Dear Miss Blue,

I loved your letter about Lohengrin, Germany. I visited Lohengrin many years ago to find out about my relatives who had lived there and farmed the land and grew all the food they needed. They canned the many varieties of vegetables and stored them in their food cellar underground, a place with a very heavy lid that was hard to open. A grownup had to lift it, so if we children were sent to bring one of the items in the cellar to the kitchen, we needed one of the aunts or uncles to help us.  My aunts made everything - bread, coffee cakes, and the best cookies, Lebkuchen, a Christmas tradition with a lot of honey!

And finally I want to tell you that I can hardly wait to hear you sing the Mad Hatter song made famous in the Broadway production of Alice!  I will sit right there in the front row, Miss Blue so that I can enjoy your elegant voice! 

And now, an afterthought:  Wouldn't it be great if we traveled to Lohengrin this Christmas? Let me know so that I can brush up on my German.

Love from Pearl