There is so much to do in order to get ready to move, I hardly know which way to go each morning. Not only is there organizing and sorting stuff here in the house, wrapping up volunteer stuff with the American Women's Club (including training some replacements for my magazine layout responsibilities, researching and planning for the move in London, but there's also trying to squeeze in as much time as possible for me and for Maddie with the friends we've made here--many of whom are planning their own moves. It's a little nutty.
It's hard to figure out where and how to donate things here, but I'm sorting that out as well. One cool thing that we have are recycled clothing bins. That's where you can take the socks with no mates, the t-shirts with stains and the shoes too worn to pass on to anyone else, and they chop it all up and turn it all in to recycled fabrics. Nope. Just about nothing ends up in the trash here.
Skip's job is going well, but he'll like it a lot more when he's not commuting.
I continue to learn a little more each day about the world. Today at Maddie's swimming lesson, I was asking my Danish friend about her native language. I found out that even though Danish has quite a few words in common with German, the grammar is all different. When I asked if it was more like English, she said it was even different from that. They don't "bend" or conjugate verbs in Danish like we do in English--or French or German or Spanish. It's just the one verb, whether you're using I or they or she or we. I wonder if Danish kids make better grades in writing composition than English kids do just because that whole conjugation thing isn't there to trip them up?
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Stuff you can't do back in the States
A friend of mine had shoulder surgery yesterday, so today I biked over some food for her and her family. Loaded up the saddlebags with toss-able tupperware and hauled it over. First time I've been on my bike in a few months. There was ice involved when I got back home.
Skip and I are headed to the annual American Women's Club fundraiser tonight. It will benefit an organization here that helps children who have been abused and even those who live in homes where abuse is happening. It's the first time I've put on a dress since October when Brian got married. And for those who think all this jetting around Europe may have altered my fundamental self, rest assured. I just finished using one of Maddie's black magic markers to clean up the scuff marks on my black pumps from Target. I think I'll ask the wife of the Consulate General if she did the same thing before coming.
Maddie is going to have friends Madison and Matthew over the spend the night and their big sister Lea is going to babysit until we get home. Tomorrow I get to take the three little M's to a three-hour birthday party.
And yes, the birthday party is on a Sunday which means we'll miss church, but Maddie has missed the last three parties she's been invited to because of illness or travel. Between the excitement of coming home for the summer and moving to London and the sadness over leaving her friends and school in Germany, she is just one big ball of emotion right now. There was no way I was telling her she was going to miss another birthday party because we had to go to church. That might be the end of her church affinity for good!
One of the members of this church that we nominally attend tried to make me feel guilty yesterday for not being more involved. She didn't realize that I don't really do guilt. She was lamenting the time she was going to be spending in a volunteer capacity this weekend and commented she was surprised that I hadn't gotten more involved since I had been a pastor and understood the need for people to be involved. I told her that I encouraged people to get involved in areas they enjoy and feel nourished by--and also in things that made a difference to the "least of these"--whether they enjoy it or not! I told her I hadn't found anything there that nourished me and I just couldn't handle any more depleting factors in my life right now. She indicated that she was not feeling particularly nourished by her involvement, either. I hope I didn't lose the church a volunteer!
I am getting regular updates on what's happening with Presbytery Disaster Assistance in Arkansas. The work they are doing to help the areas and the churches that have been affected by all that awful weather is really impressive.
Skip and I are headed to the annual American Women's Club fundraiser tonight. It will benefit an organization here that helps children who have been abused and even those who live in homes where abuse is happening. It's the first time I've put on a dress since October when Brian got married. And for those who think all this jetting around Europe may have altered my fundamental self, rest assured. I just finished using one of Maddie's black magic markers to clean up the scuff marks on my black pumps from Target. I think I'll ask the wife of the Consulate General if she did the same thing before coming.
Maddie is going to have friends Madison and Matthew over the spend the night and their big sister Lea is going to babysit until we get home. Tomorrow I get to take the three little M's to a three-hour birthday party.
And yes, the birthday party is on a Sunday which means we'll miss church, but Maddie has missed the last three parties she's been invited to because of illness or travel. Between the excitement of coming home for the summer and moving to London and the sadness over leaving her friends and school in Germany, she is just one big ball of emotion right now. There was no way I was telling her she was going to miss another birthday party because we had to go to church. That might be the end of her church affinity for good!
One of the members of this church that we nominally attend tried to make me feel guilty yesterday for not being more involved. She didn't realize that I don't really do guilt. She was lamenting the time she was going to be spending in a volunteer capacity this weekend and commented she was surprised that I hadn't gotten more involved since I had been a pastor and understood the need for people to be involved. I told her that I encouraged people to get involved in areas they enjoy and feel nourished by--and also in things that made a difference to the "least of these"--whether they enjoy it or not! I told her I hadn't found anything there that nourished me and I just couldn't handle any more depleting factors in my life right now. She indicated that she was not feeling particularly nourished by her involvement, either. I hope I didn't lose the church a volunteer!
I am getting regular updates on what's happening with Presbytery Disaster Assistance in Arkansas. The work they are doing to help the areas and the churches that have been affected by all that awful weather is really impressive.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Catching Up
Been a little while. Things have been a little busy. Fun, but busy.
Maddie's twice-a-week for five weeks swimming class continues and it is amazing what this guy has gotten these kids to do in just four lessons. One little girl who didn't even want to put her face in the water when it began is going the length of the pool with arms outstretched, face down and kicking like crazy.
Skip and Maddie had a grand time in Lubeck with Torsten and Elke for Annelie's 50th birthday party. Skip is lining up his summer plans. Torsten and Joerg are planning to come to London for a weekend, and Joerg's son is going to hook Skip up with some seaside accommodations on the Agave coast in Portugal.
Meanwhile, I have had a ball with friends Olivia, Lori, Jim and Glen who have come for a visit from the states. O and I went to Centenary together and later roomed in LR. They are all a lot of fun and just genuinely good folks. It has occurred to me during their visit that I have probably had more than my share of great people filter through my life. I hope I haven't reached my quota and the trend will continue. At any rate, I have done my best to give them a taste of life in Germany.
Glen, Lori, Olivia and Glen in front of the restaurant in Beilstein.
Olivia trying the brew that was first made by monks over 1,000 years ago
Glen and Jim with the most fun waiter I've had in Germany
Lori and Olivia in front of the Rhine
Burg Eltz
Cochem
Bielstein
Lori bravely tries Schweinehaxe at a German restuarant in Cologne
While the four of them tour the Cathedral in Cologne, I watch a teenager literally flip over lines of his friends.
Maddie's twice-a-week for five weeks swimming class continues and it is amazing what this guy has gotten these kids to do in just four lessons. One little girl who didn't even want to put her face in the water when it began is going the length of the pool with arms outstretched, face down and kicking like crazy.
Skip and Maddie had a grand time in Lubeck with Torsten and Elke for Annelie's 50th birthday party. Skip is lining up his summer plans. Torsten and Joerg are planning to come to London for a weekend, and Joerg's son is going to hook Skip up with some seaside accommodations on the Agave coast in Portugal.
Meanwhile, I have had a ball with friends Olivia, Lori, Jim and Glen who have come for a visit from the states. O and I went to Centenary together and later roomed in LR. They are all a lot of fun and just genuinely good folks. It has occurred to me during their visit that I have probably had more than my share of great people filter through my life. I hope I haven't reached my quota and the trend will continue. At any rate, I have done my best to give them a taste of life in Germany.
Glen, Lori, Olivia and Glen in front of the restaurant in Beilstein.
Olivia trying the brew that was first made by monks over 1,000 years ago
Glen and Jim with the most fun waiter I've had in Germany
Lori and Olivia in front of the Rhine
Burg Eltz
Cochem
Bielstein
Lori bravely tries Schweinehaxe at a German restuarant in Cologne
While the four of them tour the Cathedral in Cologne, I watch a teenager literally flip over lines of his friends.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Last Chance Knives
It's started. With only about two months left in Germany, I've begun my tour of places I will probably not make it back to again. Today, it was the Henckel Knife Factory. Beware. Do not make me angry. I am fully armed with an array of very sharp knives.
I also gave notice on my gym membership. It will close out at the end of May. You have to give four weeks notice, so I got it in in time. There was a meeting at the school tonight about "Putting the Good in Good-bye" to give you tips on how to make the transition and help your kids with the transition both practically and emotionally, but I didn't have anyone to watch Maddie. A friend is going and said she would pass on any useful info she got.
It was another swimming lesson for Maddie today. I tried to channel the professional moms that I know and prepared a bag with swimsuit, towel, flip flops, pjs to change into right at the Dusselstrand for afterward, shampoo and detangling spray and placed the bag in the car the night before. Meanwhile, Skip was in London having a late dinner at an Indian restaurant with all of his colleagues. Somehow we've missed the boat on our roles here. I would love to be having dinner with colleagues and he would like to be going to swimming lessons. At least, he thinks he would. Skip has yet to encounter the chaos that is the Dusselstrand.
It may be awhile before I post any more pictures as my camera quit working on the last day of the Prague trip. Hope the local camera shop can figure out what the scoop is.
Am getting excited about a visit from friends Olivia and Lori and Jim and Glen. Am hoping that the weather breaks while they are here. Last April was gorgeous and this one has been rainy and unusually cold. Mother Nature likes to play around with us in this part of the world. There are beautiful things to see when you can get out and walk around, but so often the weather makes such activities unpleasant.
Tomorrow night, I am going to cook dinner and Skip and Maddie and I will sit down for a meal together for the first time in a week and a half. We thought he would be here in Germany at least some of the time between now and the end of school, but it looks like he's an Englander from here on out except for the weekends. Stuff keeps popping up that he has to be there for, and I imagine things will continue to pop.
I also gave notice on my gym membership. It will close out at the end of May. You have to give four weeks notice, so I got it in in time. There was a meeting at the school tonight about "Putting the Good in Good-bye" to give you tips on how to make the transition and help your kids with the transition both practically and emotionally, but I didn't have anyone to watch Maddie. A friend is going and said she would pass on any useful info she got.
It was another swimming lesson for Maddie today. I tried to channel the professional moms that I know and prepared a bag with swimsuit, towel, flip flops, pjs to change into right at the Dusselstrand for afterward, shampoo and detangling spray and placed the bag in the car the night before. Meanwhile, Skip was in London having a late dinner at an Indian restaurant with all of his colleagues. Somehow we've missed the boat on our roles here. I would love to be having dinner with colleagues and he would like to be going to swimming lessons. At least, he thinks he would. Skip has yet to encounter the chaos that is the Dusselstrand.
It may be awhile before I post any more pictures as my camera quit working on the last day of the Prague trip. Hope the local camera shop can figure out what the scoop is.
Am getting excited about a visit from friends Olivia and Lori and Jim and Glen. Am hoping that the weather breaks while they are here. Last April was gorgeous and this one has been rainy and unusually cold. Mother Nature likes to play around with us in this part of the world. There are beautiful things to see when you can get out and walk around, but so often the weather makes such activities unpleasant.
Tomorrow night, I am going to cook dinner and Skip and Maddie and I will sit down for a meal together for the first time in a week and a half. We thought he would be here in Germany at least some of the time between now and the end of school, but it looks like he's an Englander from here on out except for the weekends. Stuff keeps popping up that he has to be there for, and I imagine things will continue to pop.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Beautiful Prague
I do believe that Prague has become my new favorite city in Europe. There is something beautiful around every corner. The architecture if stunning and there are spires everywhere.
My friends Mary and Joy and I arrived there on Friday at 8:30 a.m. and didn't stop going until we boarded the plane at 7 p.m. on Sunday and we still only saw a fraction of what there is to see there. We had fabulous weather, which was very much appreciated as Prague is definitely a walking city and we did a whole lotta walkin'!
On Friday, we took a bus tour around the city and to Prague Castle--which is actually a huge compound that includes museums, a cathedral and the residence of the Czech chancellor. The tour gave us an overview of the city, but the tour guide was a Russian who did the tour in Russian and in English. The only trouble is that her English was so heavily accented, it was difficult to tell when she was speaking Russian and when she switched to English. We wandered about the Old Town and the New Town marveling that each street we turned down had something wonderful to see.
On Saturday, we got up early and aided by the advice of the concierge at our hotel, Lucie, we took train over to the river and found the Church of the Infant Jesus. A place that houses this statue of the infant Jesus that has supposedly brought good luck to the people of Prague throughout the centuries. To show their devotion to the infant Jesus, people make clothes for him, so he may be the only statue in the world with a complete, ornate wardrobe. Prague is FULL of legends of miracles, ghosts and magic.
We took a funicular up to the hill that overlooks Prague where they have a smaller copy of the Eiiffel Tower that you can climb to get the best view of Prague--and it is spectacular. We walked some more and found the Golden Lane, this narrow little street of colored houses where Kafka once lived. We wound our way back down to the city and Mary took pictures of Prague at night. Soon I'll have copies of her pics, which will be far better than mine! We stood on the Charles Bridge at night and finally got to dinner at 9 p.m. at a traditional Czech restaurant where we found that we like all the Czech people have to offer with the exception of the dumplings.
The next day we hit the historic Jewish Quarter where a number of the synagogues have been turned in to museums. The Jewish people have a rich and tragic history in Prague. And they also have their share of tales of magic and mysticism. From there we took a boat down the river Vlatva.
We went to the brand new Starbucks to get our souvenir Prague Starbucks mugs. It's only been there for two weeks and is currently the only Starbucks in the Czech Republic. It was the busiest Starbucks I've ever seen. There were like 10 kids behind the counter making coffee. When I purchased my mug as well as a Czech Republic travel mug, the guy behind the counter handed the travel mug to me and said, in all seriousness, "May it serve you well." Could he see the caffeine addiction in my face?
Mary, Joy and I agreed that the St. Niklaus Church in the center of town is the creepiest church we've ever been in. Lots of violent images in paintings, sculpture and altars. Not only that, but it was the only church we could remember ever having to pay to get into. Other churches will charge to climb the steeple or to take a guided tour or for a special book, but usually you don't have to pay money just to enter!
One more trip across the St. Charles bridge and a late mid-day meal at a fabulous restaurant our friend and world-traveler Molly Dee recommended. Then it was back to the airport and back to reality--and boy did it hit hard. Rained all day today in Dusseldorf and today was Maddie's first day of swimming lessons which meant fighting traffic into and out of downtown as well as navigating around naked men in the common changing area of the Dusselstrand Indoor pool. double Uggg!
But I still have my pictures, so that I can go back to my happy place Prague. Soon I should have some of Mary's professional shots.
My friends Mary and Joy and I arrived there on Friday at 8:30 a.m. and didn't stop going until we boarded the plane at 7 p.m. on Sunday and we still only saw a fraction of what there is to see there. We had fabulous weather, which was very much appreciated as Prague is definitely a walking city and we did a whole lotta walkin'!
On Friday, we took a bus tour around the city and to Prague Castle--which is actually a huge compound that includes museums, a cathedral and the residence of the Czech chancellor. The tour gave us an overview of the city, but the tour guide was a Russian who did the tour in Russian and in English. The only trouble is that her English was so heavily accented, it was difficult to tell when she was speaking Russian and when she switched to English. We wandered about the Old Town and the New Town marveling that each street we turned down had something wonderful to see.
On Saturday, we got up early and aided by the advice of the concierge at our hotel, Lucie, we took train over to the river and found the Church of the Infant Jesus. A place that houses this statue of the infant Jesus that has supposedly brought good luck to the people of Prague throughout the centuries. To show their devotion to the infant Jesus, people make clothes for him, so he may be the only statue in the world with a complete, ornate wardrobe. Prague is FULL of legends of miracles, ghosts and magic.
We took a funicular up to the hill that overlooks Prague where they have a smaller copy of the Eiiffel Tower that you can climb to get the best view of Prague--and it is spectacular. We walked some more and found the Golden Lane, this narrow little street of colored houses where Kafka once lived. We wound our way back down to the city and Mary took pictures of Prague at night. Soon I'll have copies of her pics, which will be far better than mine! We stood on the Charles Bridge at night and finally got to dinner at 9 p.m. at a traditional Czech restaurant where we found that we like all the Czech people have to offer with the exception of the dumplings.
The next day we hit the historic Jewish Quarter where a number of the synagogues have been turned in to museums. The Jewish people have a rich and tragic history in Prague. And they also have their share of tales of magic and mysticism. From there we took a boat down the river Vlatva.
We went to the brand new Starbucks to get our souvenir Prague Starbucks mugs. It's only been there for two weeks and is currently the only Starbucks in the Czech Republic. It was the busiest Starbucks I've ever seen. There were like 10 kids behind the counter making coffee. When I purchased my mug as well as a Czech Republic travel mug, the guy behind the counter handed the travel mug to me and said, in all seriousness, "May it serve you well." Could he see the caffeine addiction in my face?
Mary, Joy and I agreed that the St. Niklaus Church in the center of town is the creepiest church we've ever been in. Lots of violent images in paintings, sculpture and altars. Not only that, but it was the only church we could remember ever having to pay to get into. Other churches will charge to climb the steeple or to take a guided tour or for a special book, but usually you don't have to pay money just to enter!
One more trip across the St. Charles bridge and a late mid-day meal at a fabulous restaurant our friend and world-traveler Molly Dee recommended. Then it was back to the airport and back to reality--and boy did it hit hard. Rained all day today in Dusseldorf and today was Maddie's first day of swimming lessons which meant fighting traffic into and out of downtown as well as navigating around naked men in the common changing area of the Dusselstrand Indoor pool. double Uggg!
But I still have my pictures, so that I can go back to my happy place Prague. Soon I should have some of Mary's professional shots.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
What are the odds?
That the day that I have to wait at home for the dishwasher repair people is the first warm, sunny day we've add in ages! The weather has been steadily improving all week, but the temperatures have been cold. Today, it's a balmy 55 and the sun is out! Hoping that Maddie can get in a little playground time after school today.
On an interesting cultural note, I was talking to a friend of mine whose son is about to graduate from ISD. He's spent all four years of high school here, so even though he's American, he considered going to England for college thinking that culturally a European college might be less of a culture shock than going back to America. He discovered that changing cultures is changing cultures no matter how you slice it and has decided on Penn State. Now his big culture shock will be going from a country where the legal drinking age is 16 to one where it's 21.
Got my ducks in a row so I can go to Prague and not leave Maddie home alone. Another cultural tidbit--the American and British moms all seem to plan at least one girls weekend get-away a year. A few try to fit in one each semester. And when we do the moms from Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, etc are always so impressed that we can talk our husbands in to staying with the children while we go away with friends. I can't believe I haven't broken out into a rash yet. Imagine, expecting husbands to take care of children?! Craziness!
On an interesting cultural note, I was talking to a friend of mine whose son is about to graduate from ISD. He's spent all four years of high school here, so even though he's American, he considered going to England for college thinking that culturally a European college might be less of a culture shock than going back to America. He discovered that changing cultures is changing cultures no matter how you slice it and has decided on Penn State. Now his big culture shock will be going from a country where the legal drinking age is 16 to one where it's 21.
Got my ducks in a row so I can go to Prague and not leave Maddie home alone. Another cultural tidbit--the American and British moms all seem to plan at least one girls weekend get-away a year. A few try to fit in one each semester. And when we do the moms from Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, etc are always so impressed that we can talk our husbands in to staying with the children while we go away with friends. I can't believe I haven't broken out into a rash yet. Imagine, expecting husbands to take care of children?! Craziness!
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
The Dangers of NOT Smoking
Smoking ban drives German barkeeper to suicide
Published: 8 Apr 08 12:40 CET
A German barkeeper who hanged himself left behind a suicide note blaming a new public smoking ban for his decision, Bild newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Uli Stegmaier, 60, saw turnover at his pub in the southern town of Balingen fall by 20 percent following the implementation of the smoking ban in the state of Baden-Württemberg in August 2007, the paper said.
His brother-in-law, Helmut Rathmann, told Bild: "His suicide note dealt exclusively with his bitterness about the smoking ban. It was not aimed at his family but at politicians."
Stegmaier, owner of the Bären bar for the past 30 years, hanged himself in the attic of his farmhouse. He leaves a wife and five children.
Friends and family said he had campaigned against the ban because he feared that it would force him to close the pub.
In recent post on the internet he wrote: "The state is riding roughshod over the rights of barkeepers and threatening the livelihood of many."
Rathmann said Stegmaier he had donated money to activists who want to take the regional government to court in a bid to have the ban reversed.
Germany has implemented a ban on smoking in bars and restaurants across most of the country in recent months. In the majority of states it took effect on January 1. But enforcement has been spotty at best and several states have even weakened the ban since then.
Published: 8 Apr 08 12:40 CET
A German barkeeper who hanged himself left behind a suicide note blaming a new public smoking ban for his decision, Bild newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Uli Stegmaier, 60, saw turnover at his pub in the southern town of Balingen fall by 20 percent following the implementation of the smoking ban in the state of Baden-Württemberg in August 2007, the paper said.
His brother-in-law, Helmut Rathmann, told Bild: "His suicide note dealt exclusively with his bitterness about the smoking ban. It was not aimed at his family but at politicians."
Stegmaier, owner of the Bären bar for the past 30 years, hanged himself in the attic of his farmhouse. He leaves a wife and five children.
Friends and family said he had campaigned against the ban because he feared that it would force him to close the pub.
In recent post on the internet he wrote: "The state is riding roughshod over the rights of barkeepers and threatening the livelihood of many."
Rathmann said Stegmaier he had donated money to activists who want to take the regional government to court in a bid to have the ban reversed.
Germany has implemented a ban on smoking in bars and restaurants across most of the country in recent months. In the majority of states it took effect on January 1. But enforcement has been spotty at best and several states have even weakened the ban since then.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
White Elephants and the Tooth Fairy
Tomorrow I'm having a 1 euro sale here at the house. I've gathered up odds and ends, books, DVDs, clothes, shoes, decorations--all things that are too good to throw out but I don't want badly enough to move to yet another country. Too much trouble to actually price things, so everything is a Euro. I figure I'll move some stuff out and make a little coin for my upcoming Prague trip. So I've e-mailed a bunch of folks, but I also printed up some little handouts to give to people at school. I saw three Swedish women who all have first graders talking on the playground today and handed them each a flyer. One of them said, "What is a white elephant?" I tried to explain the concept, but I think I did a poor job because she asked, "And this is a term people really use?"
Maddie got some bad news today. Apparently, in Germany, the tooth fairy only comes for the first tooth you lose. Now the one under her pillow tonight is her first tooth, but she's already got three more that are loose. She's banking on the American tooth fairy to make the transatlantic trip for the next ones.
Maddie got some bad news today. Apparently, in Germany, the tooth fairy only comes for the first tooth you lose. Now the one under her pillow tonight is her first tooth, but she's already got three more that are loose. She's banking on the American tooth fairy to make the transatlantic trip for the next ones.
Monday, April 07, 2008
Stuff going on
Gettin a little bogged down in the details these days.
Am relieved that no one was hurt in LR with the tornadoes and so far I haven't heard of any property damage suffered by friends and family, although I've seen some harrowing pictures. So grateful that everyone is safe--particularly when the lead story one day this week on abcnews.com was "Tornado rips through Little Rock"
Skip is battling the debacle that is the new terminal 5 at Heathrow airport. What a mess! He was supposed to leave last night, but weather and terminal problems kept him here until this morning. He missed at least one meeting, but I think he got there in time for the one he really needed to make.
Our dishwasher is broken again and trying to get that fixed without Skip here to call or speak to the repair people means we need to involve our landlord in the process of coordinating. My food, dry cleaning and travel German doesn't work too well with dishwasher repair.
I am planning to go to Prague this weekend with friends, and even though I cleared it on the calendar a couple of months ago, I only cleared the weekend. Wasn't thinking that when Skip started planning his work trips to London that he didn't get in until late Friday night and would have to leave again Sunday evening. Now I have three different families involved in helping with Maddie so I can get away for one weekend. I'm hoping that it's really a lot of fun, because it's certainly been a lot of trouble!
Having an indoor garage sale on Wednesday trying to get rid of odds and ends. There is no Goodwill here, so I don't really know what to do with stuff that's too good to throw out, but not worth hauling to England. There are bins for clothes donations, but not for other things like kitchen stuff, books, DVD's, magazines, etc. We're also trying to sell some larger items that we don't want to take as well.
Am also trying to train my replacements to do the layout for the American Women's Club magazine. Two women who really want to help and learn are taking over, but we're starting from ground level and building up, so that's going to take some time. And I'm running out! I also have to get two more issues out before our departure.
This weekend we met some friends at one of our favorite restaurants, Myer and Freeman. It had rained all day, but in the late afternoon, the sky cleared and the temperature actually rose, so Skip and decided to walk and cut through the fields behind our house. We were at the restaurant about 10 minutes when my nose started to itch and my chest got tight. My skin started to feel itchy and I excused myself to the bathroom to find hives all over my stomach. One of our friends who drove hurried me back to the house where I quickly chewed some of Maddie's children's Benadryl. Whatever caused it, the Bendryl fixed it, although my chest hurt all day on Sunday. Not going to be cutting through those fields again anytime soon!
Mom and I are almost finished with the sequel to Was the Funeral Fun? She's doing some massive editing and I have one more chapter to write.
Maddie's big news is that she has moved up to chapter books at school. Now instead of reading a small book each night and making a comment on it, she'll read a chapter each night and complete a series of activities over the course of a week. She's very excited. I hope she's always this excited about her homework!
Won't see Skip until next Wednesday night. By the time he gets home from London, I'll be in Prague and when I get home, he'll have already departed.
And in late breaking news, the Maddie has just lost the tooth that has been loose since February!
Am relieved that no one was hurt in LR with the tornadoes and so far I haven't heard of any property damage suffered by friends and family, although I've seen some harrowing pictures. So grateful that everyone is safe--particularly when the lead story one day this week on abcnews.com was "Tornado rips through Little Rock"
Skip is battling the debacle that is the new terminal 5 at Heathrow airport. What a mess! He was supposed to leave last night, but weather and terminal problems kept him here until this morning. He missed at least one meeting, but I think he got there in time for the one he really needed to make.
Our dishwasher is broken again and trying to get that fixed without Skip here to call or speak to the repair people means we need to involve our landlord in the process of coordinating. My food, dry cleaning and travel German doesn't work too well with dishwasher repair.
I am planning to go to Prague this weekend with friends, and even though I cleared it on the calendar a couple of months ago, I only cleared the weekend. Wasn't thinking that when Skip started planning his work trips to London that he didn't get in until late Friday night and would have to leave again Sunday evening. Now I have three different families involved in helping with Maddie so I can get away for one weekend. I'm hoping that it's really a lot of fun, because it's certainly been a lot of trouble!
Having an indoor garage sale on Wednesday trying to get rid of odds and ends. There is no Goodwill here, so I don't really know what to do with stuff that's too good to throw out, but not worth hauling to England. There are bins for clothes donations, but not for other things like kitchen stuff, books, DVD's, magazines, etc. We're also trying to sell some larger items that we don't want to take as well.
Am also trying to train my replacements to do the layout for the American Women's Club magazine. Two women who really want to help and learn are taking over, but we're starting from ground level and building up, so that's going to take some time. And I'm running out! I also have to get two more issues out before our departure.
This weekend we met some friends at one of our favorite restaurants, Myer and Freeman. It had rained all day, but in the late afternoon, the sky cleared and the temperature actually rose, so Skip and decided to walk and cut through the fields behind our house. We were at the restaurant about 10 minutes when my nose started to itch and my chest got tight. My skin started to feel itchy and I excused myself to the bathroom to find hives all over my stomach. One of our friends who drove hurried me back to the house where I quickly chewed some of Maddie's children's Benadryl. Whatever caused it, the Bendryl fixed it, although my chest hurt all day on Sunday. Not going to be cutting through those fields again anytime soon!
Mom and I are almost finished with the sequel to Was the Funeral Fun? She's doing some massive editing and I have one more chapter to write.
Maddie's big news is that she has moved up to chapter books at school. Now instead of reading a small book each night and making a comment on it, she'll read a chapter each night and complete a series of activities over the course of a week. She's very excited. I hope she's always this excited about her homework!
Won't see Skip until next Wednesday night. By the time he gets home from London, I'll be in Prague and when I get home, he'll have already departed.
And in late breaking news, the Maddie has just lost the tooth that has been loose since February!
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