Signs: a multi-lingual edition

WARNING: This post contains a photo that may be offensive to some readers. If you have a particular aversion to the f word (yes, THE f word), please do not scroll down.

Jacob had literally just finished eating the exact meal in that photo (Schweinehaxe) when we took a much-needed walk and ran into this sign for the Kalorienweg ("calorie way"). The smaller print gives estimates of how long you'd have to walk to burn off the calories in other meals, but Jacob had obviously just devoured the most calorie-ridden thing they could think of. His meal would have taken (as you can see) an hour and 30 minutes to burn off!

If there was ever a phrase we needed to learn in Welsh, this is it!

Yes, this is an actual town in Austria. There's not much there but these signs--that was enough for us!

What I wonder here is whether they check my nails for health or if that's the part of my future they can see from my palm. ("I foresee a manicure in your near future.")

Yes, this is a razorback! We were disappointed not to have seen one in those 8 kilometres, but at least we saw the great sign! (...and I got to reminisce about my days at the University of Arkansas)

This sign was in the laundry facility of our campground in France's Loire Valley in May. I get it--they're saying that sink is for washing clothes. But what on earth is that logo on the shirt--a kangaroo?

To be, or not to be

Saturday we saw a production of Hamlet in London starring Jude Law! He was incredible in the role!

[We did have a few frustrating transportation snags on our way to the play and had to watch the first act from the lobby because we were late.] ):

For those of you who might not know, I'm a huge Shakespeare fan. Seeing a production of Hamlet in London is such a dream come true, and Jude Law was just the icing on the cake. I love the entire play, but some of the writing in Hamlet particularly excites me; here is a sampling (I'm totally skipping the really well-known passages from the play that everyone knows) ...

• Beggar that I am, I am even poor in thanks (Act II, scene ii, Hamlet)


• Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind (Act III, scene i, Ophelia)


• I must be cruel, only to be kind (Act III, scene iv, Hamlet)


• When sorrows come, they come not single spies, But in battalions. (Act IV, scene v, Claudius)


• I lov'd Ophelia: forty thousand brothers Could not, with all their quantity of love, Make up my sum (Act V, scene i, Hamlet)


• There's a divinity that shapes our ends, Rough-hew them how we will (Act V, scene ii, Hamlet)

Jam session

Friday we made lots of strawberry and raspberry jam, and we're very excited! We had a great time making the strawberry jam together in the morning; then Jacob totally out-picked me at the pick-your-own raspberry patch (which is where I picked the strawberries earlier in the week). We brought our raspberries home and made the jam immediately, so the fruit in our jam couldn't have been more fresh. Here are a few photos we took to document the process.

(The ratio of sugar to fruit is unbelievable--no wonder jam is so tasty!)

(We used a sieve to remove some of the raspberry seeds.)

July 4th

We had a great Independence Day celebration with friends barbecuing at our house and then a Tops in Blue concert followed by fireworks. We love living in the UK, but it was also nice to celebrate America!