FALL!

I LOVE fall. Hands down my favorite season. The crispness in the air, the chilly mornings with hot coffee, the disinclination to bundle up completely so that when you go outside you hustle a bit, the atmosphere that college football creates (that I miss so much!) and the coziness of it all.

I'm not sure if it's because it's fall or what but lately I've been feeling pretty great. Or maybe it's been all the recent visitors that I've loved having here. Or the upcoming trip home. Whatever it is, I'm enjoying it. It's another grey, chilly day but since they have just begun I am still in that period where I enjoy them immensely. And maybe it's because I know I can always get in my car and do something that I don't feel so locked up on dreary days anymore.

This weekend JM, LM and I are going to Weltenburg Abbey. There is a little bit of contention as to whether it is the oldest brewery in the world (Weihenstephan Abbey claims the title as well) but it all comes down to the words "oldest continously operational brewery" as Weihenstephan can claim that title but Weltenburg is the oldest brewery based on foundation date (620 A.D. vs 720 A.D.) -- it just had a period of 39 years in the 1800s where it was shut down during the secularization of Bavaria. Weltenburg is on the Danube and it looks so gorgeous, I am excited! And it's only an hour and fifteen minutes away - who could resist!? JM says I'm driving back, but we'll see...

Here's a picture I snapped a few days ago from our balcony:


Fall is good.

Going Ons

I must say a Very Happy 21st to my brother-in-law!! Just in time for Beer and Bacon at Wandos on Wednesdays! And I hope you abuse the hell out of Monday Dollar Wisconsin Taps at Vintage (my favorite!).

First of all, we found out last week that we've having a boy! Very excited. My brother-in-law WD may be the most excited of them all. The 3D ultrasound was really cool (we have the pictures up on our fridge) and the doctor/tech guy was really nice and personable (a rarity). I'm kind of starting to wonder if I'll ever see my actual doctor? We'll find out next week when I have my routine checkup I suppose.

Lately it's been so-so here weather wise; can't really complain about it but it's certainly not the mid- to high 60s it was a few weeks ago. Usually it's in the high 40s and grey and dreary. Currently the sun is out but it's a bit too chilly to have open windows. I've noticed the disturbing trend however, that when I wake up it is warmer in WI than it is here! And it's like 2am back home! That's not fair at all! C'mon Germany, cooperate with me.

This weekend JM has a four day (well, as of today he does) and we have a ton of things we have to do. Taxes being the number one priority with a visit to Nurenburg to go to Baby Walz being close behind. Hopefully we also get to OBI, maybe this time when we go we will actually find a parking spot and it won't spontaneously start hailing (a sign that I shouldn't start a garden just yet?).

No news on the job front (frowny face) or the car front. I found one I'd like to test drive that's for sale on base but the person who listed it isn't getting back to me! Ugh! C'mon! I want to give you thousands of dollars, you could at least email me back!! Frustrating.

If we do get to Baby Walz this weekend I'll post some pics of what we bought (provided we find things we want to buy, which I hope we do!).

Here to Stay

After almost two weeks of 55+ degree weather I finally feel confident enough to say that winter is behind us. I've been spending a lot of time out on our balcony, reading, making to-do lists, grocery lists, and doing anything else I can outside. I've decided I want to have a garden in pots (much different than a 'pot garden' which I almost typed) this year. I'm thinking peppers, cucumbers, carrots, and maybe a cauliflower or two. I want to get to an OBI this weekend (Germany's Home Depot) and see what they have for patio furniture and pots and maybe even dirt.

I wear my Tevas daily now and I even got a slight sunburn on my arms this Monday. I feel confident enough to pack up my mitten collection and put it upstairs. It is definitely not winter anymore.

Not Spring yet....

I knew it...if 22 years in Wisconsin only taught me one thing it's that mother nature is a gigantic tease. The past many days have been chilly and snowy. There's about 3" on the ground now and it's falling in big fat flakes as I type. If this weren't March I'd think it was pretty, but it is March and I am not amused. Bonus points if you know who's red car is driving down the road. Another reason this weather is unfortunate is because of our *excellent* snow removal services at our apartment complex. Picture two rectangles (A, and B, respectively) that are side by side (they touching on their long sides); Rectangle A is where the cars park and it is covered, Rectangle B is of equal size and it's totally open and it's the driveway area for lack of a better term. So of course when it snows Rectangle B gets covered, our snow removal man thinks it is more than appropriate to simply shovel the perimeter of Rectangle B and nothing else. Not only is this irritating to get to the car it makes it rather difficult to park into Rectangle A. Oh Germany. You are not America.

Spoiled!

Guten Tag Everyone!

I am writing this to you from my kitchen table waiting for some banana nut muffins to come out of the oven. They are filling the kitchen with tasty smells.

I heard back from one of the jobs I applied for -- I have an interview this Friday! I also applied for another secretary position today and have two more I want to apply for but their applications aren't due for another week. I've also been actively searching for transportation and I am thisclose to simply buying a manual and learning because there are so very few automatics for sale. Part of me thinks that is semi-irresponsible but another part of me knows I need a car and I know I can learn and I want to learn. On the upside there are a lot more cars for sale and a lot more job openings!

I have been so spoiled recently with regards to the weather. It has been 50s for the past four days (today was chilly...only 45) and sunny and I have had the windows open every day. For some reason having open windows has made me much more productive and I have gotten so much done. I'm not sure if this is just a tease (like Wisconsin does every year) or if this weather is here to stay. All of our snow is gone except for a few tiny little piles here and there, I hope this is the beginning of spring in Deutschland.

On Saturday JM and I went to a baby/kid stuff rummage sale held at a local German Catholic church near base and browsed. We picked up a few items of clothing and some toys. When I first heard about it I figured that all the toys/clothes/etc had been donated and that the proceeds would go to the church but come to find out it was all separate "vendors" (people) and the proceeds went to them. Totally fine by me but the process in which they kept track of who's stuff was being bought was totally...German (inefficient). You were allowed to browse and search and pick out stuff at your leisure (just like a normal rummage) but there was just one central check-out area (with three different places to pay at, it was quite busy) On each item there were two different numbers, the price and a random number (ex: 1.50/144) and when you got up to the register you handed your purchases to Person A, Person A read both numbers out loud to Person B; Person B wrote them down on a piece of paper which Person C looked at and typed into a computer. After everything was written and typed you got your total and paid this central location (with the each vendor getting paid, I imagine, after the event was over). It was so inefficent and the line moved so slow; JM and I both commented that it would've been a lot quicker if Person A, B and C were one person. And what was the point of writing it down on a piece of paper? Oh Germany. Regardless, we got some nice stuff and I am in the process of washing the clothes right now.

We were planning on going someplace this weekend but now it looks like we may just stay at home because JM's work schedule got kind of hectic and we'll probably both be happier just relaxing.

I'll blog again soon!

fall is my favorite

Light at the end of the tunnel. That's what I see. The move is all taken care of and on its way to meet us in Germany. ETA of the stuff: early December. Hooray! After all the paperwork, hassle, and running around the actual day went very smoothly. This weekend should be a busy one, charity event Friday, seeing a friend's production of RENT in Chicago on Saturday, but I am very much looking forward to it.

Living out of suitcases isn't treating me too poorly at all; granted, they are the suitcases you could fit small children in, so I'm not really lacking...in anything. Other than that, same going ons around here. Settling into the cozy rhythms of fall: football, books, blankets, dreary days that don't yet make me dreary, baking, and the best part: the extreme closeness of November.

I am beginning to realize I'm not in school anymore, up until now it just felt like a really long summer vacation. But combined with Badger games I no longer attend and all my friends still in school stressing over midterms I no longer have to worry about (YES) it's (finally) hit home. I miss the physical closeness of all my friends and oddly enough I miss walking to class in chilly mornings (but I will not miss scaling the snowbanks come winter) and sitting in a warm lecture halls taking notes about things I enjoy learning. I am definitely not nostalgic enough to want to return however. I am very glad to leave that part of my life behind for, at the very least, a good few years and maybe forever. I have a wonderful adventure to look forward to and right now that's all I want or need.