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.