Garmisch, Eagle's Nest and the Gorge

(As you can see from the date on this blog, it was started some time ago and I just haven't had a chance to finish and post it. So, here it is....very late.)

One week from today Mom and Dad will be on their way back to Alaska and I miss them already. I hate goodbyes with my family. I wish there was a way to bring our two worlds together. It's more than having a couple of visits each year. It's the daily interaction that I miss.

We just got back home tonight from visiting Garmisch, Germany. We stayed at the Edelweiss Hotel which is an Armed Forces Recreation Center. It's an absolutely beautiful facility and the scenery in that area of Germany is amazing. Garmisch is surrounded on every side by the German Alps. The weather didn't totally cooperate with us, but we still had a wonderful time. On the way down Tuesday, we stopped by Dachau so Mom and Dad could visit the Concentration Camp Memorial Site. As before, it was a sobering experience. This time I had a chance to read more of the displays and found it very interesting and educational. It's frightening to me that humanity could sink to such levels and treat other humans in ways I could never even think of treating an animal. I'm sure it didn't start out that way, but slowly sank to lower and lower levels.

Mom, Dad and Sam at the entrance to Dachau

Sam, Me and Dad

Sam waiting patiently. Mom and Dad were taking the time to read the displays as we went through the museum part of Dachau. Sam had already seen Dachau and was hungry, so he wanted them to hurry up.

Mom and Dad with the foundations of the bunker houses behind them. The actual buildings were demolished, but they left markers where each building stood.

Me, Sam and Dad on the bridge leading to the crematorium

Mom and Dad with the gas chambers/crematorium in the background

From Dachau, we drove on down to Garmisch and checked into the Edelweiss. It always amazes me that I feel so exhausted from just travelling, but we arrived pretty tired. We were settled in our rooms by 8:00 and didn't do much else that evening besides eat dinner in one of the restaurants on site. I really enjoyed having a good American meal there. They even gave us ice in our drinks :)

Sam and I on the balcony at the Edelweiss

Wednesday we headed to Eagle's Nest in Berchtesgaden, Germany. It was so interesting because I learned a lot that I hadn't known. Prior to this trip, I didn't exactly know what it was, but had an idea that it was one of Hitler's homes and where he eventually committed suicide. What I found out though, was that it wasn't a home at all, but rather just a opulent tea room to impress dignitaries. It was given to Hitler as a 50th birthday present and he only went there about 14 times, due to his fear of heights.

Please excuse the poor quality of this picture. I took a picture of a picture. Due to the heavy fog the day we were there, this was the best I could do at getting a good view of Eagle's Nest.

The location of the Eagle's Nest is amazing. We drove up a steep mountain for quite awhile just to reach a parking lot where we got on a bus that took us further up the mountain to the Eagle's Nest. We were at about 6000 feet and it was so beautiful. We were hoping the fog would clear off so we could see the mountains surrounding us. It didn't, but was gorgeous just the same. We paid a small fee to have an English tour guide. It was money well spent. She did a great job of explaining the history and telling us some interesting tid bits.

Mom and Dad in the bus taking us to the Eagle's Nest

Me and Sam in the bus

All of us at the entrance to the tunnel which leads to the elevator that goes up through the mountain to the Eagle's Nest

Mom and Dad taking a break up the hill from the tea room

Having lunch in the dining hall of the Eagle's Nest

For those of you who know my parents - this is not what it appears to be. They were drinking Apfelsaftschorle, which is a mix of mineral water and apple juice, but it looked surprisingly like beer.

Sam and I sitting at the fireplace in the dining hall

On our way out, leaving through the tunnel

Waiting for the bus to take us back down the mountain

Whether at the concentration camp or Hitler's tea room it's always hard to wrap my mind around the fact that I'm standing in the same place history took place in. We ate lunch at the Eagle's Nest in the same room Hitler ate. Had food cooked in the original kitchen. It just doesn't really sink in.

Thursday instead of just heading the 3 hours back to Stuttgart we stayed around Garmisch for a little while. It's such a beautiful town. We walked through downtown and had breakfast at a little outside cafe.

Sam had heard about an Olympic ski jump that was used in the 1936 Olympics which were held in Garmisch. We went to see that then walked out to a beautiful gorge a mile or so behind the ski jump. There were cable cars available to take us all the way to the top. It was gorgeous from up there, but really scary to be so far above ground suspended by only a cable. It was pouring down the rain when we started to walk back to the car, but we had a fun walk regardless.

Mom and Dad took the first cable car up, so Sam and I were waiting for our ride

Mom and Dad waiting at the top for us

The view from the cable car

All ready for the wet walk back to the car

Somehow I skipped an entire week of activities, so I'll have to go backward and play catch up with future blogs. We've been so busy that I haven't kept up with blogging. We've taken lots of pictures so I had a hard time deciding on which ones to post.

This post is very late, but better late than never....right? Until next time...

Mom and Dad's first week in Germany

(As you can tell by the date on this blog, it was started sometime last week, but figured I'd post it anyhow. )

Mom and Dad arrived here safely last Friday. They flew into the Frankfurt airport, so Sam and I drove there to pick them up. Frankfurt's just a couple of hours drive from Stuttgart. Being concerned about morning traffic, we left very early only to find out it was a German holiday and we had clear roads the whole way. We got there pretty early and the flight ended up being about an hour late, so we had a bit of a wait. It was so nice to see Mom and Dad again. I was suprised they weren't more tired, but it was only midnight Alaska time, so they still felt pretty good. The jet lag would hit them later though.

I've been looking forward to sharing our lives here in Germany with them. It's been fun seeing their impressions of life in Europe. Alot of what they point out are things that struck me as odd when we first arrived too. I think they like it better than they thought they would. Mom keeps mentioning how green and beautiful the landscape is. It really is gorgeous here. Lots of open fields. The German's do that right. The houses are close together, which allows for lots of open country.

Mom and Dad brought their cat with them. Mom has always called him Papa Kitty, but Sam is convinced he should be called Konishiki, after a famous Hawaiian Sumo wrestler, due to his size. So, at this point we still call him both. Poor thing must be terrible confused. Because of Dad's allergies they couldn't let Konishiki have the run of the house, so we decided to bring him here. I've been concerned about it though because of how Gabby has always been with other cats.

We kept them separated for several days and then Sunday we decided to see how they would do together. Gabby's always been such a little bully, so I was a bit concerned. Any cat she's ever seen she's chased or tried to attack through a window. Bringing these two cats together is the first time I've realized that it's fear on Gabby's part that makes her so agressive. She's never really been around another cat since she was taken from her mama at around one week old.

There's been quite a bit of hissing and growling, but we just need to let them work out their differences. They pretty much keep to themselves and when Konishiki gets too close Gabby tells him to back off. They're so curious about each other though. Even though she's not very welcoming to him, Konishiki still follows Gabby around and she, in turn, follows him around too.

Before we let them out together Gabby was very agressive to me. She kept hissing and slapping at me. I think she smelled Konishiki on me, but didn't know what it was. All she knew was that it was different and didn't belong. She's really settled down alot since we let them out together. I think it's going to take awhile, but I believe they'll work it out.

We've been staying pretty busy. Tomorrow we're heading to Venice for a few days. My Italian friend, Marika, and her family came over this evening to talk to us about what to do there. Marika and I have become really good friends working together at NAF. She took my Venice book over the weekend to write notes in it. She and Jason have two little boys that Sam seems to tramatize every time we're together. They love playing with him, but it seems to always end in tears. Thankfully, Marika and Jason are easy going and don't seem to get upset about it. Tonight the tears started when Sam acted like he was going to put the rolladens down with the boys still outside after they sprayed us with the water hose. They and Sam had been teasing each other back and forth all evening, but that really scared them.

Here are some pictures from Mom and Dad's first week in Germany -

Mom and Dad on Panzer Kaserne

Waiting for the train to Stuttgart Stadtmitte

Mom and Dad in downtown Stuttgart

Konishiki out of the room for the first time and investigating everything

Getting some love from Sam

Mom and Dad are coming to Germany!!!

We're having problems with our internet, so I haven't been able to post for awhile. Of course, that's only been this last week. Prior to that I really don't have an excuse other than I've been busy. Mom and Dad are on their way here today and we'll be picking them up at Frankfort in the morning. I'm so excited about them coming! It's going to be fun showing them how life is over here. I'm also excited about 3 weeks off of work :) I kept thinking they were going to arrive here this morning and had taken the day off work for it, then on Tuesday I starting thinking about it and realized they were coming a day later. The 10 hour time difference got me confused. So, I worked half a day today and still had this afternoon to run to the commissary and finish getting the house around.

I miss blogging more, but there's been a distict lack of time for it since I started work. There's a big change coming in my job too. Just today I accepted another position. I've had two job offers I've been weighing the pros and cons on, but finally decided to go with the Civilian Personnel Advisory Center (CPAC). It's still Human Resources, just for another part of the Army. Anyhow, I'll probably go back to my current position for a week or two then start the other job. Should be interesting.

Our lives are going to be changing too with adopting Mom and Dad's cat. Since Dad's so allergic, it's best for them and the cat for us to take him. We're just hoping Gabby eventually accepts the idea of having another cat in the house. She's always been so spoiled by us.

We were having beautiful weather just a week ago, but it's gotten pretty chilly and cloudy. It'll be nice to have Mom and Dad here regardless of the weather, but I do hope it clears up again so they have a nice vacation. Well, I need to finish up the house. Until next time...

Frulingsfest and Ludwigsburg

I've been very lazy lately about posting to this blog. To be quite honest, my life has not been incredibly exciting or blog worthy for awhile now. I will try to get back to posting more regularly though.

We finally had a "real" weekend. It's been ages since we've taken time off from the house to just get away and do something fun We finally did that this last weekend. A friend has been staying with us since last Tuesday. Julie works for Sam, but recently accepted a job in Korea. So, she's staying with us until she flies out. It's been nice having her here. She's a very easy houseguest.

It's that time of year when I start thinking about flower boxes for our balcony and windows. It's warmed up enough so that I'm not concerned about it freezing again. So, Saturday morning we headed to Hornbach to get the planters and dirt. I found another rose bush to plant. We (meaning Sam) have planted so many trees, bushes and flowers in our back yard that we're running out of space. That's unfortunate because we always find another one to buy. On the way home from Hornbach we stopped at a local garden shop to buy some flowers. I don't feel very creative when it comes to putting flower boxes together, but they somehow end up looking pretty once they're in full bloom. So as not to waste a day of awsome weather, when we got home I went out on the back patio to transplant the flowers. It's going to look good once they have a chance to settle in.

Saturday evening we went to the Frulingsfest. The Frulingsfest is basically like a big fair back in the states. We met a friend at the train stop and rode to downtown Stuttgart. It's about the easiest way to go so we don't have to find or pay for parking. We met up with another friend of Julie's and had a very enjoyable evening. The only thing I could have done without was the roller coaster I was convinced to ride. I knew I didn't like roller coasters, but now I'm more convinced than ever. The minute we were locked in I felt this fear come over me and was desperately wishing I'd made a different choice. I knew the only way I could make it through was to keep my eyes closed, which I did for the entire ride. Next time I even consider riding one I told Sam to just slap me.

We did go on a couple of more mild rides which was fun. Of course there was some good food there. It's always interesting here in Germany because even the fair food is far different from what we're use to. I didn't see one vendor selling hotdogs, hamburgers, fries or elephant ears. Of course they had 100 different kinds of bratwrust, but not a good American hamburger. In the states you can't go to a fair without seeing several places selling cotton candy or candied apples. Well, I didn't see any candied apples and the only cotton candy I saw was in tiny little bags. Very weird.

Me and Julie at the Frulingsfest

Jessica, Julie and John on the Ferris wheel

Me and Sam on the Ferris wheel

The infamous roller coaster

We finally left the fest at about midnight. Good thing we left at that time because the train stops at 12:30 and doesn't start again until about 5:00. We didn't get to bed until 2:00. I can't remember the last time I went to bed that late. I guess I'm getting old because I'm in bed by 9:30 every night anymore. I can't handle those late evenings like I use to.

Sunday afternoon Sam and I went to Ludwigsburg, which is known for its palaces. Back in the early 1700's that area was chosen as a summer residence for royalty. We didn't visit any of the palaces, but instead just walked through all the gardens at the residential palace. I have never seen such beautiful and huge tulips. They really had some beautiful flowers. There was also a garden flea market set up on the grounds of the palace which was fun. It was an awsome day to be outside. I think our incredibly pale skin actually got a little color to it. Here are just a few pictures from that.

Sam and I in front of the Residential Palace

Me in a patch of tulips

My sweet husband

Me on the backside of the Residential Palace.

Our Saturday

Sam worked all night at the lock-in for SAS and didn't get home until 9:00 this morning. Ever since our house got robbed in Hawaii it's been hard for me when Sam's not here through the night. I sleep with lights on and the bear repellent spray next to the bed. Anyhow, I made it through just fine. Sam's someone who really needs his sleep, so he went right to bed when he got in and didn't get up until about 2:00. I think he would have continued sleeping had someone not called needing to talk to him.

I didn't get as much done on the house today as I'd wanted. Last weekend I started painting the living room area. There was only so much of all that white I could take. Surprisingly it went pretty fast, but I had a little bit to finish up this weekend. I got that done this morning. We went with yellow. At times I love it and other times I wonder if it's too much. Regardless, it's definitely an improvement over the white.

This afternoon we went to a couple of furniture stores. We're looking for some pieces that would fit in the living room better than what we have, but I'm really not too crazy about what we find. I like the old style German furniture, but a lot of what's in the stores is very modern looking. It looks more like furniture you would find in a business rather than comfortable furniture for a home. Every time we sat on a chair or couch it was like sitting on a board. Definitely not comfortable. So, the search continues.

The last few months have been so overshadowed with everything that needs done with the house that I'm really looking forward to putting it all aside when Mom and Dad get here. I'm so excited to share our lives with them. I've been trying to decide on what we want to do while they're here. There's so much to see and do here that it's quite a decision to narrow down our options. We don't want to be traveling the whole time, so I'm trying to keep the longer trips down to just 3 or maybe 4. There's still lots we can do within a day's drive of our house.

Mom's bringing her cat to stay with us. He was a stray kitty that she couldn't turn away, but Dad's allergic so it's not the best situation to have a cat in their house. It's going to be very interesting since Gabby attacks every cat she's ever met. At times I wonder what I could possibly be thinking and worry that it's going to be all out war between the two. But he's a big boy and so sweet. Sam calls him Konishiki, after the Sumo wrestler in Hawaii. I'm really hoping for the best. If Gabby would be nice I think she would enjoy having another cat to play with and keep her company when we're not home. We'll see how that goes.

Well, more to be done tomorrow, so I better close for now.

Still working on the house

The weeks go by so quickly. One week turns into two...then into three...and the time just slips by. I realized just a few days ago that in only 6 weeks Mom and Dad will be arriving here in Germany and I panicked. I thought back to 6 weeks ago and realized how little headway I've made in the house in that amount of time. At this point I'm not sure how I'm going to pull it all together, but I'm really excited about them coming. No matter where I am in getting the house around I'll stop and just enjoy them being here then hit it again when they leave.

This past Saturday Thomas arrived early in the morning to start painting the stairway. Picking out a color had been stressing me because that's a big decision, especially when it's going to be through all floors of the house. If we didn't like it, we'd be stuck with it until we decided to repaint. If we went with too conservative a color it may look really bland, but too dark of a color may be overwhelming. Of course with the whole house being white, any other color is going to look drastically different. We finally decided on an olive green thinking the earth tone would warm up the place and would go fine with our tile color (which I would not have chosen, but was already in the house). When we showed Thomas the color we had chosen, he thought it was too dark for the stairway. We went back to the color cards and came up with a green that's just a little lighter.

Ok, so I don't know how the German's ever get the same color of paint twice. Thomas brought in his paint tinting kit which amounted to a few bottles of color. In my experience with paint we pick out the color hand the card to the guy at Walmart, Lowes or Home Depot and they proceed to add so many CC's of green and so many CC's of yellow, etc. Not Thomas....he just started squirting color into the white paint and mixing it. The color that came out of that fiasco was something similar to auqa blue or as Sam put it "Toothpaste blue". It was horrible. There was no way he was going to paint my stairway that color. He painted a little part and wanted to know what I thought. Unfortunately I don't speak his language and couldn't tell him what I really thought, but I got the card and said "I want this color" pointing to the color we chose. Well, by this time he had run out of a color he needed so he packed up the paint and headed back to the office to get the color he needed.

He came back a couple of hours later with the color we wanted. He had taken it to a store to get the right combinations of colors(thankfully). Sam and I had some errands to run so we left Thomas here to paint. While we were gone I kept thinking about the green we chose and worried that it would be too green, but when we got back and saw the stairway I was very pleased with the color. It looks really warm and magnified in my mind the need to paint the rest of the walls. I probably shouldn't take the time to paint at this point, but I figure better now than after the curtains are hung. So, that's something I'll be working on.

The stairway after painting

Another view heading up to the top floor

Sam's been getting the tiles in the bathroom finished so he can hopefully get the medicine cabinets up over the weekend.

Back in March I interviewed for a position at Patch Barracks and haven't heard anything from them so I figured it had been filled. On Monday I got an email from Human Resources asking for preliminary information for this position. I'm still not sure what it all means, but it appears that I may still be in the running for the job. I'm hesitant starting a new job, but the pay would be much better and would probably not be such a stressful workplace, so we'll see what happens with that.

Well, that's about it from here. Until next time...

Stairwell renovation

We were up at 6:00 this morning because Thomas was coming to redo the wallpaper in the stairwell. It would have been so nice to sleep in, but...not today. Sam asked him if he wanted anything to drink. Well, wouldn't you know he asked for coffee. Neither of us drink coffee, but I do have a coffeepot just for our parents or company that may want some. I make it so rarely though that I had to call Mom because I always forget how many scoops to cups. After making it he said that he only drinks it cold. I guess he's a true construction worker because I don't know many people that enjoy cold coffee. Oh well, I turned of the coffeepot and let it get cold. He had some later in the day.

Since the walls in the stairwell are going to be repainted anyhow, Thomas asked if we wanted a different color. Sam and I have talked about that anyhow and now is our chance to get it done for free. All of our walls are painted white and I'm not thrilled with it, but we just don't have time to repaint them at this time. We thought since the stairwell runs through each level of the house that by painting it a different color it might "warm up" the entire space. We're trying to decide on which color to go with.

Here is what the stairwell looked like as he tore out the wallpaper

Since we had to be at the house today with Thomas, Sam decided to put the medicine cabinets up in the master bath. Everything was going along as planned until he was drilling into the wall and the power went out. He thought maybe the hammer drill has just tripped the breaker so he tried it again. When the power went out the second time he realized he must have hit a wire. He thought he better be on the safe side and check how bad the wire was cut. Good thing he did because one of the three wires was cut in half. He replaced the wire, but since we now how to replace the tiles that job will have to wait until next weekend.

In past posts I've mentioned this old barn that sits at the back of our place. Well, Friday night we noticed they were starting to tear it down. I hate to see old buildings like that torn down to make way for new modern houses, but I guess that progress. Anyhow throughout the day yesterday we saw the rapid destruction of the barn. We found out that it was built in 1870. I guess here in Germany that's not considered very old. I found the rafters interesting. It didn't have the symmetry of modern day construction. Here are a couple of pictures from that.

Looking out to the barn behind our house.

A construction working cutting pieces out of the rafters.

Sam in the backyard

When Thomas was finished with what he could get done today he and Sam went to the backyard to watch the barn walls come down. Gabby was out with them and I guess one of the neighbor cats wandered close enough for her to see and she was off chasing it. I think she bit off more than she could chew though because the other cat whipped her little tail. I heard Sam calling for me and I opened the front door to find a dirty, disheveled Gabby crouching by the door. The other cat got the better of her and she was angry about it for quite awhile. She wouldn't let me touch her for at least an hour. On one hand I don't like to see my baby get beat up, but on the other she actually deserves it.

That was our Saturday. We didn't get as much done as we had hoped, but it's slow progress.

One year anniversary

Just a quick note to say that while at work yesterday I realized it had been one year since we arrived in Germany. It doesn't seem like it's been anywhere near that long. We arrived last year on the 26th of March. It's been a crazy, full and exciting year. Everything seemed so strange at first. I still feel like a foreigner here and probably always will, but that's alright because I am. I still haven't learned the language like I said I would. I truly was making an effort when I was in class, but I didn't get to finish that and then we started the whole ordeal of buying this house. It's a little harder now with working, but I'd still like to go to classes and learn to communicate a little bit in German.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone! I love this season and what the Easter celebration means to us as Christians. We had a really good church service this morning. I like that our church sings hymns. So many churches have moved away from singing them and that's one reason we've chosen this church. There's a richness to hymns that I don't find in a lot of the newer songs. Of course, I'm partial to them too because they're what I grew up singing. There are certain songs that I hear that make me think of home and hearing my Dad sing while getting ready for Sunday morning service. I miss those days. I miss my home and family. I'm so thankful that I come from a rich Christian heritage. During holidays I miss my family even more than usual. We always had so many traditions that accompanied each holiday. Probably since we lived in a small town and pretty much had just each other we really made events out of the holidays. I haven't done so well at bringing those traditions into my marriage. Maybe that comes with having kids. I definitely want to pass those memories on to my kids. This morning I had an instant message from my Mom talking about having company for dinner and making the traditional ham and potatoes. I know exactly how the day will go back home. I'd love to be there.

This is what we woke up to this morning. I haven't been able to figure the weather out here. Back home in Alaska I know what to expect - we usually get snow in October and have it until April or May. It's a different story here. We've had some really warm days lately and then this snow comes out of no where. I'm not complaining because I really enjoy the snow days. I do like our Alaska winters better though. In Germany I think the winters are more like the East coast. Really wet snow that rarely sticks and just turns to slush.

Some of our flowers covered in snow. I'm amazed at how hardy the flowers are here in Germany. It snows and they keep on blooming.

I don't know if I mentioned this in an earlier post or not, but one of the things we've been very frustrated with in this house is the cracks in the wallpaper. To us it seems like a strange way to cover walls in a house, but most German houses have wallpaper on the walls then it's painted. We were pretty disappointed with the job done in our house because all through the stairwell the seams have moved apart and there are actually cracks in some of the corners. We noticed them when we first moved in and were going to have the painter come in to do the repairs, but he said just to let him know when we were done moving furniture in so he could do touch ups to the walls at the same time.

Finally last week Sam was able to get in touch with Thomas (the painter) and he came by Friday evening to look at the walls. We were happy to hear him say it was a terrible job and needed to be completely redone. He said they tried to tell the contractor that the wallpaper should not be hung until the walls had more time to dry, but they were being pushed to get it done. Anyhow, we're very happy that the wallpaper will be replaced and it'll look good again. Thankfully things are slowly getting done.

Well, that's about all that's going on with us right now. I hope you had a wonderful Easter celebration. Until next time...

Still getting settled

I know it's been awhile since I posted. It's a little harder to get time to write with working full time. When not at work, any free time I have is spent still trying to get us settled. I don't like to make a habit of it, but last Sunday we ended up not going to church. I woke up feeling like the house would never get put together. It's hard to explain why it's taking so long to get finished with the move. I think the main reason is because of working full time and just not having the time I need to get everything unpacked and in its place. The other reason it's taking so long is because the house came with no built in storage. I think it's hard for Americans to understand, but in essence we bought a house with four walls and basically nothing else. I'm not crazy about the way they do things here in Germany, but that's what we're dealing with. We're buying closets and cabinets as we go. Storage is something we take for granted in the states. You just expect a house to come with closets (and a kitchen, lights, showers, etc, etc....).

I'm so thankful that we finally have our kitchen. There are a few things that need finished and I think they're coming back for that at the end of this month. I've put most everything away and we've even cooked a few meals in there. Of course, we've found a few things that we wish would have been done differently, but overall we're pretty happy with it.

I feel really good about what I got done today. We finally have a living room again. Until now, we've had a chair and a couch cleared, but boxes everywhere. We just had a path through the boxes. Today I finally see a light at the end of the tunnel. I've been able to get my plants out of the top floor and put back in the living room. I love live plants in my house. I think it brings life into the space. I got that from my Mom. She has a much better green thumb than I do though.

Sam's doing a great job with the outside. He has the fence completed and has planted trees along the fence line. We bought some black raspberry bushes and planted them along one of the fences. We have a cherry tree, apple tree and today he bought a plum tree. In a few years we should be set in the fruit department. Today he put in some pavers for stepping stones going out the back gate. He also planted some flowers. It's looking really good outside.

Painting the fence

The finished product. It should grow out through the summer and look really good.

Last weekend he installed cabinets in the laundry room. I was so happy about that because I can finally clear everything off of the washer and dryer. It gives the room a much more finished look. There are quite a few pipes running down the wall and he was able to cover them with the cabinets.

My Mom and Dad are coming over in May for three weeks. I'm so excited about that! There's still a lot that I need to get done before then. Even though it's still a couple of months away the time goes quickly. We're trying to think about what we should do while they're here. Everyone we speak to has a different idea of must-see places in Europe. No matter where we go I think they're really going to enjoy seeing the different culture over here.

Sunday - 9 March
I started this yesterday, but obviously didn't get it posted. It's a beautiful day in Germany. The weather is getting warmer even though just last week we had snow that stuck for a day or two. After church we came home and worked on the yard a little bit. I got some seeds planted. I'm going to try to get Grandma Thorne's Hibiscus seeds to grow. In both Hawaii and the house in Plattenhardt I had them planted, but we left before they had time to grow. I'm hoping that now we'll be here long enough to see them mature.

Sam was so cute the other day. He came home from the greenhouse with a couple flats of flowers. He's really been enjoying fixing up the backyard. He was so excited about the flowers he bought. They really were beautiful. He just planted them yesterday. The flowers are pretty cheap right now, so I should be getting my window baskets together before long.

Ok, it's now Wednesday morning and as you can see I still have not posted this. I need to get ready for work, but first want to get this posted. Through the week it's just so busy that I don't really get the time to do much other than work and sleep. I can't wait to have more to talk about then the house. Pictures haven't been too plentiful lately. Hopefully, one of these days we get back to living and I'll have more interesting pictures to share. Until then...

We're still here!!!

Wow! What a month this has been! It feels like it's been so much longer than just one month since we moved into our new place. So much has happened and we've gone through so many changes during that time. I've felt out of touch with the world and my family since we've been without phone or Internet until just recently.

Don't even get my started on why it took a month to get phone and Internet up and working. I'm convinced that "German Customer Service" is an oxymoron. It's so different than America where in just a day or two you could have everything working in your new home. The phone company came three times before we were set up. We finally got our Internet back yesterday. I'm so happy to have that connection to the world again. Going through so much frustration with getting everything working in this house has really made me miss the States. It's difficult to get anything done here. Nothing is done quickly or easily. Oh well - enough about that.

My last post was right before we made the big move, which seems like ages ago. That Saturday, Julie, Michelle, James and Larry (who all work with Sam) came out to help get us moved to the new house. We were so thankful for their help. Even with everyone helping we were at it until late into the evening. We didn't get everything moved, but most of it. That was our first night sleeping in the new place because we no longer had a bed at the Plattenhardt house.

The guys working hard to get us moved

Julie, Larry and Michelle after a long day of work

That next week I spent every day moving the rest of our things and cleaning the house. It was a long and tiresome process, but we successfully cleared with our landlord on Thursday, January 31.

Of course the job was just beginning at the new house. We had paths in between all the boxes. We cleared off the couch and Sam's chair, so we at least had a place to sit. We were without phone, Internet or TV for quite awhile. All of my time was spent emptying what boxes I could and putting things away. Which ended up not being very much since we had no storage other than our closets at the beginning. It's going to take awhile to get completely settled. We're slowly getting closets and storage.

The mess of moving

The following Monday, February 4th, I started my job at Panzer. All the house work came to a screeching halt. I'm so tired at the end of the day that it's been hard to put a lot of energy into the house. We still have a mess, but it's a slow process and we'll get everything put away eventually. We're doing all we can on the weekend, but I would love to just have a month free to get everything in its place.

About the job - I can't say that I love where I work, but I am thankful to have it while I look for something else. That's all I have to say about that :)

Last Thursday and Friday our kitchen was delivered and installed. Whoo-Hoo!!! I am so thrilled to have a kitchen again and one with so much storage is a huge blessing. I'm very happy with our decision. My project this weekend has been cleaning out the cabinets and putting my kitchen things away. One thing the German's do absolutely right is kitchen cabinetry. I'm so impressed with it. I'm also very happy with my HUGE oven and stove top. Finally, I can use some of the baking dishes I brought with me from the states. I still have a lot to do because I'm washing all the dishes that have been packed away and trying to figure out where I want everything.

A look at our kitchen. There are still a few things that need finished, but we're on our way to a complete house.

Sam's been putting up a fence around our yard. He has just a small area left, but I think it looks really good and Gabby will be happy when she's able to run around outside again. We'll still have to watch her, but the fence will deter her from getting away too quickly.

Sam and James working on the fence out back

Update: Ok, so I started typing this on Saturday and it's now Tuesday. I'm just getting around to posting. We've been so busy with the house that any free time I had was spent emptying boxes or putting things away. I'll be so happy when we have a clean, comfortable home again. We are so blessed though and love our new home. Pictures will follow, but it may be awhile. I don't think they would do it justice at this point. Until next time...