An Apple a Day...

Had a very unpleasant surprise when I turned on the shower this morning. Fruit flies! Everywhere! UGGGGGHHHHH! And the blame rests on me and Skip.

Maddie loves to eat apples and has a habit of dropping the cores wherever she happens to be at the time she finishes them. We've both gotten on to her about it, and Skip really let her have it the other day when the two of them were picking up in her playroom and found some identifiable objects that seemed to be organic in nature.

Apparently she took it to heart because the source of the fruit flies were two apple cores in the bathroom garbage can. She did exactly what we asked her to do--throw the cores away when she's finished. The garbage can has a lid on it, so I didn't see or smell the remains. But that apparently doesn't stop the fruit flies. Ugggg. The ONE time she actually does what we ask her to do!

Major Purchase

Have made a major lifestyle purchase today--a wider, padded bike seat. I believe because of the pain I was in on Friday, I neglected to tell my devoted readers about my bike ride into downtown Duesseldorf . Went with friends Joy and Mary from our homes in Kaiserswerth all the way into and round Duessledorf. We had lunch, bought Skip and birthday present and sought out the international store where cake mixes, Bisquick and Diet Dr. Pepper can be had--for a price. Basically I spent about 2 to 2 1/2 hours on a bike dodging through Duesseldorf traffic like Kevin Bacon in "Quiksilver". Okay, so it was probably more like something out of a Bernstein Bears book, but the point is, my backside was hating me by the time it was over. Thank goodness Joy had plenty of Advil at her house and an ice pack in her freezer. But now I'll be ready for the next trip with my luxurious, padded, wide-model bike seat. Before I started riding my bike so much, I would have said my posterior had more than ample padding, but clearly, that is not the case.

If it's not raining (and that's a very big IF), biking is the way to travel around here. It's quicker than walking, parking is not a problem and you get to check out places you would miss if you were in a car or the train. The problem is that the weather and the temperature can turn on a dime here. So you have to wear layers that you can shed if the sun comes out and have a rain jacket in your saddle bags in case it starts to rain. Toss in some sunglasses because when the sun does come out it's really bright. There are some impressive people who can bike with one hand on the handlebars and holding an umbrella in the other. I am not one of those people.

I still don't have a helmet. Lots of people don't wear them here, but as my friend Mary says, "My family needs me to have a brain." Need to get one, but I have to go with someone who knows about such things. I know there's a certain way they should fit, but they all felt funny on my head.

Maddie has a new bike that she got from friends Paige and Zoe. We haven't had much luck getting her up on it, but one nice weekend, we're turning her over to Joy who has gotten 4 kids up and running on bikes. It's nice to have resident experts on hand.

Skip's Birthday Weekend

Skip's Birthday Ice Cream

Skip with Torsten, Timmy, Elke and Elfie

Skip had a great birthday weekend. He went Friday to the BVB game and watched them win 3 to 0. Saturday we went out with friends and relatives to Mongos--a mongolian barbque place in Duisburg. It's a restaurant where you pick a sauce and the go through a buffet line with a bowl picking out veggies and meats and then the chefs stir fry it all together and bring it to your table. This morning, he got breakfast in bed--Maddie insists that you should always have breakfast in bed on your birthday and later we headed in to Kaiserswerth for the annual Kartoffelfestival (that's a potato festival for you non-German speakers).

Maddie and I went to the welcome back picnic and school on Friday night. It's always fun to watch the new dads realize that there's a beer truck parked at the school. It softens the blow of still not having internet connection and the pain of the blisters they've gotten putting together all that IKEA furniture. Maddie had friend Riley's birthday party on Saturday morning and enjoyed having a new babysitter on Saturday night. We've started letting Rosie out in the little entry way to our house. We can completely shut it off from any other rooms or stairs and it gives her a chance to run around.

Maddie's Keen Fashion Sense

Maddie and Rosie

Okay, so my rant for the week is issue of waiting in line. I stood with Maddie in line on Friday to get animal balloons from a clown at the school picnic and I stood in line at the Kartoffelfest. Both times German children or adults cut in front of me. Now in the kids line, I just told them where the back of the line was and pointed. We had to wait for about 15 minutes and I sent three different kids (all Germans) to the back of the line. The Asian kids and the American kids just qued up at the end and waited. The same thing happened to me waiting in line for potato soup today. A gentlemen of about 75 walked up to where I was standing, looked back to the end of the line and then just wedged his way between me and the person in front of me. Nobody said a word. I didn't because first of all, I didn't know how to say, "back of the line, buddy" in German, and second of all because it would have seemed rude to kick the 75-year-old out of the line. I have seen this happen time and again (there was a fairly ugly incident at a clothing store with a friend of mine). It seems like the cultural norm is "if you can get away with it, don't bother waiting for your turn." What is that about? We've had to teach Maddie not to break in line, but to stand her ground and protect her place--otherwise she'd spend her life here waiting for a turn!

Maddie is a Mermaid

Yes, the child leads a charmed life. Well, actually, she was really good in the try-outs. She's really excited. I'm really excited, too. She could have been one of the narrators, but she opted for mermaid status. Mermaids are only in one scene. That means we don't have to be at practice every week between now and the February show date. It's one of those win-wins.

I on the other hand may have to find a bridge to jump off. I'm not sure how it happened, but I agreed to be one of the two homeroom moms for Maddie's classroom. I've always considered homeroom mom status to be one of the 9 (or is it7?) levels of hell. What did I do to land here and is there a penance I could do to get me out?

To top it off, I've been going to the gym with my skinny friend Jennifer. NEVER go to the gym with skinny people. It's just a bad move. She's been getting me to try this new group of classes they're offering. It's addling my brain. She's convinced me that next week I really should try the pilates class AFTER the spinning class for a full two hours of cardio and strength training. I'm already not sleeping because when I turn over in bed, every muscle in my body aches.

So let's review--living in a foreign country, no job--but manic volunteer, exercising to the point of pain, pet owner and homeroom mom. I'm thinking I may have to skip the 20th high school reunion next summer. I don't think I've quite lived up to the goals I laid out in the yearbook.

Oh, and on a life in German note--I was so amused that our German neighbor was scrubbing down the steps and walkway that lead to his front door. These are OUTSIDE steps. And he wasn't just rinsing or even using a power washer. He had this machine that looked kind of like a floor buffer. I kind of rolled my eyes until later that day, I realized how much nicer their steps and landing looked than ours. But don't think that the German lifestyle has rubbed off on me too much. Bought a beautiful pot of mums last week and they're already dead. I'll have to sneak them out to the appropriate bin after dark.

Daniel Powter kind of day

Daniel Powter had a hit song last year with "Bad Day". It's been that kind of day.

Skip took the car to Frankfurt today. He normally takes the train, but as today is the anniversary of 9/11 and with the recent arrests in the Frankfurt area, I wasn't too keene on him taking a train that landed him in the middle of the Frankfurt airport on this particular day.

So Maddie and I took the train to school and I had to hightail it back home to host a Halloween Party planning meeeting, where I was the killjoy because the costume contest is now going to be a parade of costumes. The kids at this elementary school get cut from soccer teams and basketballteams, have to audition for choir and try out for school plays where there aren't enough slots. Does Halloween have to entail a competition as well for kids under the age of 10?

Then, my friend Joann kindly invited me to tea to welcome a new member of our community who has moved here from England. I was the token American. I believe there was a stray Aussie or two as well. So I took my bike to Joann's. I had my sunglasses when I left, but packed rain gear in my saddle bags, which I had to use on my way to pick up Maddie at school. Left my bike at my friend Joy's house because I didn't want to leave the bike at the school overnight. Picked up Maddie and went acroos the street for recorder lessons. Running in to the building for recorder lessons, Maddie trips and totally skins both knees and even manages to slightly bruise her face. FAR to upset for recorder lessons, absolutely hysterical, but I have an hour to get her calmed down before she has to audition for this blasted school play. I was abolutely gobsmacked (new word I've learned from my Brit friends--great isn't it?) as I couldn't run her home and get her cleaned up and bandaged as I didn't have the car today (which is usually not at all a big deal).

About 10 minutes before her name is called, she pulls it together, goes in and does a fantastic job. Every line is perfect and delivered with just the right inflection. I, however, am a wreck. The cards are stacked against her, as I am not in the inner circle of moms (many of whom are my friends and rather nice people) who are on the drama team and whose kids are guaranteed a spot in the play. I was never really in the "in" or "out" crowd at school, but I had a very real sense of what it felt like to be one of the "outs" today. I walked in to the audition room with Maddie and I felt like the geeky kid in some bad high school movie with all of the drama moms gathered in a circle to watch my child's audition. Maddie did great. I am going to need some recovery time. I think this says something about me--I'm not sure what

Rosie the bunny continues to do well.

The bunny, the bunny, I love the bunny

yes. We did it. Today we welcomed Rosie the zwerge kaninchen (dwarf bunny) into our lives. Here in Germany, a bunny if a fairly common pet. Over a million people have them--as pets. Others raise larger rabbits for food.

Maddie spent most of the day either watching Rosie in her house or petting her. Since bunnies are prey animals, you can imagine they're a little nervous, so we'll be holding her a lot over the next week or so to let her get used to us. Even the person who was least enthusiastic about acquiring a pet (that would be me) has to admit, she's pretty cute.

In other German experiences, I was able to Uberweissen for the first time all by myself yesterday. No, it's not something illegal. It's paying a bill--German style. They don't use checks here at all. Most payments are set up by automatice draft, but if you have random payments--say a membership fee in the American Women's Club--then you go to the bank and use this machine next to the ATM. You put in the name of the oraganization you want to pay, their bank and two different series of numbers. Skip was so busy last week that he didn't have time and the fee was due. It was either figure out how to use the machine when all was in German, or go to the people in the bank and ask them to speak English. I avoid the latter if at all possible. It seems rude to ask people in THEIR country to speak YOUR language. Basic stuff I can muddle through, but banking language is not part of my vocab. I was able to fake my way through the machine because I had an English teacher mom who taught me that if you understan the root of the word, you can generally figure out what the word means. It works in Germany, too.

One more tidbit: tonight we ate at the Road Stop Cafe in Essen. It's "American style" food--including burgers, which are hard to come by here. The couple sitting behind us at theirs with a knife and fork. We looked like complete Philistines!

One Year

It was one year ago today that Maddie and Skip and I got on a plane to come to Germany. Isn't it good that we can't see the future? I never would have come...and then where would I be?

Maddie wouldn't know German. I still don't really know German, but that's beside the point.

I might never had gotten back on a bicycle (am actually a little sore right now from that particular piece of equipment. I always give myself away as a tourist--not a native--when I'm on my bike. I actually have to put my feet down when I have to stop at a crosswalk. The real Germans can stay balanced even when they're not moving!)

I wouldn't know how to make some really kickin' schnitzel

Skip wouldn't have discovered that he can read Dutch or realize his dream of having season tickets to all the home BVB games in Dortmund.

We would never have known what a truly wide world of Gummi candies there are to choose from

Maddie wouldn't be able to watch Kim Possible (cartoon character) dive offe the Eiffel tower and say "I've been there!" For Maddie, saying that her friend Julia lives in Memphis is no different from telling you that her friend Hannah is from Korea. For her, it really is a small world after all.

We never would have gotten to hang out with the German relatives as much. And I gotta say, they're pretty cool.

I still would have no idea where Majorca was (an island off the coast of Spain where I've just booked us for a five-day vacation in October. Already a good deal, when I went in to book it, they were running a special and we saved even more. With flight, room and board included, it would almost cost us more money to stay home those days. okay, not quite, but it sounds good)

And I wouldn't have met some people that I can't imagine going through life and not knowing. I've heard that people who serve in the armed forces basic traning bond for life with the people with whom they survive it. I think it's kind of the same thing for an ex-pat assignment.

Still Me

Okay, I've really tried to immerse myself in this whole German experience.

On Saturday, we went and put a deposit down on a zwerg kaninchen (or dwarf bunny) for you English speakers. We'll be picking it up next week. It's a fairly common pet here in Germany, and it was a compromise for pet-starved Maddie whose mom doesn't want a dog and whose dad doesn't want a cat. Pray for us all!

That night we had cousins Torsten and Elke over for dinner and a game of Skat--an EXTREMELY complicated German card game. Found out that we got off easy, because apparently, you usually play for money! Had a great meal, a great time and we know a new card game. Next time we get together I'm teaching them Golf, a card game my Aunt Carole taught me. Much easier!

Sunday we had my friend Sheree and her husband Florian and their kids Leah and Lucas over for (what else!) coffee and cake. Sheree is American and her husband is German, but their German time is temporary. Florian lived in the states for something-teen years before coming back. We sat around the table drinking coffee while the kids played until 6 p.m. Skip and I didn't get to sleep 'til after midnight we were so wired.

So you'd think that through all the transition and turmoil of living in Germany, I would have emerged a more fully evolved, centered human being. But, no. Today we had the activities fair for the American Women's Club and I was busy signing up volunteers for the massive Halloween Party. When I went to get my parking ticket validated, I left my lists (of about 50 volunteers and e-mail addresses) at the front desk of the hotel where the meeting was held. That's the same kind of thing pre-ex-pat Anne would have done. Fortuneately, it was still there when I went back for it. Whew!

Making the Transition

About a week ago, I was asked to speak at the American Women's Club newcomers coffe about how our spiritual lives play a role in the transition into ex-pat life. Several people have asked me for a copy of my remarks, so I decided to post them on the blog.

I am an ordained Presbyterian pastor. When I began preaching, I was completely daunted (terrified?) by the idea of preaching—like I have something to say about the word of God that everyone needs to hear. Me. Please! What kind of authority or knowledge do I have?

So my approach to preaching is more along the lines that we are all on a journey together and that I am just as fallible as the next guy, but I have some thoughts I’d like to share that might help us along on our journey together.

I had kind of the same reaction when Molly asked me to talk at this meeting today. Me. Please! I am hardly the example of how to smoothly transition into the ex-pat life. In fact, when I told some of my closets friends that I would be speaking here today, they laughed—long and loudly. I recently got an e-mail from a friend who moved back to the states at the end of the summer who told me she considered running a pool to see whether or not I would get on the plane to come back, but the whole dollar/euro conversion just made it too complicated.

I can’t remember when I ever cried in public as an adult until I came to Germany and, for awhile, it was a weekly event. I have yelled at my child more in the last year than I have in her whole life put together. Whoever said that children are better off when their mother stays home full time never met me.

So after admitting that I am no shining example of how to transition into life as an ex-pat, I will share with you a couple of things today that perhaps you will find helpful as we journey along this ex-pat road together.

Let’s start with the idea that everyone has their baseline level of “okayness”. Let’s say it’s here. Here is where you are on a regular, average kind of day. Up here is your over the edge mark. Know that when you become a stranger in a strange land your “normal” level moves that much closer to your over the edge place.

So what we have to do is manage that space between okay and over the edge. And that means we have to exercise the discipline of self-care. We have to be very intentional about taking care of ourselves. I’m pretty sure most of us first arrived in this country via airplane. And what does the flight attendant tell us about the oxygen masks? Place your own mask on before attempting to help anyone else. In other words, if you can’t breathe, you can’t help anyone else breathe.

When we think about self-care, we are willing to feed our bodies and exercise our minds, but how do we care for our inner-most core. Our spirit. Did you know that word spirit comes from the Latin word which means breath? In Hebrew, the word is Ruah which also means breath or wind. In our most ancient languages the word for spirit is synonymous with the word that sustains life. We know that life cannot exist without breath, so why is it that the nurture of our spirit seems to take a back seat to everything else?

So how to we care for our spirit? I think we all know that relationships are integral to our well being. We are created to be in community. So I encourage you to foster some new relationships here. Make new friends. And the American Women’s Club is a great place to do so. But if you limit your relationships to the people you meet here, you have missed one of the great gifts of this experience—the chance to enter into friendships with people who come from other places, who have their own ways of nurturing their spirit, who have different things that put them over the edge.

And speaking of going over the edge, you want to make sure that you have at least one or two friends to whom you can say, “I’m not okay.” Because there will be times when you’re not.

We all know that the ability to travel and see the world is one of the biggest advantages of the ex-pat life, but have you thought of tailoring your travel plans to your own self-care? Instead of going to places you want to see, consider scheduling trips to places that meet your needs.

• Tired of having to rehearse in your brain what you’re going to say to the butcher or the dry cleaner? Head to England for an English-speaking vacation.

• Need a little Southern Hospitality, I’ve found the Dutch to be the Southerners of this part of Europe.

• In need of a little ego boost and want a weekend in a place where the men are guaranteed to flirt with you? Try Italy.

• Weary of people staring at you when you talk or laugh too loudly. Take a jaunt on Ireland and be as loud as you want. No one will even bat an eye.

Perhaps travel and spiritual nurture are not two things you would normally connect, but I know that when any of us think of nurturing our spirits, we think of spiritual communities. Houses of worship. I would encourage you, if you have not already done so, to find a spiritual community to connect with. There are many formal and informal communities in the area where English speakers can gather and worship together. Again and again, studies have show that people who regularly gather with a worshipping community have fewer heart attacks, strokes and illnesses than those who don’t. It quite literally helps you keep breathing.

In addition to becoming part of a community, I encourage you to cultivate your own daily, spiritual practice. Whether it is scripture study, prayer, lighting a candle, sitting under a tree or simply being quiet, a daily ritual will help keep you grounded and futher away from the over-the-edge line. If you’ve never done such a thing, I challenge you to try it for just a week, and I promise it will make a difference.

Recently someone asked me if I had enjoyed the last year in Germany, and I said that no, I hadn’t. But afterwards, I realized that my answer didn’t give the whole picture. Enjoy is just the wrong word. Quite frankly, last year was filled with way too many trials and tribulations and struggles and strains to be called enjoyable, but there are things that occurred in that year that I wouldn’t trade for anything.

Would I give up the fact that my six-year-old has seen the Eiffel Tower, touched the bell at the top of Notre Dame where Quasimodo lived and saw Mary Poppins on stage in London?

Would I trade a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner shared with dear friends I hadn’t even known three months before?

Would I trade the chance for our family (especially our daughter) to get to know the German side of the family?

Would I give up the friends I’ve made here that I intend to keep for a lifetime?

Not a chance. So “enjoy” is not the right word to describe my time here. Perhaps a better word is “blessed.” I’ve definitely been blessed by time as an ex-pat in Germany. I hope your time will be to and may we even have the opportunity to be a blessing to each other.

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.