A Regular Person

This was a feel-like-a-normal-person week.

One Tuesday, I went to a board meeting in the morning and led a Bible study in the afternoon. Boy did that feel familiar. Wednesday night, some friends and I went to the Sneak Peak Movie. It costs about half the price of a regular ticket and is always in English. The risk is that you don't know what movie it is until it starts. We lucked out. It was the Bourne Ultimatum. This is how much a movie geek I am. The movie starts with a pan out over a city and along the bottom of the screen the words "Moscow, Russia" are typed out. I leaned over to my friends and said, "It's the Bourne movie". Yes, I ID'd a movie from typeface.

Yesterday, I went with friends over the border to the Netherlands to go to a big outlet mall. Got the cutest outfit for Maddie and just enjoyed strolling and looking. The Dutch all speak English AND German. In fact, some of them speak better English than I do. They're also very customer service friendly. I think historically the Dutch have been the merchants of the area, and it shows when you're shopping.

It's been really cool for August, but this week we've had almost no rain--which means MAddie has been able to hit the playground every day after school. She has slept like a log.

On the let's-try-to-be-more German-like front, I have mastered the art of the chicken schnitzel. The key is to drag the chicken through flour, then egg, then bread crumbs before pan frying. Maddie loves it, but she's not up for the sauer kraut.

Back When I Was Cool

Hilly Kristal died. In case that's not a household name, he founded CBGBs--the club in New York where the punk rock movement in America was launched. The Ramones, Patti Smith, the Lemonheads all got their start there. Back when I was cool, I helped direct a photo shoot for a Surf Expo magazine in New York and we shot outside CBGBs and even got their bouncer in the shot with our model. The bouncer was a short, stocky guy with more tatoos and piercings than I could count.

I would give anything to be back hanging out with emacitated models and the tatooed bouncer in Greenwich Village. But instead, I'm losing sleep because my six-year-old is planning to try-out for the elementary school play, Peter Pan. Not only will she most likely not get the part she wants (a mermaid), there is a distinct possibility she may not get a part at all. There are not enough roles for all the kids who are interested. I'm not sure I can stand this. Thought we'd have a few more years before having to deal with something like this. When I was in elementary school--whether it was Lakeside Elementary or the Hot Springs Fine Arts Center--everyone got a part if they wanted one.

If only I were still hanging out in front of CBGBs (which was shut down about a year or so ago--I think for failure to pay taxes or something like that). I'm sure somebody there could hook me up with some really good drugs--I fear I may need them!

BVB

Had one of the quintessential German experiences yesterday. Went to a professional football game. A Borussia Dortmund (or BVB) game, no less. The stadium holds 82, 000 people, but the stadium wasn't quite full. Probably only 70,000 or so, so it was an intimate group.

To get there we drove to cousin Torsten's house where Elke (Torsten's wife) graciously offered to keep Maddie. Timmy (the youngest of the family) waited until we got there so he could ride with us on the train and make sure we got of at the right stop. We squeezed onto this train that I thought was full until we pulled into the next stop and a man on the platform shouted, "No! There is space!" and proceeded to pile in along with 10 more of his close friends. It was all very up close and personal until two stops later when we arrived at the stadium.

It was quite a show. To start the game, they invite a member of each of the fan clubs from neighboring towns to come on the field and wave BVB flags. And they play (of all things!) You'll Never Walk Alone. You know, from the Broadway musical Carousel. Quite the experience to hear at stadium full of Germans singing a show tune in English at a soccer game.

The people watching was fantastic and anyone who says soccer is boring, hasn't seen professional soccer. These guys run up and down a huge field for 90 minutes with only one break and a handful of subs. And how anyone can do what they did with a soccer ball using only their feet is beyond me.

And then, there were the fans. The whole south section is the Sudtribune section. These are the die-hard fans wear the colors, wave the flags, lead the chants and at times jump up and down in unison. A beer cost the same as a soda or water, so you can begin to imagine the atmosphere.

Fortunately, BVB won--for the fist time this season. There was much joy in Mudville.

Big Weekend

Well, we made it through the first full week of school. I have not raised a strong, independent child. After a week of struggling to get Maddie fed, dressed and out the door WITH her backpack and lunch in tow, I commented that I didn't think I was going to make it through 12 more years of this. Maddie asked what I meant by that. When I told her that in 12 years she'd be 18 and off to college where she'd have to get her self up and out the door in the morning, she totally panicked. Skip and I had to promise that she could stay home for as long as she wants. Hope that doesn't come back to bite us!

Our big treat this weekend is that friend Katie (who Maddie says is a really good taper) taped the American premiers of High School Musical 2 and mailed it to us. It won't make it to British or German Disney until the last week in Septmeber. For those of you unfamiliar with the HSM phenomenom, just know that this was a BIG DEAL!

Skip and cousin Torsten have season tickets to all the homes games of BVB--the Dortmund soccer team, but Torsten is out of town this weekend, so I get his ticket. Just me and Skip and 80,000 German soccer fans. Maddie is going to stay with Torsten's wife Elke while we're at the game.

Just as an interesting cultural note: while we're at the game in Dormund, about 30 minutes away in Essen just as many people will be gathering for the annual Love Parade--Germany's largest gay pride parade. Can you imagine if the trains got mixed up and delivered the wrong people to the wrong event?

Photo Catch up

Finally got a new photo card reader. Will catch up with some photos. Between getting Maddie back in the school swing, saying good-bye to my friend Robin and trying to get the first issue of the Radschlaeger out, things have been a bit busy.




Maddie with friend Eedra, who is headed back to Michigan


Me and Eedra's mom Robin, who will be taking Eedra back to Michigan. We will very much miss them along with brothers Liam and Sam. Husband Patrick has to finish out a job contract for a couple of months, so we'll try to keep him entertained.


Maddie's "tea party" with friends from last year's class

Whew!

It's been a busy transition back to school. Maddie was wiped out after two-and-a-half days of school. She loves it. Her only dissapointment is that she does not have the same German teacher.

I have been busy doing the layout for the magazine for the American Women's Club. It's a 36 page-plus cover publication. Someone else does the cover, but the insides are all mine. Haven't done this kind of thing in several years, so this first issue has really taken a lot of time. Got the first draft to the proofers--can't WAIT to see how many things are wrong. When it's done, I'll post a PDF on this blog for all of you who are yearning to have your finger on the pulse of the American Woman in Duesseldorf.

Skip has been glued to his computer and phone all week--the last three days he hasn't even had outside meetings, so he's barely left the house. So, we all got out today and went to this little amusement park that is adjacent to the Oberhausen Mall. We had a coupon for Maddie to get in free, so it was a very affordable, very enjoyable outing.

Will post pics later this week. I left the little device I use to transfer pics to the computer back in the states. It only costs 10 euros to replace--I just have to do it!

Skip got an interesting bit of information from his German colleagues about McDonalds. They are really impressed with MickeyD's because the food quality and taste is consistent throughout the chain. Consistency and reliability are near and dear to the folks in my host country. No wonder McDonald's is booming here!

Feeling Old

Madonna is 49 today. Have heard that twice today on British Forces Radio. How can Madonna be 49? I will probably hear it again before the day is out. Brits love celebrity gossip. It was an English friend who told me that Paris had been released early from jail (she was incensed!) and I've had several ask me about how the Beckhams are doing in America. Or at least what the Americans think about them.

Maddie is having friends from last year's class over after school today for a tea party get together. That is her title. I do believe during all that time I spent at the Kirkwold's house growing up, there was some sort of recessive gene transfer that has manifested itself in Maddie. I always remember Arlene Kirkwold talking about the next party coming up, and if there wasn't one in the fairly near future, she'd plan one. Somehow, Maddie has come by the very same trait!

I gotta go grab some extra booster seats from a friend before I pick up several of the kids at school. In Germany, kids have to be in a booster seat until they are about 16 (mild exaggeration). It's a 40 euro fine per kid without said seat. Yikes!

Went to the gym today for the first time since being back. Maybe by the time I'm 49, I'll be in as good a shape as Madonna!

First Grade...Here We Come and Halloween Help

Went up to the school today to find out what class Maddie will be in. Don't know how we keep getting so lucky, but once again, Maddie got the teacher people can't say enough good things about. She'll be in Mrs. Gaylord's class, and school starts tomorrow for a half-day and then full days from here on out.

I have signed on to do the layout for the monthly American Women Club magazine and I'm sort of in charge of this Halloween party for 500 people (no more than that because of fire codes). Anyway, I had wanted to get some halloween t-shirts to wear when recruiting volunteers, but none were out when I left. If any of you see any in the next week or so and are willing to buy it and ship it to Germany, I'd appreciate it. It always irks me when retailers jump the gun on holiday seasons, but I could use a little early merchandise this year!

Oh, and for those of you who follow this blog on a regular basis, my spaghetti sauce turned out great! On the not so great side of things, I've been back less than a week and have already misplaced my EC card--which one needs to do just about anything. Skip is ordering a new one for me today.

Poor Skip

So excited was he to have season tickets for his beloved Borussia Dortmund football team with his cousin Torsten. Only to go to the opening game to watch them lose 3 to 1 to Duisburg--a team that only this year moved up to the first league. It looks like it's going to be a long season.

Just when I thought

I knew everything there was to know about ground beef--something new.

This has been an ongoing battle for me here in Germany. Okay, perhaps battle is a bit too strong a word. First I tried the hackfleish--which just didn't taste right in chili or spaghetti sauce. Then I found out that hackfleish (doesn't it just sound ymmy?) is a mixture of beef AND pork. Rindfleish is all beef. So I tried that, but it had a kind of gamey taste to it and the smell of browning it made me nauseous. Just when I had given up, Aldi started selling ground turkey--which works and tastes just like ground turkey does in the states. A handful of bread crumbs and an egg mixed in and you've got a tasty turkey burger.

So, ground beef was not even on my radar for my second tour of duy. But on my second night back in Germany, friend Robin had me over for spaghetti--with meat sauce. It was yummy. Stupidly, I asked her, "Did you get this ground beef here?" Like she had it flown in from Argentina. She showed me the package and it said "hackfleish zum braten" which means ground beef for roasting. Yesterday I was at the grocery store and checked. Some packages simply said "hackfleish" and others had the "zum braten" added to the title. Have no idea what (if any!) the difference is. Just browned some (not nauseous) tonight to make spaghetti tomorrow. Know you will all be waiting with baited (is that how you spell that?) breath waiting to see how it all comes out.

We are just about out of our jet lag. Maddie is still going to bed pretty late for her, but school starting will even everything out. We're going shopping for all the "ingredients" as Maddie calls school supplies tomorrow.

We Made it

We arrived in Germany yesterday to much cooler temperatures than we had in Arkansas. Skip picked us up at the airport, but had to fly out to Leeds, England last night. Maddie and I both slept until noon today and awakened to--of course--rain! We're both really stopped up, which I am attributing to a combination of the flight and the drastic shift in weather.

Went to go add minutes to my phone and found that I had forgotten the PIN number that goes with my EC (debit) card here. Almost panicked (since Skip is out of town and that card is the only way to charge up my phone OR access any cash), but decided against it. After walking around the grocery store (where they've quit carrying Maddie's favorite chicken nuggets--arrrggggghhhh!) the PIN came to me and I was able to boost up my phone.

Friend Robin had us over to dinner tonight. They're leaving in two weeks, so it's good to be able to spend time with them before they head back to the states.

Hope Maddie and I get back on track soon. I could collapse right now, but Maddie insists that she's not tired. Super. Really wish there was a better way to get through the two to four days after a drastic time change than to actually have to live through them.

Heading Back

Well, heading back to Germany tomorrow, so I guess it's time to start blogging again.

Skip claims to have missed us, but neighbors and friends have fed him quite well since he's been there by himself. I'm sure that has eased his pain.

My suitcase(s) are bulging. In addition to clothes for me and Maddie, I have books, a can of PAM cooking spray, chocolate chips, as much Sudafed as they would let me buy without being pegged as a meth maker, children's Tylenol and Benadryl, baking soda, my round (non-springform) cake pans, Lysol wipes and Lysol disinfectant spray. There's more, but I won't go on.

Maddie has been breaking out in hives every day for the last week. Cortisone cream and benadryl do the trick, but I hope it goes away soon. I did some research and found out that 70 percent of cases of hives in children come and go without ever knowing what caused them. I'm ready for hers to go.

Having two homes is not a good thing--you end up wanting the best of each in BOTH! I love my big kitchen here, but the appliances in the German kitchen are new and the oven (though small) is a convection oven that cooks faster and more evenly.

In Germany there's no garbage disposal and no spray nozzel in the kitchen, but there is a spray attachment on the tub--which I don't have here. It's much harder to clean a tub without that spray thing. But I haven't strained or bruised anything shaving my legs in my shower here. There will be more strains and pains once I attempt such grooming activities in our little German shower.

I'm really going to miss my refrigerator here that shoots out ice and water at the touch of a buttoon.

And I really, really need to get a job again so I can stop sitting around thinking about the pros and cons of kitchens and bathrooms.