Saturday morning, we got up later than usual. The weather is changing inexorably to autumn, which means random rain showers and cooler temperatures. I’m mostly happy to see the weather change. It kind of matches my mood these days.
Saturday, we stayed home, listened to music, and drank wine. Bill finally broke out the electric pasta maker I got him last year. He made homemade bread and fresh Fettuccini Alfredo. Here are the photos… I have created a cooking monster.
This all started with me telling Bill I wanted fresh bread… 
Then I reminded him of the pasta making equipment I bought him. 
Including a drying rack… 
We have a hand cranked pasta maker in storage… 
But this one has a motor. 
Makes easy work of flattening the pasta dough… 
We also have ravioli stamps. 
The pasta dried… 
After Bill cut it with the machine… 
It turned out beautifully. 
He’s determined. 
And we have success! 
He’s probably a better cook than I am, now.
We drank lots of wine all day and enjoyed each other’s company. I think we’ll have to make fresh pasta more often, especially as the weather gets colder.
Yesterday, the weather was kind of crummy, but Bill wanted to venture into Wiesbaden to catch the last day of the annual city fest. It was very well attended despite the weather. I’m sure it helped that it was also a Sunday shopping day in Wiesbaden. I got lots of pictures. My favorite attraction, of course, was the Shetland ponies. They had quite a few people selling crafts, lots of food, wine, beer, and agricultural exhibits. There was also a car show going on in the Market Square.
These horses were giving people a ride. They seemed very relaxed. I love the way they smelled. 
These ponies were so cute. 
I wanted to take them home with me. 
I think they may have been the ones Bill and I saw in a pasture near our home. 
Kids were having fun in the straw… 
These horn players were almost Olympic. 
Kids were helping process the apples… into juice or wine? I don’t know. 
To be honest, for several reasons, I’ve been feeling a bit down on Germany lately… but one thing I do like about living over here is that there’s always something to celebrate. The Germans will have a festival for anything. And the ones up here in Wiesbaden are kind of different from the ones near Stuttgart. They tend to be less focused on beer and more on wine.
I was hungry, but not in the mood for fest food or the crowds. We wandered around looking for someplace to eat and finally ended up at Casa del Sabor, an Argentinian steakhouse. We ate there a few months ago and I really enjoyed the rib eye steak I ordered. This time, I decided to try a cheeseburger. This was an act of bravery on my part, since burgers can be iffy over here…
I decided to have an apple, mint, and lime drink… Alcohol free! 
Bill had a Dunkelweiss… also alcohol free. 
The bread and these dips were probably my favorite part of the meal. That garlic spread is addictive! 
Bill had a fried zander filet… 
The cheeseburger was okay. I would have liked it more if the patty had been handmade instead of pressed. But at least it was all beef. 
Bill’s sides… rosemary potatoes and spinach. He especially love the spinach.
The cheeseburger had tomatoes, onions, cucumbers (not pickles), lettuce, ketchup, and mayo on it. I don’t usually put mayo on burgers, but I think Germans often do. I had to cut it in half and struggled to finish it, mainly because I went to town on the bread. I was really hungry when we came in and both of the spreads, but particularly the garlic, were delicious. I like Casa del Sabor. We’ll have to go back and try some of their other stuff, if only so I can have more of that garlic spread.
I was feeling kind of tired and listless and the weather was getting worse, so we decided to go home. I relaxed for awhile, then joined Bill for more music and wine. I went on a buying binge on Saturday and got a few albums by classic bands from my youth… the Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan, and Chicago. Sometimes I miss being young, but I am grateful I grew up at a time when there was so much fantastic music.
So begins another week here in Deutschland… Columbus Day weekend is coming up. I usually plan trips for the long weekends, but I am not feeling very inspired to this year.