The Duesseldorf Spirit

It was a beautiful, sunny day in Little Rock today and Maddie said, "It's okay if it rains today, because we're from Duesseldorf. If it rains while my friend Kennedy is here, we'll just teach her the Duesseldorf Spirit!"

When we asked what that was, she said it's the spirit of just going on and doing what you were going to do--even if it rains.

Spunky, isn't she?

In the States

We made it back to the US in time for Christmas. Just a short 8 hour flight and we were at JFK ready to be picked up by my in-laws and wisked away to Connecticut. Thanks to the time difference Maddie fell asleep in the car on the way home and woke up wide-eyed and bushy tailed at 2 a.m. (8 a.m. Duesseldorf time). Hoping to get her back on track today.

It is nice to be back.

Dortmund Christmas Markt

It was raining for our trip to the Dortmund Christmas Markt, but as I've said before, if you stay inside here when it rains, you won't get to see much. As far as Maddie is concerned, it had the best rides by far and Skip got to hit the Brussia Dortmund (soccer) fan shop for a new team jersey.

We had coffee and cake with Daetliff and Elfie and then met Torstein and Alke at the market. Would have included pictures of them, but it was raining, so pictures were quick and in every one of them someone has their eyes closed or just looks odd. Didn't think they'd appreciate me sharing them with all who happen to tune in to this blog.

Yes, that's us standing in front the world's larget Christmas Tree. It's actually some ridiculous number of Christmas trees bound together. Pretty spectacular.

Just Kidding

The rumor that our stuff was in Germany was false. It's actually in Milan. It's being trucked to Germany and the chances of our getting it before we come home are remote. I'm going shopping today.

Looking forward to

Just a few things I am looking forward to doing (other than seeing family and friends) when we get back to the States for Christmas:

• Eating in a smoke free restaurant
• Diet Coke (not Coca Cola Light)
• Having an ice machine (a friend of mine requested ice in her Coke at a restaurant. When the waiter brought it without any ice, he told her "It's cold enough." Waiters don't work for tips here.)
  
• Having a garbage disposal
• Not having to squeegee down the shower walls after each shower to slow the calcium deposit build up.
• Having people on the street smile back at me when I smile at them (The people here are actually very friendly, but almost never smile at a stranger, even if you smile at them).
• Being able to communicate easily wherever I go
• Not having to carry an umbrella everywhere
  

None of these things are necessities, but they sure will be nice.

The Eagle has Landed

It has been confirmed that our container of stuff from the US is actually in Duesseldorf at the airport and is expected to go through customs today. Theoretically, we could have it tomorrow, but at this point, I'm just hoping for before we leave.

I can't decide what frustrates me more--being without our stuff from home for almost four months or the fact that being without stuff frustrated me so much. We've had four towels for a family of three--that's one more than we really need. I've alternated three pairs of pants (two I acutally bought here because the other two pairs I had were cotten crop pants) plus a slightly dressier pair that I've worn to church every Sunday since we've been here. The best part is that the one pair of jeans I wear have three spots on them from where I dripped super glue back in the states trying to fix one of Maddie's toys. They really didn't show when I arrived, but the jeans have been washed so much that has they've faded, the spots have emergered. I've already broken the zipper on the one pair of sensible, warm boots I bought here, but they have laces as well, so I just kind of tie the laces around my calf to hold them together and my pants leg covers it.

I thought I would be beyond this, but I have to say that having a second(or even a third!) outfit to wear to church, a second pair of boots and enough towels to not have to do laundry when four are dirty will make me really happy. I believe I've said this before, but if there were any doubts, this experience has confirmed that I am not prepared to become a missionary to Africa or China.

Skip will also be glad to have more dress shirts. He's bought a couple, but gets in a pinch when he realizes that all four of them are at the dry cleaners and he has a big meeting the next day.

Maddie will be glad to get her stuffed animals (although she has accumulated enough here that there's not much room for her in the bed now! Wonder who she gets that from, Mom?). She also misses her Polly Pockets and wants stuff to put up on the walls that are all very, very white.

Last night we gave Maddie her Christmas present from us. We didn't want to haul it all the way to the US and then bring it back and, once the container gets here, things are going to be kind of nuts until we leave. So, we went up to the playroom, put on the Santa Clause movie (we opted to to view it in English) and let her open her present of the Playmobil Fairy Tale Castle. Good Grief! In terms of pieces and assembly, IKEA has got nothing on Playmobil. I've never seen anything like it. My hands look like I was attacked by an angry cat with all the scratches I have from pieces and the "special" tool slipping. But Maddie loves it!

It's the Little Things

Today, I found food coloring. Kind of exciting. Hadn't been able to find any before. It's put out by Schwartau, the jelly people. Comes in Gruen, Gelb, Rot and Blau. Going to make those little Cornflake Christmas wreaths. The whole marshmallow/rice kripsy/cornflake thing is apparently pretty much exclusively American and some of our Asian friends here LOVE it but aren't too sure about cooking it up themselves. Marshmallows, apparently, come out at Christmastime here as well--not in large quantities, but the regular grocery stores are carrying the really big ones. Out of luck on the mini ones.
Food coloring and marshmallows all in one day. I must be living right.

Is Anybody Dreaming of a Damp Christmas?

We're paying for a weekend of blue skies (fairly unusual here) with rain and more rain. The weather is so consistently rainy here that the prevailing wisdom is "there is no bad weather, only inappropriately dressed people." The upside to the bad weather is that you really appreciate a nice sunny day and never take it for granted. Even Maddie comments when the sun is shining.

Since it does rain here so much, people just go on about their business--people of all ages. Moms are pushing around strollers with plastic bubbles around them, kids are playing with rubber boots on, but the best are the nuns from the local Catholic Hospital. You would never seen octagenarians strolling in the rain in Arkansas (actually, you rarely see anyone strolling), but here you'll see two elderly nuns sharing an umbrella because the one with two good legs is holding it over the one using her walker. Or they both might be in rain slickers because one is pushing the other in a wheelchair.

I think that just as living in Boston changed our definition of "bad traffic", living in Duesseldorf will change our idea of what "bad weather" really is. So far, none of us has melted.

Getting Closer to Christmas

Maddie was an angel in the church Christmas musical this morning. She stayed up in front of the church throughout the whole service. She had a great time and was too cute. There are almost more children in this church than there are adults. It's one of the few places in town where you can find English-speaking Sunday school for your kids.

Afterward we hit the Christmas markt in Kaiserswerth and tonight we are meeting Maddie's friend Madison and her parents for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. It's been a busy, but fun, weekend.

Breakfast With Santa

Our friend Joy (seen in the first pic and mother of Matthew and Madison seen in the next one) help put together a breakfast with Santa up at the International School this morning.

Maddie was a little shy with Santa, but handed him her list. She has asked for a toy that does not exist since Santa can just make it in his workshop. Can't wait to see how Santa works that one out!

Sleepover

Maddie with friends Paige and Zoe. They actually DID sleep...some.

Rumor has it...

It has been reported that the shipment of our stuff from the U.S. will be at the Duesseldorf Airport on Tuesday, December 12. No word yet on when it will actually get to our house, but I have friends who have said they will come and help me set up housekeeping--a mere 16 weeks after our arrival.

I am looking forward to having my clothes--particularly the warm ones. Maddie wants her toys and her big pillow. Skip will be glad to have more of his dress shirts, so there isn't a panic when I can't communicate to the dry cleaner that we need a "rush job." We are all looking forward to having something to put on the walls. (Maddie actually colored the wall in her room and when we got angry about it, she said she was just trying to help. "All the walls are so white")

Mary Haley and my mom have decorated our house in Little Rock for Christmas, so that we can enjoy a tree, Christmas village and nativity scene when we get home. We'll be in Connecticut visiting Skip's family from the 21st through the 25th and arrive in LR on Christmas Day and be there until January 4. Maddie has to be back in school on the 7th.

Looking forward to getting our things and creating a more homey home here in Germany and getting to come home for Christmas.

Lubeck

Skip and Maddie and I had a great time in Lubeck this weekend. Skip's cousin Joerg and wife Annelee are very gracious hosts and we enoyed spending time with their son Daniel and his girlfriend Merry.

Lubeck is way up by the Baltic (or East) Sea and we got to walk on the beach in our coats and hats. Maddie took some time to meditate at a chinese-inspired bookstore. We also got to enjoy Lubeck's very old and very crowded Christmas Market. Maddie's favorite part and Skip's least favorite part was getting to ride on this huge ferris wheel. I think Skip's favorite part of the weekend was getting to play a Sunday morning soccer game with Joerg, Daniel and their friends.

Happy Advent

We're picking Maddie up today at noon to head to Lubeck (check it out at http://www.luebeck-tourismus.de and click on the British flag for English translation) to see Skip's cousin Joerg and wife Annallee and enjoy the Christmas markts there. Maddie is looking forward to the fairytale wood, and I want to be sure and make the one at the Hospital of the Holy Ghost.

Maddie is rejoicing that today is December 1 and she could start opening her Advent calendar which gives her a little bag of gummi candy everyday between now and Christmas.

My big triumph this week was finding a container of milk that was actually a liter and a HALF rather than simply one liter. It's the biggest milk container there is here. My friend Joy, who has four kids, has to buy six at a time. Joy has also rescued us by loaning us their portable DVD player for our trip up to Lubeck. Ours, of course, is in the container that, as Maddie says, is either on a really slow boat or in a really big ocean.

Still no word on our stuff. Really hope we get it before we come home for Christmas.

Christmastime in Germany is really amazing and beautiful, but it is still hard not to be at home. I can't be at the funeral today for my uncle who died this week, but thoughts and prayers are with my Aunt Gail and the rest of the family. If only we could travel by floo powder like they do in Harry Potter.