go out to dinner. I belong to a book club where we each buy a current book and then pass them around to each other. I get to read books that I may not choose. I got "Losing Mum and Pup" by Christopher Buckley and loved it! It is witty and yet reverent. I'll read other books by Christopher Buckley. Thanks!

Christmas Tree

2009-12-19T10:06:00.001-05:00

Look at our beautiful tree! We haven't had one in 15 years ... we've decorated the house, but no tree because we have been with either of our grandchildren for Christmas. This year we have been invited to be with Cindy & Charlie.

So, now I'll tell you how we happened to get this lovely tree. We were with Paul & Lisa & Amanda & Kendra for Thanksgiving and Lisa asked me what we were doing for Christmas. I said we were staying home. Then she asked me if we would get a tree. I said that we weren't because our house was too small to have one. Lisa mentioned that there are lovely, slim, lit artificial trees available. She even pulled them up online, but nay ... too much money for a nice one ... we have plenty of decorations without one ... who needs it? End of conversation.

So I went on my merry way. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving week-end with good food and wonderful visits with people in and out all week-end.

A few days after we got home the doorbell rang and it was a delivery of this big box. Chuck wanted to know what I ordered, and I hadn't. When we opened the box it was the tree ... from Lisa and Paul and is our Christmas present! It fits in our front window perfectly!

It went together perfectly and even has a remote to turn the lights on & off. I had fun digging out all our ornaments and with the empty spots I filled in with dried hydrangeas from our garden.

Then I tried to put the angel that Cindy had needlepointed for us years ago as a tree topper, but it was too heavy and kept falling down, poor thing. That's when I fashioned a few hydrangeas into a bouquet and it is light enough to stay in place. The angel sits on the valance near the tree and looks beautiful there.

Cindy put up a small tree and asked me if I wanted to borrow the tree skirt I made for her and it works ... but I'll make one for our tree in 2010. That's what I need ... another excuse to quilt. ;-)

And we like it. It won't shed and has 3 easy pieces to put together and no watering. Great way for us to have a tree.

1 Year Ago

2009-09-23T11:54:00.000-04:00

It doesn't seem possible that a whole year has gone by since we were in Germany. Chuck & I keep looking at our pictures and the press conference movie on Vimeo. (The link is posted on the left side of the blog.) Our memories are still very vivid and I STILL think it was the trip of my lifetime. I'm sure we will go on others, but none as meaningful to me.

We went to Dansville on Labor Day Week-end and at a bakery vendor they had the mandelhorns that we ate all over Germany. We have to go to Germany to get THE best. And I've made 3 plum cakes, so far this season. I'm saving the recipe I got from Hannah & Clara for apple cake. Helga made an apple cake from that recipe and Ruth made the plum cake from that recipe. The photo is of the plum cake we had at the Kind's. Oh, yes, that's Helga and Hannah behind the cake. And we also had a surprise plum cake brought to us in Brake from Ulla. And this was a different recipe ... all excellent!

I had fun converting the recipe from metric and made a few ... not as successful cakes ... before I found the right amounts. None were bad enough to throw away, just not "company" ready.

And Irondequoit has it's Oktoberfest this week-end and last. We went last week-end and Chuck had Weinerschnitzel and beer and I had rouladen with my Reisling. The rouladen was as good as we had at the lovely luncheon in Ovelgönne.

I know I've gone on about the food, but what I enjoyed most was the wonderful people we met and the welcoming attitude. I was not sure what it would be like and was so glad to witness the fact that the country is acknowledging the holocaust with its museums. We saw many school groups touring Sachenhausen Concentration Camp.

It was a powerful visit for me and I, again, thank Clara & Hannah for opening the door for me!!

Souvenir

2009-09-17T09:37:00.000-04:00

Last night I went with friends to see "Souvenir" at GEVA and thoroughly enjoyed it! If you get a chance go see it. This poor woman (Judy Kaye) was much more off key ... and timing ... than I ever was. I marveled at her voice thinking she probably had a wonderfully trained voice ... that she could sing so badly really must have been such a difficult role for her. And the actor that was her accompanist had wonderful timing for all the jokes! Everyone was in stitches and tears were running down my face. Want a good laugh? Go see this play.

That Long?

2009-09-15T12:33:00.000-04:00

I didn't realize it's been so long since my last entry. Summer always seems to go by in a flash. With all the rain we had we had some wonderful flowers in our garden and the grass stayed green even in our sandy soil. The asters are still blooming and I love the hydrangea with both pink and blue flowers on the same bush. Thanks to my friend, Bill, I have quite a few day lillies and this double yellow one is my favorite! Now I have to concentrate on weeding. Where do they all come from?

The funniest plant we have is my tomato "tree". None of those plants produced much, but one is taller than I am ... and has only 2 tomatoes on it which are still green. The other 3 plants are green and normal size, but i red tomato & 2 green ones. Everyone in this area has not had good luck with tomatoes this year.

This and That

2009-06-29T09:00:00.000-04:00

Chuck and I spent the last 4 days at the L. P. G. A. watching the girls play golf in the rain and the sun. I enjoy watching them go into a hazard and then get out easily and still make par. Cindy gives us tickets to this event for Christmas. Nice gift. And if you saw me there ... I'm the one that was quilting while waiting for the girls to get to where we can see them. Yes, I do watch the golf.

I've added a book to my favorites. I'm usually reluctant about a book with 2 authors, but the book was written by Mary Ann Shaffer, who was born the year I was. She became ill and then had her niece put the finishing touches on it. She has subsequently died, but has left a wonderful book for all of us to enjoy.

If you enjoy quilting and wonderful pictures of birds and flowers, Beth's blog is the one for you. She has a wonderful eye for color and design.

Paula Nadelstern!!

2009-05-26T18:50:00.000-04:00

What a great week-end we had with Paul, Lisa, Amanda and Kendra. Our children and grandchildren are always great fun to be with.

And it was a busy time. We arrived on Fri. and went on a picnic to friend's of theirs. Good company and eats. Sat. Paul treated Chuck (a birthday gift) with a trip to Foxboro, MA to watch 2 college LaCrosse play-offs. They loved it. Kendra had a baseball game and both girls had music lessons, so it was girls day at home.
But Sunday was THE BEST for me!! Lisa took me into NYC to the American Folk Art Museum, right next to MOMA ... we kept looking for it across the street. Paula Nadelstern had an exhibit there and even though she is coming to Rochester in Sept. she will not be bringing these quilts because the show ends after her visit here. These quilts are marvelous to look at from a distance, but up close is the BEST! She uses such busy fabrics that I don't have the vision to put together, but they work ... beautifully. And all those little pieces of fabric I've been ditching? Paula uses them and they add just the right touch. If you have the opportunity to see these quilts, go. Admission is only $9.00 ($7.00 for seniors) and there are 5 floors to the Museum. Paula's show is on the second floor.

I did bring Chuck's camera just in case I could photograph them. I read all the information they gave me and looked for signs, but nothing said No Photos. So I took this picture. Then the guards came out! I told them I looked for signs, etc., apologized, shut the camera off and put it away. As lovely as the photo is, it doesn't do it justice.
After the show I went to the gift shop and they had some fat quarters. Sure I bought them! I'm taking a workshop from Paula in Sept. and need to be prepared. I'll try, but don't expect my work to be like hers. It will be fun to learn from her.

We then went to a street fair on 7th street ... it was blocked off for many streets to all kinds of vendors. We were just going to get a drink. I ended up with a skirt. We got home in time to attend a pig roast at the house of a teacher friend of Paul's. Mon. was a quiet time at home with gardening, reading and, as always, good food.

How Did They Do It?

2009-05-17T18:55:00.000-04:00

On Fri. we had a lovely dinner with Cindy and Charlie. We were graced by some bluebirds and other birds. Their yard is wonderful!

And then we came home. Chuck was wondering what was wrong with the garage door opener, when we realized that there was no power for most of the neighborhood. Actually, we found out that it was to about 5,000 homes. We couldn't see well enough to read or sew. When it didn't go on after an hour, I decided I HAD to read. I surrounded myself with 7 candles and did read, but it was a struggle. How did they do it ... way back before power? I am SO spoiled! The light was barely enough to read. I certainly couldn't make those small stitches on my quilt in that light. What a relief when the power came back on!

Yesterday I was at a quilt workshop taught by Carol Doak on paper piecing. She is funny and very informative. I liked the workshop and learned some tricks ... but I still don't enjoy paper piecing. Will I use it? You betcha! It is a great way to get exact blocks. I meant to bring my book for Carol to sign, but forgot.

In September I'm taking a workshop from Paula Nadlestern. Wow! Our quilt club really is entertaining some wonderful speakers. I'll not forget my book for Paula to sign ... I hope!

More D. C.

2009-05-10T13:49:00.000-04:00

I tried to do this all yesterday, but "it" wouldn't let me access any more of Chuck's lovely photos. GRRRR!! It still won't! So, if you wish to see some of D. C. go to the D. C. link.
I did not include ALL of them because there are too many. It gives you a taste of our trip. We were impressed with the wonderful memorials and museums. We especially liked the F. D. R.

And the Holocaust Museum. It must be experienced. I wrote to them ahead of time and sent them my blog site. I got a response and they said they would like my story, but just the WWII memories. I pulled out those parts and brought them to the Archive Department and they couldn't have been more appreciative. They also suggested that if I have any documents, I might consider giving it to them and I am considering doing that. It would be a permanent way of preserving them and accessible to all family members ... even those that may not be as interested, yet. After all, it took me until I was in my 70's to put my history together because it wasn't "history" to me ... just my life. I do have all the documents on disk for family to access now, but the paper was not archival or acid free in 1930's and 1940's so it would be better preserved there.

Beside the memorials and museums we visited the Saudi Arabian embassy, but were not allowed to take cameras or our cell phones in, which was too bad. It is a lovely embassy, as they probably all are, but some of our group got to put on the native outfits that are worn in Saudi Arabia and one of those participants wondered if anyone had a secret camera so he could be photographed in his outfit. They did get a photo taken by a Saudi from the embassy and then emailed to them. They explained that the outfits are for comfort in the heat and blowing sand. Their talk was very interesting.

We met a couple, attending the Elderhostel, from Asheville that is acquainted with a former teacher friend and we had dinner with another former teacher. We did not connect with another friend as we were on the go and no other free time. We really will have to go back.

Now we will enjoy the flowers that are springing up here and then THE quilt show.

Washington, D. C.

2009-05-09T11:37:00.000-04:00

We just got back from Elderhostel's Discover Washington, D. C. program and enjoyed it ... even with the rain or grey skies. We haven't been there since 1966, so it was time. Our guides were informative and the activities were smoothly run. There were several lectures in the mornings ... I think to get the morning traffic out of the way. We went in early on Wed. and even though we were close to D. C, it did take us longer to get in.

Jefferson was our first monument and one we missed on our last trip. The George Washington was one we did not go to, but saw it from every vantage point. Here it is on our last day with blue sky.

The next was the Kennedy Center. What a magnificent facility that is! There are 6 theaters in it and the art is donated from various countries or organizations. We went back again on our last night and saw "Ragtime" as that was included. I saw it in Toronto 12 years ago and enjoyed it just as much this time. There are no artificial flowers and we saw many floral arrangements throughout our tour. This was our entrance, The Hall of Nations. We didn't see the concert hall, but could catch sounds of the Pittsburgh Symphony as they were practicing. We did get to watch on opera practice ... couldn't take a picture of the staging as that's copywrited, but got the chandelier. This one can't be lowered to clean.
Next was the White House ... not inside. We got to see that on our previous visit, but with today's tight security it's not easy to get in.

TV & quilts for the June GVQC show

2009-02-22T11:41:00.000-05:00

The call came last Wed. from the delivery people that are going to deliver our new HDTV. When do we get it? The next day? No, Tues. What? After the Oscars? So we wait. Next year those wonderful outfits will look lovely.

But I have gotten a few projects done. I'm just finishing up a bit of hand quilting on the "Northern Neighbors" wall hanging I started in Alaska. I'm quite happy with it. I used a pattern from a magazine and machine pieced and appliquéd it. Then I took the sections with animals in them with us on our Alaskan adventure and did the hand quilting. I bought the border fabric in Alaska ... they have some WONDERFUL quilt shops. Chuck will tell you I didn't miss seeing any of them nor did I pass up the wonderful opportunities they offered. This is Chuck patiently waiting outside one of them.

When I got home I pieced the other blocks and after putting it together tried my hand at machine quilting parts of it using rayon thread and also metallic threads. I used some old table linens from my grandfather and my mother. They are thread bare, so are great for the occasional laundering and preserve the monogram. They feel good when doing the hand quilting!

I bought a pattern for a small wallhanging of a dog sled team that I thought Cindy would like and she now has it hanging in her office at work. I'm going to show it, too.

Oh, whew! The power just went off for a couple of minutes and I was afraid all was lost. It wasn't!

And the other entry I'm putting in the quilt show is the reversible picnic tablecloth I made using food on one side and red & blue prints on the other for patriotic holiday picnics.

TV

2009-02-12T15:55:00.000-05:00

We decided to help the economy and update a very old TV with HD, so very shortly before Christmas we treated ourselves with a 42 inch Vizio LCD TV, which fits perfectly on our 39-3/4 inch shelf. It was ... notice the past tense ... beautiful! Chuck was so happy to see all those sports players sweating up a storm. We bought it at Circuit City, which has since gone belly up.

About the middle of Jan. we started having a few problems and we called Time Warner (TW) our cable provider, who fixed the problem, even though they never saw exactly what was happening on the screen. They came over at least 5 times and redid wires and checked connections and really worked their magic. But we kept having picture issues. Of course we would turn off the TV and finally we were told that the next time the problem occurs we should leave the TV on and call TW because they could read our cable box from their office and reset it. They did, but told us they were not getting bad readings. And whatever they did worked ... for a 1/2 hour or so. Mark, a technician who was here a few times, came back again & rechecked ... again. When he hooked it up this time he said, "Whoa! This isn't our problem!" He finally saw what we were experiencing.

Next I called Vizio and they ran me through a few paces ... unplugging the TV, holding the power button, plugging back in with & without cable. Nothing worked. The next step was to take digital photos of what we saw and email them to Vizio, then wait 48 hours, call them back and after they could evaluate the situation from my email pictures to either send someone to repair the TV or send us a new one. So today I called ... after quilt club.

They looked at my pictures and we are getting a replacement TV! No arguments! Except it will not be new, but reconditioned and the warranty will start from the day we bought it in Dec, not when it gets delivered in 7 to 10 days. So we will see, but I hope it was just one lemon we got.
I really have lots of praise for Time Warner. They were excellent about sending out technicians to try and help us and in the long run it wasn't even their problem.

Now I'm going to relax by going to my quilting room and work on finishing my "Northern Neighbors" quilt. Perhaps I'll even do a little laundry, while I'm in the area. Sometimes I have to do some housework.

Brown Hair?

2009-01-14T10:24:00.000-05:00

Chuck & I need to renew our passports, so I filled out my application. Where it said hair color I entered "brown" same as with all previous passport applications. Then Chuck said, "when should we go for the photo?" and I said not until I get my haircut.

The last photo was not my best, as I had chemo 6 months earlier. Wow! That was 10 years ago! Remember when the word "cancer" was mostly a death sentence? I LOVE the new technology! Go regularly for check-ups. I had no symptoms; it was just my normal review. It worked for me.

Anyway, I had my hair cut and was looking at my lap full of cuttings. Guess what? My hair is salt & pepper! When did THAT happen? It's OK. At my age I'm entitled. Laurie, my hair dresser, said it fits me & don't color it ... not that I planned on it anyway. And I just added my jacket photos. It sure shows my REAL hair color. I've got to amend my passport application!

We are staying home this winter; and winter is here. It is all the way up to 12° from 7° when I first looked at 8 this morning. And where is Chuck? Cleaning driveways! Brrrr! Pat HAD to tell us it will be 72° in Tucson.

Me? I have started several quilt projects and want to get them quilted (by hand) to display in the quilt show the first week-end in June. It will be a big show. I do have 2 pieces completed and not given away ... my travel jacket and a small wall hanging of dog sledding in Alaska, which is in Cindy's office at Lollypop Farm. With any luck, I may get the other, bigger Alaska memory quilt done, too.

Too Long Since Last Entry

2009-01-09T08:53:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd write about the trip and feelings related to it ... and that would be it. Yesterday I went to quilt club and Beth said, "Claire, you haven't been keeping up with your blog!" So I guess people DO read them. Thank you!

In November I had the privilege of giving a talk about our Germany trip and my past to (one of 2) my book club and tried to do it in 45 minutes. That turned out to be almost 2 hours because they kept asking questions. They were attentive and didn't fall asleep. I made Rote Grutze with Vanilla Sauce and I had some marzipan to share. Maybe it was the food. On New Year's Eve I gave the talk again. I'm amazed that I still get emotional.

The memories keep coming because I keep getting packages. We went to Colleen's for Christmas and when we got home there was another package waiting for us from Ulla with yet another article in a local paper with a great picture of Bernd and me. (Read my entry from Oct. 19 to reference the news articles and Ulla) I took the article to quilt club and Ro Hattman translated the article for me! I could decipher some of the article, but not all, so was very happy that she could do the translation. It also says that after 69 years the 73 year old ....

And in Brake on Nov. 9, Thomas Bücher (Oct. 16 entry) wrote 3 articles relating to the 70th anniversary of Kristalnacht with some references to our family. He also did an article about Ulla's work. We are so glad she received the recognition she deserves.

My next venture is to put all these momentoes into some kind of archival safe order. It's winter and a great project for this time of year. I should do some housework, too. Nah! Too many books to read and quilts that "need" to be made.

9 November 2008

2008-11-10T09:00:00.000-05:00

Last night I went to Temple B'rith Kodesh for a presentation called "Voices of Conscience & Memory: 70 Years After Kristallnacht". The hall was full and there were a variety of speakers. I was most impressed with the video documentation that has been recorded of the local survivors who are actively telling their story. Some were in the audience and, sadly, others have died. Mrs. Paul used to come to the school where I taught and had the students riveted as they listened attentively to her presentation, so I was glad to see that her story was also documented before her death.

And I was delighted to hear retired family court Judge Anthony Sciolino, who is now a Deacon of the Catholic Church, say what I have been telling people for years. Christians are followers of Christ who was a Jew. Christians use the old and new testaments of the bible. Judge Sciolino had a difficult time with his Pope's involvement, or lack of involvement, with the holocaust, so he is also one of the people saying "never again".

I wish I had memories of some of those events ... not because I want or need to experience it, but so I could add my voice to the telling of this horrific event so it never happens again. Well, I guess I am telling it in my own small way.

When I went to college I lived in the dorm and the roommate they assigned me was Myrna Seigel. The next time I came home, I told my family about her and also mentioned that she was Jewish. Dad smiled and said, "Of course." Then he explained about last names and why they put Weinberg and Seigel together. I had no idea about ethnic names. It was never important or an issue in our house. After all, we lived in America where most people are decendants of not native born people.

I never understood prejudice. Even all that Dad went through, he never understood it, either. I remember him telling about an incident at work. It seems that dealers would bring scrap metal to Apex and Dad was in a management position at that time, so he took the customers in the order that they came. Apparently there was a white man after a black one and he objected to the "preferential" treatment of the black man. Dad gave the white man a lecture about being an American and how lucky he was to live here. Dad would be so pleased that Barack Obama was elected for a lot of reasons.

I wish I could have been in Grant Park when Barack Obama gave his acceptance speech. The crowd reminded me of V-J Day. We lived in Chicago at that time and heard on the radio about the joyous crowds all heading downtown. So we went, too. The bus took us as far as it could travel and then the driver said, "I can't go any farther!" So Mom took Bernd's hand and Dad had mine and we started to enter the crowd. We did not go far as the crowd was too animated and our parents were concerned for our safety so we went back. It was a very happy crowd then, too.

My plea is to please teach your children acceptance and kindness and positive coping skills. We are all different. Enjoy the differences.

Sachsenhausen

2008-10-23T19:22:00.000-04:00

We arrived at the Stadthotel in Oranienburg which is a suburb of Berlin. The rooms were lovely and much bigger than our other German hotel rooms and the price was very reasonable. First we ate. I had tartare and, yes, it was delicious! The others had good food, but not as special as mine, although they looked like they wouldn't touch mine with a ten foot pole.

It was still early so we got the 3 day transportation pass and went into Berlin to take the upper decker bus and browse. But first we had to have our ticket validated. I saw a woman who was cleaning up and pointed to the "validate" part of the ticket and said, "How do we do this?" She indicated that she did not speak English so I said, "Auf Deutsch, bitte." And she did. In German she told me to go to the red box, stick the ticket in and it will be stamped with the date & time and then pull it out. Easy! And I understood every word. I wish I could recall the words to ask the questions. 2 people (Helga from Göttingen and Lesley the translator) told me that when I speak German I don't have an accent. Of course sentence structure and vocabulary need lots of work.

We had a pleasant evening in Berlin and a relaxing dinner. Bernd especially enjoyed the car dealerships ... very upscale. We liked what we saw of Berlin, a clean and vibrant city. Then back to the hotel for a good nights rest.

It was raining, an appropriate atmosphere for our plans for the day. Oranienburg is the town where Sachsenhausen C oncentration Camp is located. It's the camp where Dad was sent. Now it is a museum and memorial. The picture on the right is an diagram of the concentration camp and on the left is a memorial in stained glass.

There were several school groups going through with their guides. We rented tapes to educate us as we went through the facility. We sure got an education! This was an experimentation camp. Yes, many died here and some were executed, but most died because of the treatment they received.

We were told that the museum is 1/20th the original size of the camp. Bernd was wondering what the people of Oranienburg thought about the activities that were walking distance from their town. They must have known something. It certainly was a strange time and that's why I was so glad to see all the tour groups being educated.

These are 2 other memorials. The photo on the left is a photo of the synagoge that Opa supported in Oldenburg which we saw in an exhibit hall. The tall structure on the right with all symbols on the top is a reminder of all the people that died and represents the 18 countries they came from.

After a while I said to Chuck that I wasn't feeling up to par and he said it was probably the emotional impact on me. That's when I looked at my watch. Yes, it was very emotional, but we had been walking around for 5 hours without anything to eat or drink. We were drained. Bernd and Pat went through on there own and were patiently waiting for us. We went back to the hotel & I was going to put my feet up for 5 minutes before joining Pat & Bernd who wanted to go into Berlin. Luckily I realized that I was not up to Berlin and my 5 minute rest was considerably longer. Chuck and I enjoyed a quiet dinner at the hotel restaurant. When Pat & Bernd came back they brought some baked goodies and along with some wine it was a very good evening. Chuck didn't have a nap so he was asleep and missed the goodies.

Hamburg

2008-10-22T11:53:00.000-04:00

We came to Hamburg to meet with Hannah, see the harbor where we left in 1939, visit the BallinStadt Emigration Museum and the Reeperbahn. When we made these arrangements none of us knew that Hannah would not be in school, but in Göttingen doing an internship. She is still maintaining her apartment there ... a 5th or 6th floor walkup that we opted not to visit. For me, getting down would be easy, but up? No way! Hannah was a fantastic guide!

The GPS told us we had arrived at the Fritz hotel, but we didn't see it. Turns out it is on the second floor above some shops and all that was visible was a small sign on the door. Chuck finally spied it on our third time past it while we were also looking for a parking spot. It was a crowded area and we finally saw a convenient parking spot and that's where the car stayed until we left for Berlin as public transportation was excellent. We looked doubtfully at the Fritz, but found it was wonderful! The hotel was very convenient to the S and U bahn stations and all the sites we wanted, had clean rooms with comfortable beds, the price was right and it was a good place to walk, but we had to remember to stay out of the bike lane.

Hannah met us and after an early dinner (more Weinerschniztle for Chuck) and with much conversation, we headed off to the Rauthaus area with all the upscale shops and Chuck looked up and there were 2 hot air balloons ... right over the city! We have NO idea where they take off from or land. (Chuck had his own balloon and still does some crewing) I even bought a piece of quilt fabric at a department store. Balloons for Chuck ... fabric for me. What could be better?

Well, our next stop, of course. Yup! You guessed it ... the Reeperbahn! You know I was looking forward to seeing where the ropes for the shipping industry were made because that's why Opa and Dad's business was so successful. And here you thought it was for the sex shops. Alas, we were all disappointed ... you who thought I was so sexy and me because I found no rope making. I could imagine the rope making as the street is long enough to make ropes long enough that would tie up ships. Captain Schmidt, from the Ships Museum in Brake, told us that story and we thought that when Opa would send for the ropes (I'm SURE he didn't go) there would have been bars and women nearby to entertain the men as they waited for the order to be filled.

And the red light district? Yes, it had sex shops, but mostly what we saw were tourists like us looking at each other. Perhaps we didn't go far enough or late enough, but we had walked plenty and seen as much as we wanted so it was off for some hot chocolate, coffee or ice cream and then bed.

Sunday started with a huge breakfast at "Oma's Apotheke" and we had dessert there at the end of the day. We like German eating places because they all expect you to linger over food or drink and the check is not presented until you are ready and ask for it. America thrives on turnover and getting the next group in your spot.

Our next stop was the Emigration Museum. At the start there were iMacs where you could access files ... it took us a while to find the English and then discovered it was Ancestor.com which we had at home. Nothing new. But the museum was informative. The narrations said over and over again that those who left at the time of WWII would NEVER return. I was made aware yet again how rare my visit was. But the other part was that everyone said they left Germany with only the belongings they could carry which was not true for us.

I know Dad was angry because he claimed that nobody seemed to be supporting our family before we left, but I have to think that somewhere along the way someone signed some papers that allowed us to ship all our belongings or perhaps some shipping connections saw to it that we received our things. I'm sure some money was passed to someone, but from all we have been able to research, our family was unusual to be able to send our belongings. I know the Weinberg's were well respected business men so that must have helped, even if the help was done covertly. We will probably never know.

The harbor was next and it is extremely big and still an active business and pleasure facility.

After exploring there we came back to the hotel and Hannah called Liesel. I didn't know if Liesel spoke English so Hannah talked with her and explained who she was and after a while Hannah handed the phone to me and said Liesel wanted to speak to me. Liesel spoke English! I was at a loss for words and so very delighted to hear her. She said she always wondered what became of our family and was glad to read the story. I have her email and hope to hear from her. Perhaps someday we will even have the opportunity to meet.

This HAS been an amazing trip with so many perks, but this was the icing! All these things that have happened! Hurray for the internet! It is very overwhelming.

20 September 2008

2008-10-20T20:59:00.000-04:00

It's time to leave Brake and go to Hamburg where we will meet Hannah. But first, breakfast and packing the car.

When we got to breakfast Edith handed me a note where she had written some information. She got a call at 10:30 P.M., she was already in bed, from Liesel Roggenbuck. (Who?) It seems that Liesel lives in Koln (Cologne) and somehow saw the article about me. She was a neighbor that I played with as a child and was glad to hear about me because she always wondered what happened to our family. I was overwhelmed!

Then it was time for the luggage to be packed. Remember that message that came on in the car that I wrote about yesterday? When the "boys" were ready to load the car, it was listing a little. Seems we had a flat. Manfred took the tire to a repair shop and who knows what they did with it. I sure don't, but it got fixed with the spare until we returned to the shop for the REAL fix. When all was well I asked how much it cost and the man said, in German while walking away, something like I wouldn't charge you. I read about you in the paper and it was my pleasure to help.

Before we left the Ambiente Edith got another phone call and handed the phone to me. It was from the daughter of a 90+ year old woman who told her daughter to call me and tell me that she worked for Opa. She then asked me for my email address, which I started to give her. Then she asked me if I could write it down and leave it at the Ambiente for her to get later. I should have written her name down because my mind is a leaky sieve. I'm so sorry I haven't heard from her, yet.

Who knew we would have all these surprise contacts and acts of kindness? If we have the opportunity to visit again, I'm going to take out a full page ad for the first day I visit. What a fun and emotional visit this was. We were reassured because we saw that the Germans are taking ownership for the Holocaust. They DO talk about it. Funny, I haven't thought about it, but in 2000 when we went to The Passion Play, we visited Dachau and someone told our young guide that our family had to leave Germany. She tried to talk to me about it, but at that point I wasn't able to share. I wonder if that's what really started to open my heart about beginning to think about perhaps visiting Brake someday? I'm so glad I came for this most wonderful visit!

19 September 2008

2008-10-19T09:31:00.000-04:00

This day was going to be a more relaxing day. After all, the press conference, reception and lunch were over. How much more could there be? HA! Little did we know!

Ulla had arranged a trip to Bremen with Herr von Wedel as our guide so we got up and had a leisurely breakfast ... until Manfred came strolling into the breakfast room with warm greetings and a very big smile. He then opened the newspaper and held up the article that Thomas Bücher had written. It was a nice big article on the front page of one of the sections with a large photo (the big picture with all of us is not in this online article)! Wow! We are celebraties! Well, on a small scale and perhaps only in our eyes, but very exciting to us. And then the fun began.

Our first trip that morning was not to the train station, but to the Nordwest Zeitung office in Brake. We dashed in and started to asked if we could buy some papers and were told no, we could take as many as we wished and, yes it was a nice article. They recognized us! Then as we were going back to our car there was a man in a hurry to get somewhere, but he kept turning to us and smiling, nodding and indicating that he knew who we were. We really were celebraties!

When we got on the train to Bremen we plowed (our reading of German is limited) through the article and decided that Herr Bücher did a great job. What we really wanted to do was hold up the paper for all on the train to see, but we decided to be a little more dignified.

We had a wonderful visit in Bremen with each of us grabbing onto the legs of the Bremen Town Musicians statue with both hands so our luck wouldn't run out. And pigs are very definitely the most prominent statues that we saw, with stores that sold painted pigs and store fronts displaying pigs. Bremen is a blend of old and new. Very nice.

When we got back to the Ambiente, we rested until it was time to leave for Oldenburg as Ulla invited us along with Almut and Leslie and their husbands for dinner. I had my coat on to leave and the phone rang. Claus Lühring was calling. He saw the article and remembered that he had a formal photo of his grandfather, his great uncle and my grandfather with some other men at a "Kegelklub" (bowling) outing. I was so impressed that he saw the article about us, dug out the picture, had it duplicated and brought it to us the next morning!

Ulla has a wonderful place with a lovely garden. I had a special treat because Lesley brought her album of quilts she made. And dinner was delicious and leisurely and it was good to meet the husbands.

After dinner we saw the other newspaper, Kreiszeitung Wesermarsch, and there we are again, but apparently they don't have the article online ... or I can't read enough German to find it. Lesley verbally translated the articles to us. We all laughed as, yet again, it was mentioned that the "73 year old Claire Welch returns after 69 years." I was honored by all the attention and it wasn't until a few days ago that I zeroed in on the fact that 9 November 2008 is the 70th year anniversary of Kristallnacht.

And Ulla is the best at timing. So, after a relaxing evening Ulla brought out her coup. Opa wrote in his journal that he was a town council member, but Ulla could not find any records of it and we were determined to find it, but after our trip to the Staat Archives without any luck, we resigned ourselves to not finding it. Bernd had given Ulla the journal in German with the dates in them and she made another request to the Staat Archives and they found it! She really is a wonderful researcher, but she waited until the end of the evening to tell us! Pat & I said we both would have shared that information right when we walked in the door. Here she is sharing the new found proof.

As we drove back to Brake a warning light went on in the car, which we couldn't translate very well ... something about tire pressure, but no tire looked like it needed attention and midnight is not the time to attend to that so we ignored it and drove safely on.

18 September 2008

2008-10-16T15:53:00.000-04:00

Herr Höbrink and the reporters. The woman next to Herr Höbrink is from radio. I forgot to ask what station and remembered that she was going to broadcast at 5, but couldn't find the station.

This was the day we were most curious about; a press conference at 10:30 AM, a reception with the Bürgermeister at 11:30 and lunch after that. If we'd had any idea what this day would bring we would have stayed a few more days, but who knew back in February when we made our plans that Ulla would make such wonderful plans for us? We didn't even have contact with Ulla back in Feb.

At the press conference there were 3 reporters from newspapers and one from the radio. Michael Höbrink, the Landrat (equivalent to our county clerk position), was the host of this event. Lesley the translator, Ulla (who spear headed this week) and Almut plus Bernd, Pat, Chuck (who recorded all this on a cam corder) and myself sat around a huge circular table. Everyone who has read the articles they wrote knows I'm 73 and that it's been 69 years since I came back. My coming back WAS an event. Very few people return. The questions asked were why we came at this time, what are my feelings since I returned, did I recognize anything ... I think I explained those answers in earlier blogs, except for how it felt to return after all those years.

I was apprehensive about how we'd be received. All my life it has been instilled in me by Dad to never return! Why would I want to go back to a country that didn't want us? I did understand his feelings, but as a shielded child I felt our leaving was a blessing. As much as Dad was angry that he was forced to leave, he was so grateful to be in America. He was a very prosperous business man in Germany and had a menial factory job when he first came to Chicago, but never resented that job. In fact, he worked his way up at Apex Smelting, Company to a management position.

I'll tell you that we were received royally! I felt like a welcomed and honored guest upon my return to Brake. I'll mention specifics in future blogs, but the day at Ovelgönne was the first of many ways Germans showed me how sorry they were that we were ousted. And I was made very aware of the fact that the Holocaust is being taught and not swept under the rug.

I was impressed that 2 of the reporters (they wrote the longest articles) were so young. In fact, Mr. Bücher came to me afterwards and told me that he asked for this assignment because he had studied this era several times and couldn't believe that it happened in his country and he had wanted to talk to someone about that time, but he never heard of anyone that returned. I was the first for him.

The reporters seemed to speak English like I spoke German ... not enough to get it all. Lesley was great. I mentioned Opa's journal and that it "languished" in my file for many years. There was quite a discussion about how to translate the word languish, and afterwards we used it often. Guess you had to be there, but we found it humorous.

Next we walked to the Rauthaus, city hall, where Bürgermeister Roland Schiefke met us along with the city council. One council member had an old picture of Opa's house (the man I'm talking to) and another had a copy of another book (in the photo below, the man on the far right ... see the book?) that mentioned us. We were sorry that we couldn't spend more time chatting with the council members. They served champagne and chocolates. They sure knew how to please Pat and my chocolate appetite! And then there was the presentation!
Herr Schifke spoke English, welcomed us formally and then told about a 60th wedding anniversary celebration he just attended. When he mentioned that he was on his way to our reception, they said they remembered Weinberg's fondly as successful business men. He then presented me with a wonderful bouquet of flowers, a book about Brake and a signed, numbered lithograph of the Telegraph Building. He said that the new drawing was a tie between the old and new. The old had a huge sign on it that said "Jews are unlucky!", but this one does not! He wants us to remember the new, but let the old be a reminder that should not to be repeated. The entire time I realized, yet again, how unusual my return was and the meaning for the people I met.

Next we were the guest of the Wesermarsch Landskreis and Herr Landrat Höbrink at the Wilkens Hotel for a lunch. There we could relax and reflect on the activities while eating delicious food, beautifully presented and enjoy the Weser River activities passing by us.

And that wasn't the end of our day. Later in the afternoon we had plumcake and coffee, well naturally I had tea, with Herr Berger at the Weserlust. Conversation was stilted as he spoke no English and my German was lacking, but Cindy the server was a big help. I showed him some old photographs, but he could not identify any of the people. He did ask if he could keep the copies so perhaps I'll get some identification some day.

By then we were on sensory overload with all we'd experienced that day. We went back to the Hotel Ambiente and the phone rang. It was Helga from Göttingen to see how the press conference and this rest of the day went. These are amazing people and I sure felt like this was a huge welcome home.

Wed. 17 Sept. 2008

2008-10-11T13:06:00.001-04:00

Our GPS did a fine job of directing us to the Staat Archives building in Oldenburg ... except for the construction, one way streets and round abouts, but we got there with time to spare. And we finally got to meet Almut Setje-Eilers, the co-author with Ulla, who had been on a bike/hike holiday.

This is a facility where scholars go to research anything within the area. Usually you present the specific topic to a librarian and the information is brought out to you. Ulla asked for specific references about Opa before we arrived and told them who she was bringing and why.

We were shown how the information is stored and found. Nice tour. Then Ulla explained ... again ... that it is because I came back to Germany that we were allowed this privilege. She had never seen the inner workings of this facility. I was amazed because she certainly has done much research here.

We were extremely impressed when Herr Brunken showed us some very old documents; the equivalent to our Declaration of Independence, but theirs dates back to 1211 (or 1112) ... very old, a document that Napoleon signed, one from Catherine the Great and another signed by Queen Victoria. I think this is the Declaration of Independence on the left.

Then we were ushered into a room and brought a stack of files for us to browse and if it was what we were interested in, they would make copies for us. Having the room was a big help because we could discuss what we needed to talk about and the big research room is very quiet. The folder on the left is what we were looking to find, but look at all the files they gave us to check out. They went to a lot of work for us. And the day wasn't over.

It was about 2 PM when we went for a leisurely lunch at an Italian place before we went to the new synagogue. Again, an eye opener for me. Opa was a financial supporter of the former synagogue in Oldenburg before it was burned down by the Nazi's in 1938. The new one was started in 1992 by Sara Schuman. She and her family were hidden all through the war and Sara and her parents were the only survivors. Frau Schuman is my age and has been determined to bring Judiaism back to Germany. There are about 300 members there now and when Bernd asked her how many are German, she answered, "Only me. The rest are from Russia." Wow. I understand why the German Jews did not come back, but was so moved by Frau Schuman's dedication! Frau Schuman had one stipulation and that is that all members learn German because it is a German Jewish facility. The Russians have obliged willingly.

At the time we visited they did not have a Rabbi, but I see they will have one shortly. The secretary was wonderful and I'm so sorry I didn't write down her name. She gave us a grand tour of the facility.
Frau Shuman, the secretary and Lesley, the translator.

Tuesday

2008-10-09T10:34:00.000-04:00

Oops! Thanks, Pat for correcting me. I changed the name to Marie (Cohn) as the wife of Samuel. Rosalie was the name of someone I was meeting later on. And when I read what I've written, I apparently see what should be there and not what is.

On Tuesday we were pretty much on our own until 3 PM. We discovered lots of areas around Brake ... neighborhoods, hospital where I was born, BAKERY (with the best mandelhornchen with chocolate on the ends that we tasted in our travels), shops, train station, post office, bank, Opa's garden plot, ships, cafès ... you name it, I think we saw it ... and either Chuck or Pat photographed it.

But the best was at the beginning of our walk. Last year when Pat and Bernd were in Brake they met Hans Berger, whose mother used to work for Opa and he remembers playing cards or dominoes or something with Opa. I tried writing him a letter and included some old photos and I hoped he might be able to identify the people I did not know, but it was returned, so we weren't sure what happened. It turned out to be the wrong address. At the beginning of our walk Pat says, "It's Hans Berger!" He stopped to chat with us as he was on his way to enjoy coffee with friends. We arranged to meet another day. It was good to meet someone that remembered Opa ... and me ... even if it was 69 years ago.

About 3 PM we went to the Ship Museum where Ulla arranged a tour in English with Captain Uwe Schmidt. Bernd said the museum was small and it wouldn't take long. Wrong, but a nice, wonderful tour. Captain Schmidt also explained about all the ropes used in the shipping industry to tie up the ships or hoist up the sails on the sailing ships. That's when we told him that S. Weinberg, Inc. (Opa's business) bought and sold those ropes to the ships owners. Then he started to ask us questions about the business, but we had few answers. This is another thing to investigate.

And he told us about the Reeperbahn. We were going to Hamburg and as we were planing our trip people would giggle and ask us if we were going to the Reeperbahn. We hadn't heard of it, so decided we had to go. It originally was a long street where rope long enough to tie up ships was made, but is famous for other things today. You'll have to open the link to find out, if you don't know.

15 Sept.

2008-10-07T18:30:00.000-04:00

I neglected to mention how well I slept after the dinner at the Greek restaurant. My mind was going a mile a minute in anticipation of the coming week, so I decided to have some wine to help get to sleep. What I didn't know was that this restaurant serves complimentary ouzo, an anise flavored liqueur. So I had that, too ... and I slept very well that night!

We had our first leisurely breakfast at the Hotel Ambiente and it was delicious and ample. We enjoyed the view from our room and from the breakfast room as the ships passed by frequently. I'm sure the Weser River was at least as busy when Dad and Opa had their business in Brake.

At 11:30 we were going to Ovelgönne to the Jewish Cemetery, which is now a preserved historic site to meet the people I'd been emailing. If you open the link, you will not see much information because Ovelgönne is a prosperous small community with a few nice shops and a handwork museum, also very nice. We wandered around and found a very nice clothing shop which we were told draws many people from far and wide, with an large wedding department.

We went to the cemetery a little early and I was upset with myself because I had some stones to lay on the grave stones of my ancestors, but I left them in the USA. It is a very small cemetery and the oldest Weinberg is Hanna Weinberg, but I don't know anything about her. She could be the mother of Samuel, my great-grandfather, who is buried there along with his wife Marie (Cohn) and my Opa's first wife, Magda and their infant daughter.

Then Lesley came along. She was the translator and as we got acquainted she said, "I like your jacket. I have some of that Jinny Beyer fabric, too." I've been looking for quilt fabric, but couldn't find much, but meeting a quilter is much better.

Next came Ulla Bernhold and we were so glad to finally meet this author who is a so thoughtful, a joy to be around and a wealth of information. Next was the Burgermeister (mayor) of Ovelgönne, Thomas Brückmann. I was beginning to appreciate that my coming back to Germany to visit was not an ordinary occurrence.

Ulla brought some stones for us to put on our ancestors gravestones which she gleamed from a field in the region where Opa was born, north of Brake. We listened as Herr Brückmann told us a little of the more recent history of this cemetery. It seems a developer wanted to buy up the acreage around the cemetery to build a new housing area, but the dispute was settled in 2001 to leave the cemetery and a significant amount of surrounding land as it is in order to "preserve the open view of the cemetery." Behind me, there is a plaque that we couldn't read because it was in German and there was dew covered plexiglass over it, which told the history of the cemetery.

We drove into town where we had the most delicious lunch (dinner) at a hotel that was staffed by handicapped adults. Their cooking skills were not lacking. The table was beautifully set and the first course was a wedding soup. Then came the rouladen, red cabbage, parsley potatoes and cucumber salad ... just like Mom fixed! It was SO good. And for dessert? Rote Grütze! All the recipes I found for the rote grütze use cornstarch as a thickener, but my mother used tapioca and any of the fresh red fruits that were in season. All were excellent.

Then Herr Brückmann presented us with a framed translation of the plaque at the cemetery and a book about Ovelgönne. The hospitality shown us made me think, again, how special our visit was.

Here we all are: Pat, Lesley, Bernd, Herr Brückmann, me, Ulla & Chuck.

After our leisurely lunch we were off to the Landkreis Wesermarsch, which is like our county offices. I rode with Ulla and she was going over what we would be do in Oldenburg. Again, I was impressed with the amount of work Ulla had done to prepare for our visit and how unique this visit was. She said that my coming back was unusual. When we got settled in the office I got out my flash drive and transfered my copies of original documents that I thought might help her with future research to a computer. Meanwhile Bernd gave Ulla a copy of the German journal that Opa wrote. The one part of the journal that we could never prove was the part where Opa states he was a part of the town council. Now Ulla had dates and could look it up.

By 5:30 we were back at the hotel and starting to process all that we had seen, heard, eaten and experienced ... and it was only our first day! We did some of this during a walk where we went past the house I lived in. I did not recognize any of it.

14 September 2008 On to Brake

2008-10-06T09:34:00.000-04:00

I was excited as well as apprehensive. All my life I've heard, "I'll NEVER go back!" And I understand Dad's feelings. I was a child and shielded from the realities of life at that time. My view of all the events have broadened even though I still do not have all the answers and probably never will be able to get them.

We left Göttingen and came to Brake. Our plan was to park the car at the Hotel Ambiente, leave our things in our room and then walk. We couldn't get to the hotel as there was a marathon going on past the hotel so we found a spot to park and then walked. I did not recognize anything until we started down Lindenstrasse and Bernd asked me if anything looked familiar. As I gazed around I started to say no, but then saw Opa's house. That's when the tears came. It looked the same ... except for the satellite dishes on the upper part of the house. The only other part I recognized in Brake was the Kaje where we often walked and watch the ships go by. I remember skipping there, but did not try that again on those lovely cobblestones. You'll notice that I used a cane on this trip.

And the race was over and we went to the hotel where there was a box from Ulla Bernhold. Pat and I were happy as could be when the first thing we saw was the box of Lindt chocolates, although that was not the most important item in the box, but what we needed at the time. There was also a book with a reference to our family from Werner Meiners, "Geschichte Der Juden In Wildeshausen" and an email saying how sorry he was that he would not be available while we were in Brake.

And then there was a thick file with an overview of our week as suggested by Ulla with so many options that we could accept or change as we wished. We did not change things as it seemed perfect to us. And it was! We will never be able to thank Frau Bernhold enough for all she arranged. The request for an autograph in her book has blossomed into the most wonderful adventure of my life.

By this time we were hungry and ate at a Greek restaurant where I could look out the window at Opa's house across the street. Then back to the hotel to prepare for the next day.

On to Göttingen

2008-10-04T10:54:00.000-04:00

Our next stop was Göttingen, where Clara's parents (Ruth and Jürgen) and Hannah Rüttgerodt and her parents (Helga and Bernd) and Hannah's sister Nele live. As we rode into town I saw this smiling young lady on her bike waiting for the light to change beside us. Then Bernd turned his head and said, "There's Hannah!" So we followed her home. The cars behind us were not as happy as we were, but it was only a few blocks, and then they whizzed by.
Helga & Pat, Hannah & me, Nele (If you looked earlier, Nele was not showing. Her photo was hiding under my photo.)
Helga, Hannah and Nele made us feel SO welcomed. We felt like we had known them all our lives as Chuck & I got settled into our rooms and then we had apple kuchen, coffee, tea and gave out our gifts in their backyard. Hannah was also pleased with her quilt.

Next we were off to the Kind's where Bernd and Pat stayed and we all had dinner. We missed Paula, Clara's younger sister as she is in Quebec for a semester. Ruth and Jürgen are as comfortable to be with as Helga is. We haven't met Bernd R. yet as he was at a conference. Our dinner was lively with animated conversation. Here are Ruth, Pat, Helga, Hannah & me in the kitchen. And Ruth and Jürgen with their new iPod/phone carriers and luggage tags.

I happened to sit near Nele at dinner and am so impressed with her political awareness of world news. We loved that each time something was lost in translation Jürgen would either pull something up from Google or his hand held translator. The meal was delicious and topped off with plum cake, different than mine, but equally as good! Or was that the next day for coffee? We had several plum cakes while in Germany ... all good and each a little different! I love plum season!

And then the next day was also filled. First with a delicious breakfast that Helga prepared and Bernd R. came home so we chatted some more. Then off to Kind's where we walked to town and enjoyed the public market. Back to Kind's for coffee and treats and a tour of Göttingen. The University has produced 22 Nobel winners. Impressive. We could live in this town. In the evening we went to a concert with 4 saxophone players who played classical and popular tunes and then back to Rüttgerodt's for a light supper, topped off with "rote grutze", a red fruit pudding conversation and much laughter.

The next day we met at Kind's for a long leisurely breakfast before we took off for Brake. As much as we were looking forward to the next part of our trip, we were reluctant to leave the Rüttgerodt's and Kind's. We wished we had thought to stop there at the end of our trip to tell them about all our adventures, as they were such a huge part of our plans.
Here are the 2 Bernd's and all of us together.

The Beginning ... and end.

2008-10-01T09:53:00.000-04:00

First, the end. I knew we could afford this trip and wanted to go now because our health is still good. Today I decided it was time to pay bills and balance the check book. So I checked at the bank to see what the ATM charges/exchanges were. In Germany we took out 400.00€ and my statement read $567.86! And a few days later we took another 300.00€ to the tune of $422.89. Talk about sticker shock. Whew! But we'd do it again in a minute. It was the perfect time for us. Thanks to ALL who made this happen.

Bernd and Pat came from Tucson, AZ & Chuck and I came from Rochester NY to meet at Chicago, O'Hare for the second leg of our flight to fly to Frankfurt, Germany to start our adventure that has been in the planning stages for more than a year. The flight was uneventful, but long.

We rented the car that Pat arranged for and were off to Mannheim, south of Frankfurt. There we met Clara Kind, one of the 2 girls who translated our grandfather's journal, as she attends university there.

After checking into our hotel (there were the FEATHER BEDS!), Pat called Clara and we met at Clara's apartment. Thank goodness for GPS. What a delightful young adult Clara is. Chuck & I were so glad to finally meet her in person.

I wanted to do something special for these 2 girls that started this whole adventure for us, so I made a lap quilt for each of them. Clara was delighted with her green & yellow "Friendship Star" lap quilt and I certainly was delighted to make it for her! It was like Christmas for her as Pat & Bernd had gifts, too. It was fun for all of us to watch her enjoyment.

After a tour of Mannheim and the university we were off to dinner at Vapiano where we talked, ate and talked some more. Clara was very up to date on our politics and it was a delight to hear her opinions. By then we were exhausted and Clara had a party to go to. We told her to call us if it was any good and we'd join her. If she called, we slept through it.

The next morning Clara rode her bike over and met us for breakfast. Oh, did I miss those breakfasts. I know I could fix them here, but I'm not willing to get up early enough to go to the bakery for those fresh rolls and pastries every morning and the choice of cheeses, meats and fish would get moldy before I had time to finish them. So I indulged royally while I was in Germany each day. I am so sorry we did not have more time with Clara and certainly hope that we will meet again ... here or in Germany.

We're Back

2008-09-30T10:18:00.000-04:00

We are regrettably, but safely back home. It has been an amazing trip, which I will try to review over the next few weeks as I'm still processing. This may be a life long project.

Colleen asked me what quilting I was bringing and I hadn't thought to pack any. So I found a small project to tuck into a corner of the suitcase. And that's where it sat for the entire trip. I did get it out once, but never got to quilt.

The funniest thing happened when I handed my passport to the first officer in Frankfurt. She saw that I was born in Germany and asked me in German (which I understood), "How long have you been in America?" When I said 69 years she said in English, "Have a nice trip."

And I sent emails to the family when we were in Göttingen just to let them know we arrived, but that was the only time we had internet access. In the U. S. A. internet seems to be free at most hotels, but not in Germany ... 8 € for each 1/2 hour seemed too much for us. It was amusing to me to type on an Apple keyboard in Germany as the "y" & "z" keys are reversed and there are actual keys for ä, ë and ü, not the keystrokes I have to use.

And we have never walked so much. We ate very well and did not gain weight, which surprised us because we sure ate the most delicious baked goods and the much richer foods than we are used to eating ... real whipped cream and butter and rich breakfast/luncheon meats. Mmmmm!

Public transportation is marvelous in Germany. It probably is all over Europe, but Germany is where we experienced it. We had a Mercedes Benz with a GPS. What a great invention that is! The roads are well maintained. Regrettably, when we go back, we will have to go with someone under 70 as we can't rent a car, but will pack comfortable shoes and be knowledgeable about public transportation.

Here we are on our first night in Rottenberg. Claire, Pat ( my sister-in-law), Bernd (my brother) and Chuck. Even being together for 18 days we are still talking. You'd think we would run out of things to say, but we didn't. Pat is THE BEST organizer! She had lists and maps and booked the most wonderful, convenient accommodations at reasonable prices. They were clean ... some smaller rooms than others. The Fritz in Hamburg was the one I had doubts about as we rode past it several times trying to find a parking spot, but it was perfect with public transportation right across the street and lots of variety in eating establishments within walking distance.

Now it's back to laundry and wonderful memories. It's good to be home, but already I miss the feather beds. I'll add more as we sort out the photos and my journal.

Only 2 more days

2008-09-07T19:17:00.000-04:00

I am so wired and excited I can hardly sit still. Chuck keeps laughing at me ... not with me. Earlier this week I couldn't sleep ... all these lists running through my head. Finally, after the second sleepless night I made a written list. Then I kept working at it and it is done. Slept like a baby the next night.

When I have a list to do I go like crazy, as my brother and sister-in-law will tell you. I wasn't sure which cell phone they were bringing & because I want that information, I called them ... right then. 10:30 Rochester time is only 7:30 AM their time ... they weren't awake, yet.

And I was on a quest for the perfect tote for the trip. So I made one to co-ordinate with my new jacket. Pockets galore. Perhaps a little too many, but those on the outside add to the decor. Had to do a dry run of my travel outfit. It will work.

Let's see, my hair is cut, the clothes are all ready for the suitcase, got a few Euros, notified the appropriate authorities, electronics are charged, cortisone shot in the knee works ... if we have more to do, I don't know what it is. We'll manage without it.

We have the use of a camcorder and practiced. Our neighbors dog looks good and so does my garden. No, you won't see them. Chuck apparently liked me pulling weeds & using the close or far view. :-( Piece of cake ... and the movie clips load onto my computer with ease!

And the dollar has a better rate! More shopping? Nah ... I don't need things, not that I might find a trinket or 2 to purchase.

Chuck has been checking our flights and they have gone on time for weeks. Yes, he is excited, too. So we are trying to wait until Wednesday, but waiting is SO HARD!

7 Days To Wait

2008-09-03T15:16:00.000-04:00

Colleen, our eldest, asked me if I wanted her essay. I hadn't gotten around to asking her if I could use it so was glad she offered it.

Colleen wrote this as an assignment for school in 2004 and we thought it was accurate. Most of it is. In 2007 Bernd, my brother and his wife Pat went to Germany and they were given 2 books written in 1996 that looked into records of the Jews in the Wesermarch, the area where I was born. Bernd was born in Chicago. The italics within Colleen’s writings are my amendments. I ammended this on 4 May 2008.
Ist Denn Da Was Gewessen? by Ursula Bernhold & Almut Setje-Eilers
Juden In Der Wesermarsch 1933 - 1945 by Gerd Strachotta

Passage to Freedom: One Family’s Story By Colleen A. Davisson (photo at right)

The day came to a close and Claire, then 3 years old, headed off to bed. Well into the night, sleeping comfortably under her feather comforter, she was abruptly awakened by loud pounding at the door and rough, strange voices from the entry below. Fearful and alone in her room, she quietly crept out of bed and wedged herself behind the wardrobe set in an alcove of her bedroom. Once there, uncomfortable as it was, she stayed, soon to discover that she was stuck and could not move even if she wanted to.
After the commotion subsided and the strangers left Claire began to cry and call out for her ‘mutti.’ Thinking Claire had been asleep throughout the ordeal, Friedericke rushed to the bedroom to find her only child stuck between the wall and the large piece of furniture where she had sought refuge. Together they worked to ease Claire out and then snuggled in bed together for comfort.

I always thought this was what happened. And I was told that it was a dream I had a few days after Dad was picked up. I believe that is correct; it was a nightmare I had and I hid.
Claire did not yet know it, but this night would change the course of her life. Her wealthy, Jewish father, Berthold John Weinberg, had been rounded up on this November night and taken to the Sachenhausen concentration camp by the Nazi’s. History recalls this night as Kristallnächt, the night of shattered glass. All Claire remembers is that her father was gone and the family was unsure of what was to come.
What I had never been told was that Opa (paternal grandfather), Max Weinberg, was picked up and detained for a few days in a jail of some kind, and my mother and I were also picked up. We, luckily, were only detained a few hours.

About a month later, on December 14, 1938, Berthold returned to the home of his father, Max Weinberg, Claire’s grandfather. Claire recalls this moment vividly. She was brought her to her father who was with his wife and Max. “The three of them,” Claire says, “my mother, father and Opa just stood there embracing and sobbing. It was the first time in my life I had ever seen adults cry.” The family suspects a large sum of money, perhaps from the family business or relatives already safe in South America or the States, was exchanged for his release. To this day no one knows for sure how Berthold was released, just thankful that he was.

And now I know that we were released because Dad signed a paper to leave Germany and never return. He didn't. This information is in previous blog.

*******
Berthold Weinberg and Friedericke Gramms were married on May 21, 1933. An unconventional union of sorts, a common Lutheran country girl and a wealthy, upper class Jew, the two had married despite their families’ opposition. Nineteen months later on December 21, 1934 in Brake, Germany Claire was born. At six months of age it was determined that she had a cancerous growth on her left arm and would need the growth removed by amputation. While at the hospital awaiting the surgery, physician, Dr. Una overheard doctors discussing Claire’s case. He intervened and suggested they consider a newly approved treatment, radiation. They could, if need be, resort to amputation if the new treatment did not work. Claire was one of the first success stories for treating cancer with radiation and wears the burn scar on her still attached left forearm.

Photo of Claire with swollen left forearm before treatment.
*******

Earlier during the fall of 1938 the Weinberg family had begun making preparations to leave Germany. Letters of sponsorship to the American Counsul-General in Hamburg, Germany, from Claire’s uncle, Hans Weinberg, a physician practicing in the States and a dentist, Dr. Joseph Chapman, both of Chicago, Illinois had been received on their behalf. On the day before Berthold had been seized, November 8, 1938, the family received their Führungszeugnis, or Certificate of Good Standing, from the local police department in Brake. Months later, on February 2, 1939 Berthold presented himself to the Amerikanisches Generalkonsulat, American Consulate, in Hamburg, Germany, seeking visas for the family to travel to the States. Although Claire does not recall these months she pieced together the information from documents the family brought with them to the states.

Photo of Letter of Sponsorship for Weinberg family.
*******
Bundled in a winter coat, Claire and her mother head out the back door, across the yard, and into their neighbor’s house. This was a common occurrence. The girls would play for hours outside in the sandbox during the summer or with dolls in one house or the other. Today, however, was different. Shortly after arriving there was a knock on the door. Before the door was answered, Claire and her mother quickly but quietly headed to the attic. “I remember the panicked look on my mother’s face,” Claire said. At this point Claire knew it was important to do as she was told without any hesitation. For only a short time she and her mother cowered in the attic. At the door had been a salesperson and the family was not interested in whatever was being sold, nor did they want to open their house to a stranger. The salesman left and the remainder of the afternoon Claire and her friend played as they always did while their mothers visited…for the last time.

The next day, the day before the family left for America, Claire and her father were out walking and decided to stop in at their favorite bakery. As a special treat he told her she could have anything she wanted. Carefully scanning the delicacies, Claire decided on a chocolate treat, (some things never change!). “I picked out the chocolate goodie,” she recalls, “and the woman wouldn’t sell it to us. I could tell she was afraid.” Her father insisted and the woman went to the door, opened it and looked up and down the street to see if anyone was around. When she saw that no one was nearby she gave Claire the pastry, refused any money and apologetically asked that they leave immediately. “She could have been punished for just talking to us,” [because we were Jewish] Claire said.
********
While many Jews stayed in Germany, the Weinberg family decided it would be best to leave. “Our family lived in a small town and we were the only Jewish family (one of the few) in the community,” Claire said. “We didn’t have the support of others like us, saw what was happening and could legally leave Germany and enter the States with a sponsor.”
The family boarded a bus (I’ve since found out that we were driven to Hamburg by a family friend. And, yes, we “only” brought our suitcase with some possessions, but we bought back our belongings from the Germans and had them shipped to America.) and headed to Hamburg. They arrived and were ushered into a building to a room about the size of two school classrooms. Chairs bordered the perimeter.

“I have to go to the bathroom,” Claire said to her mother.

“No you don’t,” she replied insistently.

Persistent and oblivious to the uncomfortable surroundings Claire continued to pester her mother. Reluctantly, Claire’s mother approached the door to the room and knocked. “I thought that was dumb,” Claire recalls, “because I knew you knock to get into a place but not to leave.” A soldier carrying a large rifle answered the door and Friederike explained that her daughter had to use the bathroom.

“No I don’t,” Claire answered hiding behind her mother’s skirt frightened by the soldier’s weapon.

“Yes you do!” she insisted and quickly escorted her into the ‘badenzimmer’, bathroom. “From there on I became very quiet and did everything an adult told me,” Claire said.

Photo of Max Weinberg’s Passport with Third Reich Stamp

*Passport pictures for Berthold, Friederike and Claire Weinberg.

Sometime around mid-February (14th) the family boarded a ship (the USS Roosevelt, a cruise ship) from Hamburg and headed to the States. Their passage was one of comfort. All their belongings, those permitted, were boxed and shipped to the States. Claire and her parents slept in a state room while her Opa bunked in a dormitory with other single men. “Each morning a stewardess came and got me ready and delivered me to my Opa,” Claire states. “My parents spent the entire trip in their suite, retching.” Curiosity makes one wonder over what, anguish, seasickness or both.
*******
Holding tight to her Opa’s hand for fear of getting lost or falling into the ocean, Claire and Max strolled about the promenade deck of the ship eventually making their way into the dining room. Sitting at the table, Claire carefully placed the linen napkin in her lap as if it were a fancy skirt. Everyone around talked but Claire could not understand any of it. She only understood German and most of the passengers and crew spoke English. Ordering her liverwurst sandwich, the only food on the menu that translated to German, the two sat and discussed their plans for the day.
“Let’s head to the kitchen after lunch,” Opa suggested.
“Okay,” Claire agreed and after eating they headed out.
“A cook spoke to me and gave me an orange,” Claire recalls. “His language was gibberish to me. Opa tried to get me to say thank you, but in true stubborn child-like behavior, I kept my mouth shut ... not even a smile.”
********
The ten day trip was coming to a close. The seas had calmed. Friederike and Berthold dressed and joined Claire and Max on the deck of the ship. Foggy and cold, a crowd had gathered. There was an air of excitement. Friederike lifted Claire onto her shoulders.
“Can you see it?” she asked.
“Yes. Now you can put me down,” Claire answered afraid her weak mother would drop her. What was she supposed to have seen? All she saw were the heads of adults standing in front of her. Looking back Claire realizes that the ship had been passing the Statue of Liberty. “Today I realize what a thrill it was for them to see.”
*******
The Weinberg family was fortunate to be able to leave Germany when they did. Others were less fortunate. Max’s brother, Bernd Weinberg, (my brother was named after his Uncle Bernd) and sister-in-law, Reike, were both taken to a concentration camp during the war. Bernd died in the camp and ‘Tante Reike’ survived. She joined the family in the States after the war and sadly died shortly after arriving in Chicago. “I remember she had been a very happy person in Germany,” Claire recalls, “but when she came over she was so sad and sick.” Claire never saw her maternal grandparents again. They died shortly after the war of malnutrition on their family farm near Oldenburg, Germany.
Photo of Claire with maternal grandparents,
Anna and Ernst Gramms, January 1939.

9 Days

2008-08-31T20:52:00.000-04:00

I've had a few lessons with this blog thing. Thanks, Cindy. For those of you that don't know me, Cindy is our middle child & very computer literate. She suggested that I add links so if you read my previous blog you'll see some highlighted words that should transform into links. Cool! I figured out the photo thing myself. I haven't figured out how to put captions under the photos ... still more to learn. Guess you really are never too old to learn. And I corrected some German spelling errors and grammar ... can't believe I made those errors. I used to point out improvements to my children and now they are kind enough to return the favor ... and I sincerely thank them!

The reason I started this blog is because some have asked me about our trip ... then a few more asked & finally Beth suggested I blog. So I'm blogging my history. I promise, my next blogs won't be as long.

I thought the photo heritage album I put together a few years ago would be enough, but several family members have asked me some questions that aren’t answered in them. These will be my recollections and I hope they are correct. It's always a surprise to me when I see the same events viewed differently by all who were there. Memory is a funny thing.

In 2007, at age 72 and just finding out some things about my life. Amazing! I heard these stories and had some recollections, but from a child’s eye. Now I’m finding pieces of my life I never knew!

It actually started with my brother, Bernd and his wife, Pat. They have friends, Steve and Laura, who had exchange students from Gottingen, Germany. Steve & Laura met the parents of Clara Kind &/or Hannah Rüttgerodt after college while travelling Europe ... or somewhere and they became friends. (Perhaps after I meet the Rüttgerodt and Kind families I will have it deciphered correctly.) So in 2006 Steve and Laura opened their home to Clara and Hannah. There was 1 week that Steve & Laura were going away so Clara and Hannah stayed with Bernd and Pat for that time.

Sometime during their stay, Bernd mentioned my immigration to the USA from Germany. When Dad (Berthold John, aka B. J.) and Rose, Dads’ second wife, moved from Walton, NY to Florida, they decided to give me old papers and photos they had in boxes rather than cart them to their new home. I was happy to get them, but with work and family I stuck them in a closet as most of the papers were in German. These are their passport photographs; Dad on the left and Opa on the right. One item I had was something my Opa (Max Weinberg) wrote while we were living in Chicago. I can still visulize him typing away on his German typewriter. He asked me then (1947) if I was interested in reading what he wrote and I know I disappointed him by saying I wasn’t. 13 year olds aren’t interested in family writings.

While I was teaching, the aide who was assigned to me - Carol Allen, asked me if I had any work for her as she was bored. A week later I remembered the typing Opa had done and knew there were German translation programs for the computer. So the next time Carol asked me for work I asked her if she needed to know what she was typing. She didn’t and said she’d love to do the typing for me on the computer. She typed the German writings of Opa into the computer. The translation program I bought didn’t work and Opa’s missile languished this time in cyber space. One time I must have mentioned Opa’s writing to Bernd and he said he’d like a copy so I emailed a few attached pages until he had the entire 40+ pages. And then it languished at his house, too.

Bernd mentioned these German writings to Clara & Hannah and they said they’d like to see it. Then they asked if they could practice their English and try to translate it. We were elated and for Christmas each family member received a copy of the translation. The girls enjoyed the process and it turns out that Gottingen is not far from Brake and the girls visited Brake when they returned to Germany.

That spurred Bernd and Pat to visit Germany. They invited us to go, but we had already paid for an Alaskan trip which was at the same time. And I had mixed feelings about going. Dad really colored my view of the German people as he was always bitter that we had to leave Germany. Few people were defending the Jews at that time.

After the war Opa began corresponding with his former German friends. Every time a letter would come from Germany dad would become very angry and there were huge arguments. Opa could not explain to dad how he felt because Dad would get so angry and that’s what the girls translation explained to us. Opa told us about his friends and how he never felt any antisemitism from them. Opa also said his English was not so good nor was his hearing and he would love to go back to his homeland where he could at least understand all the conversations. He was in his 70’s when we arrived in Chicago. Opa also said he was very grateful to be in the USA and knew he couldn’t go back, but did want to remain in touch with his German friends. The arguments ceased after Dad read Opa’s writings, but Dad still didn’t like the letters coming.

After Bernd and Pat’s visit to Brake we see that Opa’s view of Germany was “rose” colored. Their last 5 years there were not the most pleasant, but as a child I was oblivious.

While in Brake, Bernd and Pat met Hans Berger, a man in his 80’s who remembers our Opa. I'm going to try to meet him while we are there, but a letter I wrote to him was returned. Mr. Berger told Bernd & Pat that his mother sewed for our family. Mr. Berger spoke no English and Bernd only understood some, so it was a good thing Clara & Hannah were with them. Mr. Berger gave Bernd a book, "Ist Denn Du Was Gewesen" (Did It Really Happen) and it tells the story of the Brake women that were affected by the Holocaust. The Germans kept very good records. This book primarily deals with the women in the region.

The inn keeper at the Hotel Ambiente, had asked Bernd why he would be in Brake for so long, as it is not a normal tourist spot. Bernd explained his mission. A few days later the inn keeper knocked on Bernd’s door and he also had a book about the Jews of Brake; "Juden In Der Wesermarsch" that he lent to Bernd. Bernd and Pat looked over the parts that pertained to Weinberg or Brodek, my former landlord the last year in Brake. We could read pieces of the books, but not all so when they got home Bernd & Pat found someone that could translate the parts that pertained to us. We knew the German language out of necessity, but were speaking English as much as possible. It was not comfortable to be German in the 1940’s.

After they got home from Germany and subsequently had the pertinent parts of the book translated, we decided to meet at Paul’s, our youngest child, house because it wasn’t far from Walton, NY where Bernd was going to attend his 50th high school reunion. That first night we were all together Bernd, Pat, Chuck and I. We waited until the children were tucked away (10:00 PM) and then Bernd reviewed the translations of the books.

That’s when he learned that it wasn’t only Dad that was picked up Kristallnicht, but Opa, Mom and ME, too! I was 3 then and I’d never heard that! Dad died in 1995 and never shared any of his experiences; only his bitterness towards his homeland and with good reason. I was always under the impression that only Dad was picked up and then sent to Sachsenhausen. Opa was detained by the police for a few days and Mom and I were detained only a few hours. Dad was released on 14 Dec. 1938. The mystery is how he was released.

That mystery has also been solved. In the spring of 2008 Bernd sent me a book with my name at the top of the book! At the time I wondered how he did that and was very impressed! I did not have time to look at it then as I had an appointment and decided to read it when I got home.

When I got home Chuck asked me if I saw the marker that Bernd had put in the book, The Rise & Fall Of The Nazis. When I read the page it states that 20,000 to 30,000 Jews were released from the concentration camps if they promised to leave Germany and not return. Since we had already had started that process, Dad was released on 14 December 1938.

And the book with “my” name on it? It wasn’t. The author has the same name, but no royalties for me. Bernd happened to be going through a Border’s Book Store and stumbled on the book.

When Mom, Dad & Opa got their citizenship papers (Dec. 14, 1945) they asked me what I remembered of Germany. I’ve often told the story of my trip to the bakery or sweet shop just before we came to the USA. I remembered going to the bakery with Dad and he told me to pick out something I’d like and he’d get it for me. We were the only customers and I was delighted to be able to enjoy a treat. I remember it being a chocolate purse wrapped in red foil with chocolate coins wrapped in gold foil in it. But the clerk looked frightened and didn’t want to sell it to us. Dad insisted! That’s when she went to the front door, looked up and down the street, saw nobody and then gave us the confection and asked us to leave quickly. Dad told me that was a few days before we left Germany.

Now that I’ve read the book translations I fully understand why Dad was so angry, but also understand why Opa saw with “rose” colored glasses. At his age it was easier and bitterness is not easy to live with.

I was born on 21 December 1934 in Brake, Germany at St. Bernard’s Hospital and my name IS Claire Weinberg. There was some debate about my name. I was named after my paternal grandmother, Clara. I've inserted her lovely photo. Since I can’t read the script on my birth certificate, I really did not know how my name was spelled. When I was in college a professor translated my birth certificate and took the “Claire” that I gave him as my name, because he could not read that script either. When my maternal grandfather died there was a death notice sent to us and in it my name is spelled “Cläre.” And now I found out that I was named Claire. That’s what it states in both of the books; "Ist Denn Da Was Gewessen?" by Ursula Bernhold & Almut Setje-Eilers and "Juden In Der Wesermarsch" 1933 - 1945 by Gerd Strachotta. Again, the Germans kept great records.

In September 2008 we will visit Brake and see my birthplace and go to the Jewish cemetery where my ancestors are interred. It is now preserved as a historical site.

I have not said very much about Mom. Today I realize how brave she was to marry Dad, as she was Lutheran. They met because they both were in a community choral group. Mom was a wonderful soprano and Dad a bass. They were both in their late 20’s when they met. Mom never knew Dad with hair.

I certainly understand why Opa wrote his feelings to Dad. Where Dad would explode or go on and on, Mom was quiet and thoughtful. People that knew my mother loved her.
Dad was not always so easy. And he told Ann (my step-sister) that he would not have made it if he had stayed in Germany because he would not have kept his mouth shut.

And so we are going to visit Brake and the excitement is building ... I think I may explode before I get there. After all, it's been 69 years and we left by request, but it looks like we are being welcomed with open arms.

We are so looking forward to meeting Hannah & Clara and their families. And then we will be welcomed by Ursula Bernhold & Almut Setje-Eilers and the Landkreis Wesermarsch.

A little background for our trip.

2008-08-27T21:13:00.000-04:00

I couldn't help myself. I put my things temporarily in the suitcase. It fits with room to spare! I finally figured out that my iPod will load my address book and calendar and it worked!

I mentioned in yesterday's blog that Bernd & Pat were in Germany last year. During their stay they were given 2 books, "Ist Denn Da Was Gewesen?" (Did It Really Happen?) by Ursula Bernhold & Almut Setje-Eilers and "Juden In Der Wesermarsch" 1933 - 1945 by Gerd Strachotta. In each book my family and I are mentioned several times. That's how we found out I was also picked up Kristallnächt. Dad was taken to the concentration camp, Sachsenhausen, and released on 14 December 1938. Opa, my grandfather, was released from a local facility after a few days & Mom & I were only held a few hours.

I "googled" the authors and found an email address for Ursula Bernhold. I asked her if she lived near Brake, that we were going to Brake and that I'd like her to autograph my book. That communication has snowballed into our trip being extra special. Ulla answered and has lots of options planned for us. Some are fun things, but some are adventures into my past. There is a Jewish cemetery nearby with my grandmother, 2 great-grandparents & 1 great-great grandparent in it that we will visit. The most exciting is that there is a press conference planned for Sept. 18 followed by a luncheon. WOW! If Bernd & Pat didn't go last year, we wouldn't know about the recorded history because the books are in German.

This is my great-grandfather's marker in the historically preserved Jewish cemetery in Ovelgönne.
The people in the photo are Bernd - my brother, Ann - my step sister, Pat - my sister-in-law and Steve - Ann's husband. After Mom died, Dad married Rose - Ann's mother. Rose was married to Heinrich August Eilers and he was from Ovelgönne. Dad did not know him, but went to school with 2 of his younger brothers. And we will find out if Ann's father is related to the Eilers that was Ulla's co-author. ("Ist Denn Da Was Gewesen?" (Did It Really Happen?) by Ursula Bernhold & Almut Setje-Eilers)

Now you can begin to see why our trip is sounding more exciting to us each day. I am very much looking forward to meeting all these people that are involved in this trip, especially Hannah and Clara and their families.

14 Days

2008-08-26T23:23:00.000-04:00

In 2 weeks we leave for Germany. To say we are excited is an understatement! Chuck & I have our clothes laid out ... not packed, yet, but ready to go.

And Pat has done such a super job of getting reservations, car and our schedule in order.

Our trip was inspired by my brother, Bernd and his wife, Pat. They had 2 high school exchange students, Clara Kind and Hannah Rüttgerodt with them for 2 weeks who translated our grandfather's (Opa) autobiography from German to English. They wanted to practice their English. I will be eternally grateful to them, not only for the translation, but also for their interest when they got home. They visited Brake & sent pictures of them in front of Opa's former home!

Clara & Hannah kept emailing Pat & Bernd to come and vist and to bring me. That inspired Pat & Bernd to visit Germany in the spring of 2007. They invited us, but we had already made arrangements for an Alaskan trip at the same time and I think it worked out for the best. Bernd & Pat found out more information that we never knew. So in 2007, at age 72, they learned that not only Dad was picked up Kristallnächt, but so were Opa, Mom and me! So we are going in 14 days!

Getting Started

2008-08-26T17:25:00.000-04:00

Beth Brandkamp, a quilting friend, said, "Claire, you need a blog." She has heard bits and pieces of my upcoming Germany trip a few times ... so I'm taking her advice. It may not be as pretty as hers to start with, but she assures me I'll learn.
I have started to write a little of my history and thought I'd share, especially for those of you that may be interested and are not near.