My poor aching back

Can I just say again that getting older isn't for wimps! Last Monday I slipped coming up the stairs and I managed to keep from falling but wrenched my back pretty good.  I took it easy and by Friday I was back to my usual old self. We went to two Christmas markets on Saturday and really had a great afternoon/evening. Then Sunday I was loading the dishwasher and twisted around to the sink....next thing I knew I was on my knees in horrible pain. I think I have pinched a nerve because now my back aches, I have shooting pain up my left leg and my feet keep going to sleep. I can barely get out of the bed or up from a chair without crying. I had not left the apartment since Saturday so today I walked to the grocery store just to get out. It took me over an hour to make this trip and it's less than a block there. I'm sure people thought I was nuts clutching my cart and wincing with every step.  We're flying home in a week so that's a 8 hour flight and I can't stand the thought of going in this much pain. What can I do? I'm taking ibuprofen twice a day and there's no sense going to the dr over here because they believe in natural healing aka no good drugs!

Good news is I've had some stitchy time because frankly I can't do much else. I finished Eveline Cunningham from Blacrkbird Designs and it's just gorgeous. The colors are beautiful, muted and just pretty. It was a bonus pattern in the Loose Feathers Winter Book from 2011. I'll post pictures later when i can finally get around and find the camera. I started And To All A Good Night which is all a LF by BBD but I think it's been in my stash for over 10 years now.  Surely no one else ever does that?  I have wanted to stitch it since day one but it just kept getting pushed back into the stash until I saw it last week and it just said "stitch me"!  I have also joined Joy over at The Busy Stitcher and you really should check out her blog if you haven't already.....anyhoo, I got distracted but she's proposed that for 2013 that we not acquire any new stash until we earn it by stitching up patterns we already have. Ex: you want a new pattern that cost $10 so you need to stitch 10 things before you make that purchase or whatever works for you.  I'm thinking this is gonna be a great way for me to finally be inspired to stitch all these wonderful charts I already own! Now Mark said something like "I'll believe it when I see it" and something like " you know if I had suggested that you've have gotten mad at me so glad your friend came up with the idea". So I had to point out all the guns he owns, the fact he can only shoot one at a time and can't even own a gun in this country!!!! Silly boy should know better than to try to win an argument with me about who owns more stuff.  I used to be able to say all my charts, threads, fabby, ect wold never even come close to what he had tied up into his hobbies but with the $$$$ these days for charts I don't think that line of reasoning applies anymore.

I promise to post some pics soon of the markets. We've been to 4 of them so far and I haven't bought the first thing. I'm holding out for the one in Stuggart because there's a guy there that sells puts sheep and I need a few more for my flock. LOL

Only a week late but Thankful none the less

Celebrating what is truly an American Holiday overseas is very different but I managed.  There was no turkey to be had and I have since learned it's because turkey is a Christmas tradition in Germany.  Also I would need to go to a farm to pick my turkey out and then they would slaughter it for me.  WTF?  I'm sorry I know people nowadays like to "know" what they are eating and do all organic but I ain't one of them. All my meats come on a foam tray with plastic wrap over them and that's just how it is.  So long story short, I roasted a whole chicken not quite the same but we did ok.  I also made dressing and candied sweet potatoes plus Mark's favorite chess pie! I cooked all day long because don't know I have mentioned it yet, the oven can only hold one pan at a time.  It's actually quite funny because the dishwasher can't even do that.  Now the only thing I hate worse than ironing is washing dishes.  My family knows that you never, ever give me anything that must be hand washed because I'll throw that sucker away and never blink an eye.  So said Thanksgiving feast required lots of hand washing pans but I mustered thru it.  Everything smelled heavenly and I was thinking that I should have invited the young couple from upstairs to experience an American Thanksgiving; that is until I tasted the food!  The chicken was fine because you really can't mess that up but the dressing tasted like I dumped a whole lot of salt in it and by a lot I mean A LOT!!!!  And I might have also burned the sweet potatoes because I forgot I slid them in the oven while we were admiring the chicken.  Good news is the pie was delicious and I made my very first, from scratch pie crust. I mean why learn to make a pie crust when you can get good ones at the store, am I right?  Mark's a Pie Man from way back and I can't believe that he ate those crusts without one complaint.  Not any more!  I'm a firm believer in homemade pie crust now. Of course, I'm not a huge pie lover but put a cake in front of me and all bets are off.  See we just balance each other out so well after 25 years.  LOL!

I wanted to show you what I found at the store and you tell me if you've ever seen these in our stores?  They're made in America and I've never seen this brand before! The back even explains how to roast a marshmallow which I found very funny.

 

I finished the guestroom and I'm pretty happy with it.  And more importantly we balanced my decorating budget and turned in all the receipts.  I not only furnished the entire apartment from kitchen cabinets to lighting to linens to everything but I also still had $23 Euros left over!  I rocked that budget and made every dime (euro) count.  So here's shots of the finished place:

Guestroom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And I did a little holiday decorating because I just couldn't stand it!  We're going home for 3 weeks so not much need for holiday decor at either home but I needed it!

 

Entry Hall

 

Living Room

 

Coffee Table

 

Living Room Doorstop/Stool

 

And finally the tree on the bedside table in the Master Bedroom.  I don't think the keys show up but this one is done in hearts and keys

 

Thanks for stopping in to see me and I promise more funny stories later this week.  Now I'm off to walk the cat and get cash from the bank.  My dang card quit working because I did the stupid customer trick of putting it in the same pocket as my cell phone which of course, wiped out the encoding on the back of the card.  I knew that would happen and still did it....silly girl.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weekends never will be the same again!

Forgive me for my absence but I've just not been in bloggy sort of mood lately. Nothing major just hanging  out reading everyone's blogs but not really wanting to update my own.

As you know we are living in an apartment over here and that's taken some adjustment time for all of us.  Clarice can no longer play with her favorite toys aka: golf ball or marbles, I have to put on shoes and clothing along with brushing my hair to just take the garbage out and poor Mark has to hunt for parking space on the street every day but the worst is Thin Walls! Yep that's right boys and girls, really thin, non sound proof, college apartment day walls.  The single lady next door has a new boyfriend that I know all about! I swear the first time I thought "oh no that's not what I'm hearing" but by the 4th time yesterday, I was begging Mark to please, please take me somewhere just anywhere but here. Our living room shares the common wall with her bedroom and she's quite outspoken. Yes, I said 4th time, and Yes, I'm jealous but more importantly I'm wondering how I'm gonna look her in the eye the next time we meet on the stairs. This isn't a large complex just 8 apartments total. I also wonder if I should offer her antibiotics to treat that raging bladder infection that will be caused from having that much sex in a short amount of time....LOL.  This is TMI in the extreme!!!!!!

Now on to more serious things like day trips, antiking jaunts, cooking and stitching.....
I lost my stitching mojo for quite a few days but found it again on Thursday when I discovered Parenthood on tv and watched 3 seasons worth over 2 days.  I had never seen it before but it's really a good show and I can see why it's won so many awards.  We are using Roku to access American tv and I love it because I can turn on mindless tv with no commercials then stitch away. Now the bad part is that older seasons of shows are free but current shows cost $1.99 per episode to watch so we're only paying for Mark's fave Fringe currently. Now after the first of the year we will be getting Sherlock, Downtown Abby and White Collar because those are on my must see list so I've had to start budgeting for those already.  I have really tried watching the German tv shows but I just don't know enough German to follow along with so I get frustrated which is not a good thing when you are just looking for mindless entertainment.  I finished Pineberry Lane's Autumn on Marigold Lane and a quickie BBD Noel plus started E Cunningham from BBD.  I love the muted colors and how they blend nicely with Snowgarden so I'll probably leave it up year round on my sampler wall here in the apartment even though it will have a reindeer stitched on it.  The quickie stitch BBD Noel is not doing much for me because the colors just aren't right so I've got to figure out what I'm going to do with it.  I think I may finally try walnut dye to age it and hopefully make it more prim looking than it is right now.

 

 

 

 

 

 



That's all for today boys and girls because Clarice is insisting that we play a little game of hide and seek before I start cleaning house.  She's so funny because she will hide and jump out to tag you on the back of the leg then run off.  She totally understands the game! Here's one of her new places to hide in the closet and I can't tell you how many times I have shut her in there without knowing it.

 

And finally here is her helping Mark this weekend while he was trying to get some work done

 

Wednesday Blahs

It's a cloudy day here and not much going on around our place.  Mark got home Saturday morning and has just been really jet lagged ever since.  The poor guy is zonked and he turned 50 yesterday so that's not helping matters.  Yep, my honey is 50 and we've been married exactly half his lifetime now! WOW!  I really think he should call up his old frat brothers and collect on that "They'll never make it" bet!!!!  We'd be billionaires on the odds that they were laying.  Anyway, we didn't do anything special for his day but this is the year that he gets to buy a Porsche per our agreement of 5 years ago.  I so wish that was a possibility right now for him even more than he realizes.  I hate that he's worked so hard all these years  and gave up his car 4 years ago to get our finances in better order since it looked like we'd both be out of a job with him in automotive and me in banking.  It breaks my heart because he truly loves sports cars and the engineering skills that built them so much.  I really hope when this adventure of living overseas is done that we'll be ready for him to buy a new one!!!!!
I plan on us going to visit the Porsche museum in Frankfort this weekend if he's up to it.  He's been once a few years ago but I've never had the chance.  The weather is suppose to be nice so it would make a great little day trip for us.

I didn't even cook the birthday boy dinner last night because I had a nagging headache.  We did the very European thing of fresh bread, cheese, sausage and fruit for dinner along with wine and beer.  However, I did cook the night before a recipe from Donna Davis that was outstanding! She and Morgan made it one night for me and I begged and begged for the leftovers and the recipe.  Now it got crammed into my recipe box and I promptly forgot about it until Monday afternoon.  Does anyone else do that, get a recipe and then forget completely about it until they stumble across it many moons later?  My box is crammed full of tidbits that I've cut from magazines, newspapers, collected from family and friends only to be crammed into the abyss never to be seen again or at least not for a long time.  I get into a rut of making the same old, same old stuff but since I now have time on my hands I've been trying to find at least one new thing a week to make.  I enjoy cooking....no I really do especially now that I'm not working outside the home.  So without further a do here's:

 Donna Davis' Chicken Pecan Pasta

1/3 stick butter
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1TBSP olive oil
Boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into cubes

Cook over medium heat until chicken is browned

Add 3/4 cup chopped pecans
3-4 Roma tomatoes, diced
2 cups Penna Pasta, cooked

Put a lid on the skillet and let simmer until cooked down, stir often

That's it and it's super easy but oh so delicious.  And I know you're thinking pecans and tomatoes but they are just amazing together and this comes from the woman that doesn't eat tomatoes!  I also broiled fresh brussel sprouts and made a peach cobbler so Mark was a happy boy! 

Today I'm making the chocolate pumpkin bread as a surprise for Mark and I'm going to figure out how in the heck to make sourdough bread.  That's one of his favorite breads and we're having trouble finding any over here so I'm off to search the web.  I have to roast my own pumpkin since there is no pie filling or even canned pumpkin around here but I've discovered that it's really easy to do.  I kinda think I'm actually learning to cook now since I can't depend on finding convenience foods over here.   I think of it more as the way my grandmothers cooked, making do with what they had, learning what to substitute and that fresh foods just taste better.  I do miss my microwave more than I thought I would but hey you just can't have it all.  Hope you all have a great day and that you'll be inspired to try a new recipe this week for your loved ones.

Just the funnies and latest adventures

I told y'all last time that we have been battling the flu but we've finally turned the corner and beat that bugger.  I swear it's been a beast and just when we thought we were done with it, one of us would relapse.  Mark is back in the states this week so I have taken advantage of that and scoured the entire place down so take that germs!  If it didn't run when I walked towards it (aka Clarice) then it got bleached and Mr Clean doused. 

And along those lines I mentioned that we had a few laughs during our illness and promised to share, so here ya go.
We were drinking lots of fluids and have a limited number of cups and glasses so I suggested that we use the only 3 plastic colored cups we have to keep from getting a fresh glass every time.  I told him that you're green and mine is blue.  Seems easy enough except for the 100Million questions every time we went into the kitchen to get a drink.

Him: Honey, is my cup blue or green?
Me: Yours is green...no wait, blue...nope, yours is green
Him:  Are you sure?
Me:  Yep, yours is green
Me: But wait we always give you blue since it matches your eyes and you look so good in blue.  Yep, your cup is blue
Him:  I really thought mine was green
Me: You're right yours is green because the blue cup was dirty when I gave you the first drink.

This went on and on with us for a couple of days from both of us until Mark finally said "Can I switch to the red cup so we can be sure who's is who's"  OMG! That would have been too freaking simple and never occurred to me.

So fast foward to later that week when we started feeling better and I was starting to banish those germs.  I'll throw away the old toothbrushes and here's our new ones.  You guessed it they were green and blue!

Him: So my toothbrush is green?
Me: Nope, yours is blue and mine is green
Him: Ok, got it

And just close your eyes and imagine later that same day....I'm in the bathroom and want to brush my teeth.

Me: So is mine blue or green?
Him:  Yours is green, no blue, no green....I can't remember
Me: Well I'm using green
Him: Ok then I'll use blue

And the blue/green battle is still being waged at our house.  I'm sure if Clarice could talk she'd have yelled  "Listen here old people, Dad's toothbrush is blue and Mom's is green!  And I don't ever, ever want to have to listen to you debate it again"

Now I went to my favorite antik store this week since Mark's out of the country and I have to entertain myself.  LOL!  I was so good and only bought a couple of vintage frames for my stitching so without futher a do here they are: Elizabth Jane by BBD and this frame is just perfect.  It's silver and chippy and just really set off this delicate jewel.

 

Pumpkin Farm by BBD and done for my momma.  I like this frame because it's very thin and ore rustic looking and it fits perfectly into my fall display in the entrance hall

 

Not a vintage frame but a new one that fits Seaside Retreat rather well.  I'd like to distress this frame to look more like driftwood but don't have the paints over here yet to do that.

 

 

Here's the living room wall that I've started with my stitching

 

Well Mark will be home Saturday so I'm off to a little more retail therapy today so hope everyone has a great day and that I've given you a new insight to the crazy minds within the Harris' household.

 

 

 

Funny thing happened on the way to the bathroom

For those of us of a certain age, we know that getting up several times a night to go potty is not unusual.  The key is to never, ever open your eyes because you don't want to actually be awake. Those of us that share bathrooms with the male species know that sometimes a wet bottom is to be expected and he'll catch heck about it the next morning.  But this week we have been battling flu and me the bladder infection which have resulted in a lot more bathroom trips than normal in the wee hours....yes pun intended!  I stumbled out of bed Sunday and headed to the potty only to run slap dab, head on into the closed bedroom door! What the hell! Why is the door closed?  Mark immediately wakes up and shouts "What's  wrong? What just happened?" and other misc things. Now, I'm still trying very hard to Not Wake Up and remember I was dying because I was so sick....All I could do was cry and keep repeating " We don't close doors in our house" seriously I must have said it three or four times while struggling to open the door. By the time I got back in bed, Mark was laughing his ass off  and the lights were on so we just called it a night and put the coffee on.  So my advic is next time nature calls in the middle of the night ladies, please make sure the door is open before you try to walk thru it.  Mark is still chuckling about it but I fail to see the humor since I now have a bruised toe  in addition to everything else!

More illness related stories to follow as we're freaking hilarious when we're sick. It's kinda a who's on   first type of humor

Whole lotta nothing going on

Wow, it's been 10 days since I last posted a we haven't done anything except fight this horrible flu bug....yes both of us.  We even cancelled our trip to Switzerland because we were convinced that driving that far from home (only 2 hours) would kill us.  We have coughed, sneezed, complained (him only) and ate soup until we're both about to go mad.  He finally went back to work Tuesday and what a blessed day that was because I had my first ever international doctor experience!  Seriously, you just don't go see a dr for something simple like the flu, bronchitis or anything that might eventually run it's course without medicine.  Yep, it's true what my Granny always said "That that doesn't kill ya makes ya stronger" but it damn near killed us both.  Then I got a bladder infection so no home remedy was gonna clear that up....trust me I tried eating yogurt, drinking 6 liters of cranberry juice, hot baths, lots of water and even drank warm baking soda drinks but nothing was gonna help without the use of medicine. I have a long history with bladder infections so I know the what it is!  My dr back home wrote me a script for the pain meds associated with the infections but not the antibiotics which I totally understand why but I'm dying here.   Mark's company has a doctor on staff that makes visits to the plant every week....think he'd have mentioned that before Tuesday and me dying but no.....so his assistant makes me an appointment but I need to go to his office.  I can do that and oh, BTW take a urine sample with you...ok, seems weird but I can do that.  I pack up my sample, my baggie of meds and head over to his office which is really close to the apartment....thank goodness because I'm still coughing, ect from the flu.  I get there and it's a beautiful office with this really nice lady sitting at the front desk.  She greets me by name and asks me to fill out some paperwork....yeah, I know I can't read German then I realize it's just a simple  piece of paper that she wants my name, address, date of birth and phone number on.....nothing else!  No medical history or anything!  Then she asks for my urine sample which I promptly hand her and she cringes because it's red/orange so I tell her that's from medicine that my dr back in the states had prescribed....I've lost her and the dr comes out at this point and he's totally confused.  Guess this isn't a common practice or treatment over here but hey I was looking for some relief.  He asks me to step into his office and have a seat so I'm thinking he's going to take my medical history but no he's just wanting to get to know me.  Whatever dude, have I mentioned that I'm dying here?  I explain my long history with bladder infections going back to childhood, what my dr has done in the past and here's what medicine I'm taking.  He looks at my little baggie of sleeping pills, depression meds and headache meds along with the urine changing wonder drug.  He's never heard of some of these so can I please explain why I take them...ok that's understandable but then he asks about half way in "How long are you staying in Germany and do you expect me to write for these pills"?  "Um, no my dr in the states has taken care of that so I really only need an antibiotic to help me with the bladder issue"  besides dude, my health insurance won't work over here so it's out of my pocket money but I didn't say that.  Now he wants to discuss why I take depression and anxiety meds plus sleeping pills because they just don't do that here.  Did I understand that allowing my body to function as normal was best?  Yep that's right, I can just dissolve into a crying puddle of goo while sweating profusely because everything is "new" and I'm not sleeping and oh yea, I have a migraine that hasn't gone away in years because that's what would happen if I didn't take my meds....trust me Donna on drugs good, Donna off drugs not a pretty picture.  Finally he gets that I'm not buying into the whole idea so he starts researching antibiotics on his computer that should help me without interacting with all my other meds,  Thank goodness, we're finally getting somewhere so he prints me out a script and tells me I need to find a pharmacy to fill it which I already know are hard to find but I can manage.  Then he walks me to the front desk and she starts checking me out.....no one else is in the building...no one waiting, no phones ringing, no sales reps waiting to bring in lunch, nobody!  It's surreal but I like it because I'm not going to get another illness while waiting in the waiting room with 100 other people coughing, sneezing, throwing up, ect.  And the visit only cost $35.52 euros which is amazing because they did "lab" work and everything.  Shocking wasn't even close to what I was thinking because we figured the office visit would be around $200Euro then the labs and medicine another $100 so I was happy.  I remembered a pharmacy was close to the bank so I walked down there but they were closed for lunch....go figure.  But there is a cute coffee shop, MoccaSins and they have a really nice staff so I head over there for a treat to wait until the store reopens.  I love (not) how stores around here close from12:30 or 1:00 for at least 1 1/2 hours or longer every day for lunch even the banks!!!!!  Just such an old concept for us Americans that believe we should be able to do anything 24 hours a day.  Do you remember when stores used to not open until 10:00 AM or closed on Sundays?  I do and I'm getting back into that mindset again.  So the pharmacy reopens and I head in there to again no one waiting!  What?  Seriously, I had the guy my script and he rummages in a card catalog type file box then hands me a box of medicine.  No questions,no name,  no small talk just here it is and that's $16Euro.  No directions on how to take it, nothing, nada, zilch!  So now I'm taking the antibiotics and starting to feel a little better so I totally live thru this week but I seriously had my doubts Monday night.  I'm a good nurse for others but I'm a horrible patient because I just want to be left alone but someone should also anticipate what I need and bring it to me cheerfully...ahem with lots of love, patience and tenderness not complain how bad they feel, how they are sicker than me or suck it up instructions....not helping. Seriously, hope everyone else is doing well and I promise no more complaining until at least the next time I'm sick!  Ha, ha!

Too Long My Friends

Sorry that I have been away this long but just frankly didn't really get on the computer much at all the last couple of weeks.  I have been enjoying some quality stitching time enjoying the cooler fall temps so not much to show for my absence.  Hey we finally got us tv and that's had something to do with my being offline as well....eye roll but I do have over 2 months of mindless tv watching to catch up on.

We are headed to Lucerne Switzerland this next week because Mark has some meetings and I've never been.  It won't be but a couple of nights but I'm so excited.  Of course, I plan to eat and bring back at least my weight in chocolate!  We're going to celebrate my birthday which was a week ago Saturday which was when Mark got back from his US and France trips.  He was just too wiped out to do much which I totally understood!  We took a drive up to the Black Forest which is only 20 minutes from home but we'd never ventured that way so it was a treat.  We stopped at a convent that was built in the 1600's and wandered the grounds.  It was a nice outing.


So fall is arriving slowly over here and I just couldn't let that happen without putting at least a few fall decr items out.  I really miss my numerous halloween and fall decorations because as you know this is my favorite season.  I just keep telling myself just remember it'll be new to ya when you pull it all out again in 3 years...lol!  So here's a few pics and you'll notice it's far more reserved than my normal Hallowwen Store exploded in my home look!

Entryway Cabinet

 

Brought the old wooden safe deposit box from home and it's it cute filled with fall stuff

 

 

This little chalkware squirrel started my longing for some fall decor.  He's just too cute and I brought the old basket over with me as well

 

Kitchen Table

 

 

 

Here's the convent

Grounds

 

Ok for the lastest look at my treasures and finds over here.  While driving to the Black Forest we passed an antik shop that was closed so we went back this past weekend for a quick peep.  She's a smaller shop but has a lot of 60's and 70's items with some older prims mixed in.  Thank goodness for me that she doesn't consider them to as valuable as the newer stuff because I got some clay marbles, 2 egg sock darners and my first leather book for $12.80 US total.  I was just shocked and so pleased that I danced all the way back to the car.  Mark just shook his head and looked away like he didn't know me.  LOL!

 

Last thing is what have I been stitching you ask?  Well I posted that I finished Seaside Retreat last time and was trying to pick my next project.  I did and I finished it this weekend!  I did Elizabeth Jane by of course, Blackbird Designs and I did it to honor my Granny.  She was an amazing woman and I still miss her everyday.  Her name was Elizabeth but everyone called her Babe so I stitched that as well.  She's been gone 10 years now but I can still remember how her eyes would light up when I suprised her and stopped by her house unexpected. 

 

 

Have a great week and I'll post Switzerland pics next week so check back with me.

 

 

 

 

 

Slow, Lazy Sundays from Abroad

Mark and I started a couple of years ago having Silent Sundays about once a month or so.  On SS days we didn't turn on the tv, ipod or do anything to make noise and we just recharged ourselves to get ready to face the week ahead.  I loved those days when I could read, stitch or whatever and he would be sitting beside me reading or surfing the web.  It was just a peaceful time listening to the sounds of the house, kids playing outside, birds chirping, Clarice snoring or whatever.  Now that we have moved to Germany, it is always silent sundays because no stores including grocery stores are open, no vacuum, laundry or dishwasher is allowed to be run per our rental contract and there is absolutely nothing done that might make noise and disturb your neighbors.  I love it!  I just sit here now still wearing my flannel sock monkey jammies, watching Clarice sleep in the sun and dreaming about my next stitching project.  The first few weeks we lived here I cursed the fact that stores weren't open because there was never enough time for us to get things done with Mark working and me not having a car.  But now that the basics are done, I can sit back and relax wishing everyone could experience this "world stopping for a moment" time.   Come on over for a visit so I can share it with you.

Mark left yesterday for home on business and I must admit that I really did want to go with him but the timing just wasn't right.  We are finally settling into our apartment but Clarice is experiencing some major separation anxiety when Mark leaves so I couldn't leave her too.  She actually started this before our move when he was traveling a lot and she would carry her stuffed kitcat around the house to comfort herself.  It's really cute but at the same time distressing because you know she's upset when she does it.  Here is an older picture that Mark took while he was packing one day....she gave him her lovey to take with him so how sweet is that?

And people don't think animals are smart!

 

And now to share with you a picture my momma sent me yesterday of Hubert and her relaxing in the afternoon.  He's healing but will require another surgery to repair his back leg in a few weeks.  He's just a big loving guy and now he's a house cat!  The grandkids call my momma Ninny so this is Ninny and her grandcat doing what they both love to do best.  Yes, she has horrible allergies to cats but she's taking medicine to help that and she just adores this grumpy old guy.  Daddy is taking a bit longer to warm up but that's just because he doesn't like animals in the house period!!!!!  Never has and never will but his grandcats are determined to win him over.  Gizmo is coming home at night to eat and my daddy waits up every night to make sure he sees him before he goes to bed.  This winter I'm sure Gizzy will hang around more but right now his world is still topsy turvy so he's just found him a safe place to stay during the day but he knows where the food source is so that's good. 

 

Well I'm off to figure out what I'm going to start stitching next because I finished Seaside Retreat from the Blackbird Designs Stitchers Retreat book this morning.  It was an enjoyable stitch that shouldn't have taken me 8 weeks to finish but hey, I did have a good excuse.   I started it on the plane trip over and until this weekend hadn't stitched more than a couple of rows in a day.  I'm only 7 projects behind now on my challenge for 2012 with the Blackbird Stitchers group.  Why did I ever agree to stitching 12 projects in one year?  I used to only finish about 1 or maybe 2 a year until I became obsessed with all things blackbird and got brave enough to start stitching on linen.  BTW, I love it and wish I had been brave enough to try it sooner. I made some changes in the pattern-imagine that-but I'm really happy with how it turned out.  I put the "PP" there so remind us of our great Maine vacation of 2010 to Popple Point which belongs to our friend's Rich and Karen Stover.  Look back on the blog for September 2010 to see pictures of that amazing vacation.

 

 

I hope you find some time today to just turn off the outside world and enjoy a wonderful fall day!

TGIF!

Doesn't mean as much to me now as it did just 4 months ago but it still means another week has ended without tv...again!!!!! I swear if we don't get everything sorted out soon, I'm going to be reduced to one of those "guys" that stands around in the electronic stores watching tv. First, the signal was too weak so we had to wait on a guy to run new wiring, then the actual connectors weren't large enough to split the signal to all the apartments, then it was the TV was bad so we dragged it back to the store to exchange (and it worked fine so no exchange) then finally the signal is too strong for internal tv tuner so we bought an external one. Now the guy is back and he's just not sure what to do. OMG, it'll be another month at this rate before we have tv. It's not that I'll even be able to understand most channels but at least it would be some noise in the background. Since there is no noise, the voices in my head are much louder (lol) Ok so now to what I have learned this week boys and girls. I have learned that Mark can hold his temper even when the electronic guys act like he's an idiot which we all know is the farthest thing from the truth when it comes to anything electronic. They really tested his self control that night.

  I also learned that when you are paying in cash for a meal that you must tell the waitress how much money you want back not leave the tip on the table. I was treated very rudely after I handed her a $50 for a $45 meal and didn't tell her that I didn't want any money back. Tipping is not done here unless you are in a very nice place and it's never done by leaving cash on the table!!!!! How was I to know that? So now I consider myself schooled on that subject and won't be handing out tips any longer to anyone! LOL!

 The last thing I learned this week is that I can and have now walked the 3 miles one way to the "WalMart" type store. Didn't really set out planning to do that but I shopped the local stores for the above referenced tuner and no one carried it. Then I realized I was about half way to the store so I might as well just go there because I knew they had some. It was a pleasant, crisp fall day so I enjoyed my walk over even though I had to cross the on and off ramps to the autobahn twice but coming home was another story. I was still feeling very self-sufficient and kinda smug that Mark would be shocked to know I did this until the rain started. It sprinkled and I thought ok this is no biggie just walk alittle faster and that continued for about the first 2 miles then the bottom fell out. I was soaked all the way up to my knees, my hair was dripping water and fogging up my glasses, my shoes squished with every step but there was nothing I could do except press on. It was quite a comical sight I'm sure because I had not taken a jacket or an umbrella and let's face it, I'm a larger gal so I didn't look like a drowned rat more like a drowned opossum by the time I got home. But hey, live and learn so the next time I'll drop an umbrella into my shopping bag before I leave the house.

Also we finally met one of the couples that live in our building. They stopped by Wednesday evening with a beautiful orchid. I know nothing about taking care of one but learning on line. They are a young couple, have lived here 4 years, she's a middle/high school teacher and he's an engineer. They stayed about an hour and a half while we sipped wine Mark brought back from France and really had a nice visit. They speak english fluently, have visited the US and are really a nice couple. They explained a lot of the workings of trash services (yes all the cardboard is still in the guestroom the neighbors, how the laundry drying room schedule was worked out, where to eat and where not to eat, plus just a lot of great info on things to do and see. I think we'll have them over again even if they are at least 15 years younger than us. He and Mark started speaking "engineer language" and both of us girls just looked at each other and shrugged our shoulders then started laughing. Geek Talk applies in all cultures and needs no translation!

Well the cable guy wants to talk to me so keep your fingers crossed that it means I finally have tv!!!!! Have a great weekend and enjoy the fall weather no matter where you live.

What's in a name?

To quote Juliet
"What's in a name, that which we call a rose
 By any other name would smell as sweet"

and btw, that is one of my favorite Shakespeare books.  Heck one of my favorite books of all times!  I studied Shakespeare in HS and that was my favorite class ever.  I even remember the teacher some 30 plus years later because she made the works come alive!

Oh sorry, I got sidetracked by the reason for this post.  Karen over at My Colonial Home is celebrating her 4 year blogging anniversary and also her 49th wedding anniversary with a special giveaway as so many wonderful bloggers do.  I have to say the blogging community is the most caring, giving group of people that I have ever encountered.  I have never met so many men and women who are so encouraging, helpful and quick to offer a shoulder to cry on or send up prayers to lift you up if needed.  Karen's blog was one of my first discoveries and I have followed her since then.   I remember people talking about blogging and I thought what a bunch of hooie that is because why would anyone want to know about what you are doing in your every day life but then I read a couple and was hooked.  I "lurked" for a long time before I actually signed up and started following people.  Now I can happily say that I not only love reading about everyone's daily life but I enjoy sharing mine with everyone.  I started in January 2010 right before we made our trip to China and looking back over the last few years, I was amazed to see how much our lives have changed.  There was a long, long spell where I didn't blog because life just overwhelmed me and I fell into a deep depression.  When I look at all those empty months and remember the pain I was going thru, it makes me very happy to be where I am today! Life is a journey and baby, I'm on the fast train it seems like all the time.  My momma told me as a kid that life flies by so quit wishing your life away but what did I know then?  Nothing because as most advice my momma gave me, I see the wisdom in it now.

Anyhoo, Karen wanted to know where our blogging names came from so I'm pleased to tell that story.  I have been best friends with Dana and Kathie since we all met way back in junior high which was over 30 years ago now.  We have always been there for each other thru marriages, divorces, kids, losing loved ones, kids growing up, ect.....Time and Distance haven't changed our friendship!!!!!  We started a tradition about 16 or 17 years ago that we would make time out of our lives for a Girl's Weekend atleast once a year and we have continued that tradition even though I missed the last 2 years...see above about depression and life....On the occasion of one of our trips, we decided that we needed a "group name" and Kathie suggested Dirty Martini Queens since that was our drink of choice when we were all together and it just fit!!!!!  We celebrate our  queenship with wearing crowns every chance we get, exchanging martini and queen type items and just generally being us!  We are the life at every party, the crazy gals dancing on the tabletops or bars if given a chance and the ones that laugh the most and loudest no matter where we are.  We are truly are best friends in the truest sense of the word.  If I got a call in the dead of the night, I'd be right there by thier side to semi quote Bon Jovi lyrics (imagine that).  These are the gals that watched me grow up to become the woman I am today and they still love me anyway.  Now I'm getting all misty eyed because I miss my DMQ's!!!!

So now you guys all know the story behind Dirty Martini Queen's Musings and have an insight to a my friends who are amazing women!  Be sure to check out Karen's blog http://mycolonialhome.blogspot.de
because she posts some amazing pictures of her home and crafty ideas plus amazing things she creates to sell. Her work is inspiring

Another day, another dollar or euro

Let's see if I can bring y'all up to date since last week.  Hubert was attacked by Ninny's neighbor's pit bull that managed to get thru the privacy fence but he's healing under Ninny's loving touch.  Gizmo has disappeared and not been seen since the dog attack which is troubling to us all but he's very high strung so he's probably sneaking in at night when all is quiet.  Mark loved his desk that I built and hung the light fixture so that was a win/win for us both.  I thought he would but never can be too sure since all things chippy, rusty and crusty don't always appear to be the treasures I think they are to him.  He's off to France until Wednesday then here for a couple of days then off to Atlanta on Saturday.  Wish I was going with him but just not feasible right now.  I have to watch my pennies or euro cents so I can afford that month long trip home for the holidays that we are planning. 

I have been walking Clarice almost daily in the park and we even climbed a tree last week. 

 

and did a little dirt rolling

 

No longer a black kitty now just a dusty grey kitty

 

But all in all a great afternoon just strolling thru the park, getting pets from all the old people, laughs from the younger set but those are really directed more at me, The Crazy Cat Lady than at her.

 

I finally learned how to watch movies on the computer so after Mark left yesterday I snuggled down for some chick flicks, stitching and nutrious dinner of candy.  Hey a girl's gotta have a vice and right now mine is peanut M&M german style.  Trust me these will melt in your hands  if you hold on to them too long so I never do that just keep popping 'em in my mouth quickly. 

 

I cleaned house today and it took me all of 3 hours which included mopping all the floors and wiping down the baseboards.  Gee keeping the windows open 24/7 here really causes a lot of dustbunnies and that's not even talking about the dust that Clarice drags back in after her dirt rolling adventures.  This is the part that I hate about not having carpet because you see all the dustbunnies under the furniture and that just will never do!  I admit that I am a neatfreak to a certain point but really walking into the bedroom and seeing those bunnies under the bed sent me over the edge....yucky! So a good scrubbing today, then a great dinner that I fixed for myself and finally a nice bath will just about finish my day off perfectly.  Hope y'all have a great Monday!

 

 

Blunders and Bloopers from afar

I'm not an international guru or anything but I can certainly say this has been quite an experience for a simple, little country mouse like me.  I have learned a few words in German but not enough to really make sense and we still have no TV so it's not like I can pick up the accent stuff from that....but no TV after 6 weeks is driving me bonkers...ok I got sidetracked.  My "Pig Latin" version of German isn't pretty but I can usually make what I'm trying to say understood in a round about sort of way.  Well add in American Slang and Southern Accent then just chuckle away because you feel very sorry for the poor German people in dealing with me.  I got the letter concerning my German Integration Classes and it's 600 hours long.  OMG and just the first orientation session is 60 lesson hours long!  It also states and I quote "If you have no income of your own, the person who is obliged to pay for your maintenance must pay your contribution to the costs" which frankly I think is just plumb knee slapping funny. 

You think you know things have progressed since the 1950's with all the pretty, little ladies not having to worry their pretty little heads about anything except housework.  Well not so over hear ladies!  They are very much stuck in the 50's and a true example was when the cable guys came last week to get us set up for tv.  The guy actually tried, decided the signal wasn't strong enough so they would need to run new wiring and they'd call My Man to set that up.  Wait a doggone minute, what is this Call My Man crap!!!!  Am I not an intelligent, capable person that can schedule appointments and understand what the hell you are saying?  I was hopping mad and they still haven't called back to reschedule that appointment yet.  I think maybe, just maybe they are hoping the crazy american lady will disappear or at least go back across the pond.

Now onto the enjoying part of our blunders:  Since we can't read German menus yet it's an adventure whenever we go out to eat.  Just last week we went to an Italian place and decided that we'd have the "specials of the evening".  Mine was a lemon almost picciata pasta and Mark's was a deep tasting mushroom pasta or so we thought....after about the 6th or 7th bite, he realized it was liver!  Yucky so he ate part of mine instead.  We have discovered what is really the only form of fast food here in this area of Germany and it's called a Doner which is really a turkish food like a gyro.  There is a doner place about every block and I have really enjoyed eating at all of them to find just the perfect one.

Grocery shopping is a different beast over here as one would imagine.  I'm learning not to stockpile food and shop for just a couple of days at a time but dang that's harder than I thought it would be. I did a huge, really huge first shopping trip last week and I was at the store for almost 3 hours.  I was exhausted and could barely push the cart because they've all got those crazy wheels that roll all directions so I was struggling....all of a sudden I realize that I'm singing along to the muzak to Keep The Faith so once again my Bon Jovi men gave me the strength to carry on.  Seriously, you can't make this stuff up.  It was simply the struggling to understand what packages of food are like instant mashed potatoes or cream of mushroom soup or anything else for that matter.  What people might not know about us is that we love us some pancakes( or PamBakes as Rachel used to call them) every weekend and Mark makes the best ones ever.  I brought a lot of pancake mix but didn't bring syrup because I thought surely they'd have it here....well actually no they don't....they have a very expensive Canadian maple syrup which we didn't like so I was thrilled to discover an International Section in the grocery store.  Guess what I found in the American section?  Griffins (right there from Oklahoma) Pancake syrup so all is good again in our little world.  I also found Poptarts, Campbells Cream of Tomato Soup, Oreos and other misc junk foods.  I actually stood there cradling the syrup while trying to decide if $4.50 Euros is too much to pay for Poptarts and BTW, it is and I left them at the store. I'm on a strict budget of $28 Euros per day for expenses and expensive junk food ain't in that budget.

I'm also minding my budget by ironing Mark's shirts at home.  Well I have never been a person that enjoys ironing and just ask my brother Jeff for proof.  When we were teenagers and I was forced by the slave driver AKA Mother to iron, I'd gripe and complain until she'd finally just do it herself.  Well one Saturday I was being punished for something that I don't even remember now but probably had to do with breaking curfew or having a smart mouth; anyway I was ironing away and Jeff was laying on the couch making fun of me.  He kept kicking the ironing board and being...well just Jeff so after I told him several times to leave me alone and he ignored my requests; I picked up his foot and stuck the hot iron to the bottom of it.  OMG, did I ever get beat for that but hey he didn't do it again!  And I have hated ironing ever since so this is a huge thing that I'm going to iron Mark's shirts.  I took 2 of his suits and 4 pairs of dress pants to the cleaners on Monday and that bill was $52 Euros which you had to pay up front.  OMG, I just about passed out from sticker shock so I can't imagine what it would cost us to have his shirts laundered.

Well that's all for now but stay tuned 'cause I've set US and German Relations back a few years with all my mistakes.  I'm off now to cook some fresh green beans, new potatoes and Wiener Schnitzel which is just another name for fried porkchops...yummo!

What isn't she gonna re-purpose you ask

While the Mr. Cat is away in Switzerland for meetings, Clarice and I have been playing a lot.  Mark took the train yesterday for Switzerland and was so very kind enough to leave me the car while he is gone.  I needed to do "something" for him and decided finally getting his home office in order was just that something!!!!  Poor guy has been using a cardboard box box (and not even a large one at that) for a desk and sitting in the floor so it was time to get that guy fixed up.  So I went shopping at a couple of the local furniture stores looking at desks and I must say that I was underwhelmed with the selections. He doesn't need much just a work space that he can call his own and oh yea, an overhead light fixture.  We have the room off the bedroom that I had originally thought I'd make into a dining room but let's face it, I ain't gonna be giving any dinner parties while we are here likely.  We have a small table in the kitchen so did we really "need" a dining room.....no!  So after being utterly discouraged with the whole desk selection I came back to the apartment to ponder what I was going to do.  Then a lightbulb moment happened and I thought what if I got some cool white cubes from Ikea to use as a base....then added an old door that could be his desktop or a dining room table if ever needed and I was off and running.  Ok maybe I was off and driving to Ikea but I got the cubes, desk chair, light and other must have office organizational items.  I was up for an all niter dragging this stuff into the apartment and getting is assembled which is huge for me because Mark always does that part for me but I got it done this morning.  I finally discovered that if you don't have the upper body strength to pull and hold something in place while you screw it together that if you turn it and park your fat ass on it that will work to hold it in place.  Don't laugh because it really works.  Then I headed to the lighting store for a chandelier type fixture and to the antik store to find a suitable door.  I know crazy huh?  I did all that work without actually having a door that I could use but hey, it turned out fine.  Have I mentioned that I love this store?  The lady was so excited to see me and after several prices being thrown out there, we finally agreed on one and then I realized that I didn't have enough cash with me.  OMG!!!!!!  She was so wonderful and just told me to bring her the $25 on my next trip.  How great is that lady!!!!!  Then she helped me very, very carefully wedge this huge door into the back of the rental station wagon car.  Don't tell Mark because he will stroke out but it worked out perfectly.  I just had to drive slower so no autobahn for me and I had to move my seats up as close as I could get them to the dash but it worked out fine.  Until I get home and realize that I now have to carry this huge door upstairs by myself.  Ok here's the really crazy part, I did it!  I'm already hurting because I got thrown off balance and stumbled back down the first set of stairs.  Thank goodness there is a pony wall there or I'd have really hurt myself.  I'm just stiff and sore right now but I'm sure I'll have some dandy bruises in the morning.  Oh well, we all must suffer for our art. so now let me show you what I did:

Anyone need a dental cleaning? Oops guess I should have studied the instructions more

That's better and if you look closely you can see his existing desk back behind there with the telephone sitting on it

 

Clarice approved

This

And This

Plus This

Make This!!!!!

 

 

 

 

I decided to leave the hardware on the door because it's just too prim perfect.

 

Well I'm off now my friends to find me some aspirin and crawl into a warmish bathtub to soak my poor tired old bones.  Mark comes home tomorrow and I think he'll be pleasantly surprised.  The only thing I did not get completed in my makeover was hanging the light fixture because I don't do electrical work.  Long story but getting shocked and knocked off my step stool were enough to show me that I lacked the needed skills to ever wire anything.  Mark thinks it's so freaking funny because I cringe everytime I screw in a new lightbulb even so he will have to hang his own light in the office but that's it.  I'm so proud that I thunk up the idea and everything fell into place just as I had envisioned.

Saturday Evening Delight

I finally finished Old Crow by LaDa and couldn't decide if I wanted to frame it or finally step outside my comfort zone and try something new.  Everyone is always posting these wonderful ways to display their needlework so I just leaped off the edge and tried something different.  I had brought this quited table square from home in muted yellows and green and it sets off the Old Crow perfectly.  I just tacked it on, added some old buttons and hung it on the wall.  I love it and that quilt square almost covers the ugly fuse box in the entry way so it was a double win for me!

Oh the fun I've had the last couple of days and the adventures I've tackled.  I mentioned in my last post that I went shopping again and it was a good day so let me show what I got:

Look at this sweet, well loved kitty and she's an older Steiff with no button. Best of all I paid $5E for her. 

Got a new sidetable for the living room because Mark decided the stool was too small

 

Some Yellow ware for the kitchen

Grain sifters hung in kitchen.  I'm looking for a very small clock to nestle in the larger one

An old sewing box just full of smalls

Mirror for entryway but now I need to grubby up some tapers for the sconces

Coffee Table-not as much prim as just too cool.  Mark really likes it a lot

And Clarice does too

 

 

Now for the best story ever!!!!!  Today Mark decided that we needed to go to the media store to get him a computer monitor for work.  I really didn't want to go but did because he's done a lot that he didn't want to do for me over the years, I went along.  Oh man, I'm glad he wanted to go because I got a curbside freebie!  It's exactly what I was thinking about buying for the entry way but just hadn't gotten around to it yet.  We headed towards the shopping area when I spot this pile of misc stuff sitting on the curb.  I immediately focus on the cabinet and I'm telling Mark what a great looking item it is and that I've been reading online about people putting items they no longer want or need on the curb in hopes that someone will pick it up. He just looks at me and says "Let me guess you want to circle the block and check it out"....well duh!!!!  It was a huge block and not as easily done as I'd first thought but it was still sitting there when we got around.  I had my seat belt off before the car even came to a complete stop and was hopping out the door while he's trying to get it in park. I could see right away that it was an old pine piece and very solid.  Mark gets out of the car and asks if it was worth stopping for.  Of course it was but now we had a real issue.....would it fit in the back of the car and was it really a curbside freebie?  I pulled out my handy keyring tape measure and it's 41 1/2 inches across which Mark states firmly will not fit in the back of the car.  I run around to the back, flip that hatchback up and say "It's 42 1/2 inches wide back here" so then he starts the "what if someone just left it for a minute and we're stealing it" which I do admit that thought had occurred to me as well.  Then this guy walks out of the building right there so we're thinking ok it belongs to him.  So Mark asks him what's going on with this cabinet and the guy said it's been sitting here a couple of days so take it.  I immediately started doing the happy dance while Mark figured out how exactly to get it in the car.  I didn't care if I had to ride on the roof but that cabinet was coming home with me. We wrestled it into the car and up 2 flights of steps to make it's new home in the entrance way.  I love it and all it cost me was $1.18E for some sandpaper and beeswax polish.  I think it's a beauty and the price was amazing!  I cleaned it up, quickly sanded the top because it had white wax build up on it, quick polish with beeswax and I was ready to decorate. What do you think?

 

And here she is afterward: