Hannover Horse Expo

Yesterday, Dagmar, Larissa, & I drove the 2.5 hours to Hannover to go to a horse expo (think of Equitana for all you horse people out there who have been to it). Getting there at 10am, we shopped until 5pm. It was certainly a long day! Dagmar got a lot of the items that she was looking for, namely new helmets & winter riding jackets for the girls, riding boots for Larissa, & a saddle blanket for Holly.

We also went to see Tanja, our riding instructor, perform. Her stallion is one of the top 5 in our area, so she was asked to perform with a group. Before she came on, we got to watch some show jumping & Baroque style dressage (with Spanish horses, Lippizans, a French Pyrennes horse, & Friesians). After those competitions finished, then they had something like a symphony of horses. They brought in some western horses, some Welsh ponies, & a kids' group. Then the ASBs came in (yay!) with 5 horses - 4 gaited horses & a country pleasure horse. Two of the gaited horses were really nice! They also had a Dutch Harness Horness which is bred in the Netherlands. I think I found my next horse! He was AMAZING!

After the ASBs left, Tanja came in with a group of 15 horses. She rides a chestnut with a stripe. He looks really cute! We were worried we wouldn't be able to pick Tanja out of the group, but as soon as she came in, we knew it was her by the way she was riding ... and I have never seen her ride! The best part was when she came around the corner & happened to look straight at us. So I took her picture (which of course didn't turn out) & we all waved. She couldn't help but smile. :-)

Once she finished her performance, we decided to grab some dinner & head home since it was already 5pm. I was thoroughly worn out by the end of the day as I am not used to all day shopping ... & it was loads of "fun" because of all the people there. I was getting claustrophobic!

Larissa had a great time as well because of the kids section where you could ride a bucking bronco, make a horse shoe, ride a stick horse over jumps, & pet the animals (goats, sheep, pigs, etc.)

Can you pass the yellow stuff & the bread?

"Can you pass the yellow stuff & the bread?" That's what Jurgen asked on Thanksgiving, after he had already had his first helping. Obviously, the Cheese Grits & the Cornbread Dressing were hits with the Germans.

The week before Thanksgiving, I informed Dagmar that I wanted to celebrate with turkey & dressing. Really it was just a good excuse to make Derby pie & eat dressing. So Dagmar found me a 7lb turkey, mom sent me recipes, & off I wen to the grocery to buy everything I needed.

I baked the turkey, basting my little heart out. Of course I had to take out the "yucky" parts, i.e. the neck, heart, liver, & something else. Mom told me to use all but the liver in my gravy, but I didn't know what was what! So I decided against guessing & made the gravy from the drippings.

I made cheese grits, without my Kraft garlic cheese. So I had to guess as to what cheese would work (I chose middle aged gouda) & garlic. I put a little too much garlic, but oh well. It was still yummy!

The cornbread dressing was to die for! I wish I could eat it everyday! And with the gravy on top ... even better!

The girls helped me make Derby pie. My pie crusts were a bust - I think I prefer pre-made pie crusts, though they are not available in Germany (stupid Germans). The Derby pies were really good ... the dog thought so as well since she ATE more than HALF of one! Damn dog. I was SO mad at her. She didn't even get sick from eating all the chocolate!

But in the end, Thanksgiving was great. We had leftovers for dinner that night & some for lunch on Friday. And the girls loved the pies, though Jurgen said they were too sweet. Oh well, more for us!