I've been traveling a little bit lately, and have a couple of pics to share...My resident mates Aylin, Michelle, Jill and I went to an orthopaedic surgery conference in Ohio (wohoo!) I do have to say that the hotel we stayed at was wonderful and it was located in a very nice shopping district so there was stuff to do every night. The conference was great, I think we all learned a lot!

Here we are, enjoying some awesome food (this conference had the best food ever!)

We went to the Melting Pot one night for dinner, it was quite fun!

The next weekend, I flew down to Baton Rouge for my 10 year high school reunion which was  a blast. It's cool to see what everyone is doing now!

I stayed with my good friends Jena and Case. Jena was one of my classmates in Vet School. Here we are with their dogs Ella and Bea, walking the lakes...

My friend Adrienne and I, enjoying breakfast at Louie's Cafe.

Labels: travel

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Last Sunday a group of us went to Talladega to see a Nascar race. We're living in Alabama, after all. There were quite a few "only in Alabama" moments:

 

You can make up your own captions for those two pictures, because I really have no explanation for them.

Some inappropriate fru fru drinks, and of course the surgeons always have their phones with them.

There were a few people tailgating.

Nascar is very patriotic, of course. You've got your Mack truck racing around the track with a flag, and military jets buzzing the stands.

Having fun in the stands:

And racing, of course.

 

Labels: travel

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We've been lazy about posting for a while - there never seems to be enough time. We've also started using facebook quite a bit, which I think is taking up some of our internet social time. I resisted at first, but my last project at work was a facebook application, so I spent a couple of months messing around with it and got hooked.

So what have we been doing? We went to New Orleans and Baton Rouge for Christmas this year.  Gromit came with us, and didn't behave himself as well we had hoped. He was friendly to dogs and babies, which was our primary concern.

I made a couple of planned purchases - a new Dell laptop and a new camera (a Nikon D80.) I'm still trying to figure out the best way to share pictures - not everyone is on facebook, and I never thought Flicker was all that great. I'll post a few at the end of this post.

So just when I was going back to being frugal, our washer locked up and burned up the drive belt. It's in the same room as the water heater, and adjacent to the utility closet. It took me a few seconds to identify the source of the smell and ascertain the extent of the disaster; I was actually a bit relieved that nothing was going to explode or burn down. So we got a new washer.

And then the roof sprung a small leak, so it seemed like a good time to replace the shingles. We knew that needed doing, but we've been putting it off.

Ah, the joys of home ownership. I hope all this increases the resale value. 

Some pictures of random stuff, including the lunar eclipse:

 

Labels: pets, travel

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 So I know we're a bit past Labor Day here, but Katrin and I spent it in New Orleans visiting my parents. I'm trying to catch up here, and house pictures are coming up next!

We drove around on Lake Ponchatrain with my dad, to escort Kate and her friend on a sailing trip.

The lighthouse needs some work. We had lunch at the yacht club, which is currently housed in a surprisingly nice prefabricated metal building. It's basically a triple-wide.

 

And we had snowballs, of course. One a day for the three days we were there. Maybe I'll add Hubig's pies to the list of things that must be consumed while in South Louisiana - but the list is already pretty long!

 

My parent's house is just about finished. The parts that have been rebuilt are shiny new and better than ever. Here's a panorama of the garden, with its new palm trees and snazzy layout.

If you scroll all the way around, you can see Jimmy and Patty's new house accross the street, which Dad designed for them.

Labels: travel

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I'm in a hotel room in Baton Rouge, about to head into the office. Today will mostly be company meetings; the rest of this week has been consulting and meetings and traveling to Lafayette. And eating lots of good food, and hanging out with friends - I'll be doing more of that tonight, then driving back to Alabama in the morning.

The family reunion was great. I'll have to post some pictures of that, along with the promised pictures of the house. We stayed in a little bed and breakfast in Center, Texas, population about 5,000. The accommodations and service were comically bad, but the event was a lot of fun. My family is spread all over the country, and we rarely see each other, but we're unmistakably family. Everyone is as fun as I remember - with some fun new additions, of course. My cousin David and I greeted each other with "you haven't changed a bit" - we haven't seen each other in maybe ten years. As much as we've all grown and our circumstances have changed, it's remarkable to me how much all the personalities have stayed the same.

Well, it's off to work. Pictures are coming soon, I promise.

Labels: travel

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We've been back from Europe for a month and certain people are screaming for a new blog entry. Katrin just finished two weeks of overnights and is taking a nap; maybe she'll find time to add to this later in the week.

Paris was a lot of fun. The weather was sub-optimal, as Katrin would say, but it wasn't the height of tourist season - it was nice to have the place to ourselves.

We hit all the usual museums and whatnot, then went to Versailles on the last day. The sun came out and we had a nice time walking around.

The catacombs weren't in our tour guide - the maps didn't even extend that far! Who decided that wasn't interesting enough to include? 

Berlin was one of the most interesting places we've visited. Large parts of the city have been redeveloped since the reunification in 1990, so there are lots of cool new buildings for those of us interested in that sort of thing. My parents haven't been yet - I think Dad would find the architecture very interesting.

We stayed in the former east with Katrin's cousin Ute. The formerly drab (and universally gray) buildings are being restored and repainted, and it's a very young, vibrant place. Flamingos are optional.

The differences between the former east and west are striking; that was one of the interesting aspects of the city.

Of course the reason for our whole visit was (the other) Dr. Saile's birthday. We had a fun time staying with Katrin's parents, and went to a couple of birthday parties, which included music, great food, and all sorts of interesting people. Most of the personal speeches and toasts were in German, so I missed a lot, but a great time was had by all.

Labels: germany, travel

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All the interns at work are scheduled for a 2 week vacation block in the spring. I traded with someone else to get these two weeks off, so that Jim and I could fly to Europe and surprise my dad for his 60th birthday. Before coming to Germany, Jim and I spent the last several days in Paris, which was fabulous. It was cold and rainy, but that didn't matter, there were enough museums and cafes to keep us nicely occupied. We had a wonderful time. Yesterday we took the train from Paris to Karlsruhe, and suprised my dad--he was definitely surprised to see us!
We're spending a few days here in Karlsruhe before heading off to Berlin to visit with my cousin Ute and to see the sights.

Labels: travel

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OK Cat, I'm going to stop procrastinating and post something about our Christmas trip to Germany. The main event was just the getting-together of the Saile family, which happens only rarely, what with people living on different continents. And in Alabama.

On the ends here are yours truly, in the red pants that I wear even when it isn't Christmas, and Florian's girlfriend Mari, who we all met for the first time. Hi Mari!

We all had a great time visiting, eating, shopping in town, eating, walking and hiking, and eating. The weather was chilly but not bitterly cold.

Let's see, what else did we do? Katrin and I popped over to Tübingen for some sightseeing and more shopping - it's a nice little town with some interesting history.

So that's it for the trip. Katrin has finalized her ranking of desired residency programs. Now we just wait until March 5th to find out which the computer matches us with, and where we're going to spend the next 3 years. I'm just plugging away on my latest project for work.

Labels: travel

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Katrin and I went to Baton Rouge for my company Christmas party on the 9th. Yeah, I'm a procrastinator. The party was fun, but not newsworthy, and I don't have any pictures to share. However, we stopped in New Orleans on the way home.

My parents are back in their house, which looks great. There's still plenty to do, but it looks like a house again.

The back yard looks great with its new palm trees, which give it a nice tropical feel, especially when the wind blows.

We're off to Germany tomorrow! It's going to be a fun trip, and we'll try to find time to blog.

Labels: travel

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This past Saturday, Jim and I took a trip to Atlanta to go shopping for bike parts and various other things. Jim did some research before the trip and, to our delight, found an article about a Hurricane Katrina evacuee who decided to open up a snowball stand in Atlanta! Check it out, it's a pretty cool story...
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/stories/0726metsnowball.html

As most of you know from previous posts, Jim and I have been missing our New Orleans snowballs since moving to Auburn this past May. We ended up stopping by the stand on our way back to Auburn, and man, was it worth it (they didn't have some of my favorite flavors, but hey, I really can't complain, it was still a really good snowball)...

Not much else is going on in Auburn. I'm done vaccinating puppies and kittens for now (yay!) and am moving on to 2 weeks of surgery, which I'm really looking forward to. The first week will be soft tissue, and then I'll go to orthopedics. Fun times...

Labels: travel

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Jim and I drove up to Oak Mountain State Park (just south of Birmingham, AL) last Saturday to go mountainbiking. I started worrying a little bit when I saw this from the car window shortly before arriving at the park:

I know it doesn't look that hilly in the picture, but let me just mention that we don't really know anything about hills..there are no hills in Baton Rouge. We used to ride a 40 mile training race twice weekly where the total elevation change was 1 foot!!!

Anyway, the trip turned out to be awesome!! We met up with some folks from "BUMP," which is one of the local cycling clubs that does all the trail maintenance and puts on the races at Oak Mountain. We rode one lap of the course with them, which turned out to be just over 17 miles. The trail was very nice, but there was one climb in the middle which was brutal. It was a 2 mile climb with a total elevation change of 600 feet. I know this doesn't sound like a lot to those of you who live around hills-which basically includes everyone who reads this blog except the people from south Louisiana and my aunt Ursel, because Hamburg is totally flat (except for a very, very steep hill called the Waseberg, which is where my aunt was first introduced to World Cup cycling, but that's another story!). However, take 2 miles of steady uphill, 600 feet elevation change, and throw in some rocks, roots, gravel, sand, crazy bridges, rocks, roots, and did I mention rocks and roots? and it becomes a very difficult climb. Once we got to the top, we were rewarded with a very nice, long and fast downhill, so in the end it was all worth it! Jim and I rode a total of 34 miles at Oak Mountain, which is more that I've ever done on a mountainbike, especially on such challenging terrain. Here's a pic of me right after finishing the ride...

We picnicked at the park and then drove home-or I should say Jim drove home while I licked my wounds (nothing major just some minor cuts and bruises). It was definitely worth the drive, and we'll be back there again...

Labels: travel

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After studying the weather forecast, we decided Saturday morning to take a chance on the Jazz Fest. We packed our sunblock, rain jackets, and all the other miscellaneous stuff that resides semi-permanently in Katrin's Timbuk2 bag, and heading for New Orleans. We found a decent parking spot after a little searching, got our tickets and made it in around 12:30.
There were plenty of people there, but it wasn't overcrowded, and we did the usual Jazz Fest stuff - ate some good food, listened to some good music, and generally got sunburned and has a good time. (It was deceptively cloudy, so we were a little late putting on the sunblock.)
Dave Matthews was the big act. The Edge (guitarist for U2) was there and played with Dave for the second half of the act. A few fat drops of rain fell just at closing time; I'm sure the staff appreciated that, since it helped to clear the crowds out.
Our parking spot turned out to be perfect - we drove away and hit the road without any traffic issues.

Labels: travel

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I just got back from Atlanta where I spent two weeks working at Georgia Veterinary Specialists, a busy referral practice downtown. I had a wonderful time and learned a lot during my two weeks. The veterinarians and techs were all extremely nice, and the practice was very impressive. The highlight of my trip was helping to operate on a 600 pound Siberian tiger who had a broken leg. It was an amazing experience! (my arms were pretty sore the next day from holding that leg for several hours!)
I got to come home for the weekend and spend a little bit of time with Jim. We got in some great mountain biking and road riding which was nice since I haven't been on the bike for a while. Now I'm off to Houston where I will spend two weeks working with the surgeons at Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists. I'm looking forward to it!

Labels: travel

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Jim and I just got back from our honeymoon in Rome. Here are a few pictures to prove that we were really there! On the left we're standing at the top of St. Peter's Cathedral. We had to climb a whole lot of steps to get up there, but it was worth it! On the right we're hanging out at the Trevi Fountain eating some ice cream. We had an amazing time. We saw lots of really nice museums, churches, and historical sites, ate excellent food, and had amazingly good gelato (italian ice cream-yum!). We're now back in Germany for a few days, and will be heading home to Baton Rouge on Wednesday.

Labels: travel

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We're writing right now from an internet cafe in some back alley of Rome. It is really beautiful here, and there is so much to see, it's unbelievable! We've already climbed the Spanish Steps, visited many different churches, peeked inside the Pantheon and crossed the Tiber. All in one morning!

I have been super nervous all morning because today is the day the internship match is announced. So, for all those who are interested, Jim and I will be moving to Auburn in May. Come and visit us!

Cheers,
Katrin and Jim

Labels: travel

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It's the big day! Snow has been falling since we got up. Katrin has a lot to do this morning, but I shovelled snow off the sidewalk and am now waiting around at the house for something to happen. I basically just need to show up. :-)

We drove to Rothenburg yesterday to hang out with Cat, Tony, Chris, and Jen. The snow delayed our trip but we went anyway and had a great time, them came back and went to dinner with my parents, my sister Adele and her boyfriend Harlon - the latter were very tired from a combination of jet lag and Mardi Gras in New Orleans, but they were troopers and made it through dinner.

Getting to the hotel later may be an adventure, as we're supposed to have rain and high winds on top of the snow, but other than that we're ready to go. Wish us luck!

Labels: germany, travel

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I've been here in Germany for a couple of days now. I'm still trying to get used to this keyboard, and the blogger website is in German also! This will have to be a short post. We've been shopping and hanging out with Katrin's parents. Her brother is arriving today, and several other guests flew in this morning. Some of the roads were a little icy, and there's still a little snow on the ground now at 10:30, but it should be OK.
We thought we were missing Mardi Gras, but it turns out the Karlsruhe is one of the German cities that has parades. There are many similaries to the Louisiana version, including floats, marching bands, drunk people, and flamboyantly dressed gay guys dancing in the street. It was a lot of fun!

Labels: germany, travel

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We went to the Voodoo Fest in New Orleans this weekend. It was almost cancelled because of the hurricane, but the organizers decided to move the show to Riverview Park, and give the tickets away free to the National Guard and various volunteers. Cat, why do New Orleans people call that park "the fly"?

The vet school got some tickets for all their work saving animals. I guess New Orleans is getting back to normal, because there were plenty of drunk high-school students. It was a fun concert, and a perfect day to be outside. The uptown area of New Orleans wasn't badly damaged. We had lunch at Reginelli's, our favorite little restaurant on Magazine and State, and everything seems normal there -- except for the occasional humvee full of M16-toting soldiers, which is somewhat disturbing. That gives me a sort of "what's wrong with this picture" feeling.

We had dinner with my parents, who are getting settled into their rental house in Metairie and making plans for rebuilding the Lakeview house. It's going to be a while, though.

Labels: travel

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