I love to sit out and admire my handiwork

What a glorious day today. The sun is shining and the garden is really coming along. We had the deluge a couple of days ago, which wasn't good for our Summer picnic but great for watering everything.

Anyways wanted to keep you up to date with one of my pet projects.

My garden.

Spousal Unit, that manly man I married, tilling the soil for me. He tills so good.

Here is the garden now. I have grass mulch on the tomatoes and peppers. The tomatoes are getting huge. The peppers not so much. But....I have two banana peppers that are almost ready to pick.

My lettuce, iceberg and red leaf. I have never grown lettuce before. I don't know why but haven't. Those little green things in the foreground are my bush beans.


This is supposed to be iceberg lettuce. It is starting to form a head. I tried some of the outer leaves and the texture is different than the iceberg I know. Very flavorful though

Here is my other garden. I have yet another variety of tomato in a pot here. It is a German balcony tomato I am trying as an experiment. I also have my flowers here. I love to sit out and admire my handiwork. While the Spousal Unit bar-b-ques of course.

More stream of consciousness stuff:

Spousal Unit came home today. He is really tired and didn't sleep on the flight over. Because I am the wonderful, considerate "She Who" I let him take a nap and woke him up 2 1/2 hours later. I really am considerate, in that if I let him sleep, he would not be able to adjust to the time change for several days.

After I woke him we went to base for recycling and a grocery run. He wants steaks tomorrow and I will marinate them overnight.

On the way home we checked out a couple of restaurant's menus to see were we would go for dinner.

One came very highly recommended. It had a limited, if non-existent menu. I think that the high recommendation was either beer or wine induced.

The other is next to the Ohmbachsee. We stopped by last week to preview their menu. It looked good. This is where we went for dinner.

The salad was awesome. Notice that there is nothing left on Spousal Unit's plate. He slurped down the dressing when the waitress wasn't looking. That is not at all my Spousal Unit's type of behaviour. I attribute this behaviour to the jet lag.

Nectar of the Gods. Wine. I have rediscovered wine. Dry, "Sahara Desert" dry. It is hard to find here in Germany, but really good when found.

Spousal Unit is a beer man. Good Weisen beer. He likes the wheat beer and tonight he chose a dark wheat. He said that it was really different, but good. He ordered two tonight.

I love taking pictures of "the man" enjoying himself. The dinner was not the best we have had, but far from the worst. The salads were excellent. The atmosphere was great.

We probably won't come here to eat again, but will come for the welcoming we received and the friendliness of the other patrons.

Priceless

I have shoes to trip over in unexpected places.

I have more dishes to wash.

One exhausted son, attempting to get over jetlag.

Another exhausted son, also trying to get over jetlag.


Priceless.

My Boys Landed In Frankfurt

I just got a phone call. My boys landed in Frankfurt and are on their way here. I had been really worried that their flight would be cancelled or delayed because of the news of the latest round of winter storms stranding travelers in the Midwest.

My Christmas has just begun.

Suzy Homemaker

From Dictionary.com

Main Entry: Suzy Homemaker
Part of Speech: n
Definition: a housewife who manages a household, esp. with enthusiasm; also, the sterotype of any woman who chooses a traditional female role
Etymology: from a doll of the 1960s

Hello All,

Today was really busy for me. I had my day all planned out.

Lets see.... I did all the laundry, dusted the furniture, cleaned the baths, straightened the downstairs, re-started organizing the 2nd floor, met with the rolladen repairman, volunteered for the Wounded Warrior dinner, did the dishes and made myself a turkey club sandwich for lunch.

I am now waiting for the butter to soften so I can make cookies, and will also make cinnamon ornaments.

How is your day going?

Love,

Suzy ("She Who" Homemaker)

For Your Viewing Pleasure...Curtains

Being a pack rat is sometimes a good thing. I have stored these curtains for the past 16 years never thinking I would ever use them, but now I am.

Lace curtains allow you to see out and not have all the neighbors see into the house. They afford privacy during the day. In Germany you see lace on just about every window.

I went around the house measuring all the windows and found that all the old curtains were use able in this house. Hurray for me I saved some money.

I had been here for a little over a week, with my newly passed my driver's license, when I went out exploring and drove to Kaiserslautern (Largest/closest city in the area) to purchase curtain rods. They are the standard cafe rods with the adhesive stick to the window rod holder.

I came home with my newly purchased rods and put the curtains into the laundry. The best way to prepare lace is to wash it and hang immediately while still damp. No wrinkles that way.


The front door.

The bedroom. I was really clever on this window. I didn't have a pen to mark the tape measure and didn't feel like going downstairs to get one, so I used my eyeliner pencil to mark the measure to get the curtains at the same height. My eyes didn't like it the next morning though.

The kitchen side window.

The kitchen front window.


Oh yeah. My upstairs hallway. Can you say I wasn't happy the next morning? OR the following morning? (NOTE: The rolladens I mentioned in a much earlier post are down for the night.)

For your viewing pleasure. Yet another view.

I Look Forward To More Coffee Mornings And Munchkins

I went for coffee yesterday morning. I met a gal online, in a group that I joined several months ago.

Remember when I was going through my "Give My Stuff Away" phase? Well, I did another Yahoo Groups search and found a large group of people reaching out to each other at this base.

I gleaned all sorts of information from this group and didn't feel so lonely, lost when I got here because of them.

I knew where to go to get my nails done. My only vice. Yeah right.

I knew about the online yard sales site. I bought some used fans, no air conditioning here, and a used chest freezer last week.

Really decent prices on thoses items. So I can get my nails done. Really, I'm not kidding, my only vice.

Anyway, this gal sells Partylite stuff and I kinda, sorta invited myself to the party she was having. I wanted to go, to get some STUFF, but more importantly to meet some people. Well, Spousal Unit and I got all involved in putting the house together that afternoon/evening and by the time I realized what time it was, it was too late to attend. Spousal Unit is like that.

Well, the gal e-mailed me back and we met for coffee yesterday. She is in the next town/village over and she is adorable. Really young, but adorable. I also got to meet her upstairs neighbor and their collective, several munchkins. I have two new coffee friends.

I kinda miss munchkins being around. Though the visual of the one mom talking about sucking her son's snot was a doozie. I know, I promised not to blog about it, but I just couldn't pass that one up.

I look forward to more coffee mornings and munchkins. I've decided I can be the favorite "Aunt She Who" for awhile.

I Really Love This Place

The view from my third floor. We have our workout room up here along with the "office" and our romper room. Does that age me or what????

Our computers are on this floor and I come up here every morning to check e-mail and catch up with the news. Papers don't get delivered this far away from the base so, feeling news deprived, I hop online to find out what is going on in the world.

This is what I gazed at this morning. I love this place.

I really love this place.

Spousal Unit is gone for two weeks and I still love this place.

PS. I went shopping today. Tee Hee.

What's Left To Do?

I've been working on the house recently. It is starting to come together. Spousal Unit gave me 30 days to use him as my "Beast of Burden." That means that for 30 days I can move things about, or I should say that I can direct him to move things about.

We recently purchased the TV stand and put it together. It fits the wall space and I get my sofa table back.


The kitchen still needs a little work. Being so small little is the key word. Luckily Spousal Unit took OK pictures on his initial visit so I was able to judge what to bring. Actually I judged what to bring on all his pictures and he also provided measurements for the rooms and other areas.

The living area is adjacent to the kitchen. This is the largest area. It is supposed to be the dining area but go figure. My sofa and love seat wouldn't fit in the supposed area so I just flipped them. I found a small table and chairs that I put under the window (Upper left in the picture) so we have no excuse to eat on the coffee table every night. He did last night just so he can show me who's boss. Yeah right.

Below is the dining area, because I said so. It fits the furniture and we can play music without leaving our seat. That would be if the stereo worked. Looking for a new sound system in the near future.

All in all I am very pleased with the accomplishments we have made. The house is really coming together.

Until you get to the third floor. Oops! That photo is supposed to be in the before shots. Anyway I am not in too much of a hurry to get everything done. I guess I figure if I get the house done too fast what's left to do? SHOP?????

Supposedly - Maybe I Can Get Some Sort of Life

The house is supposedly rented as of today.

I haven't heard from the property manager, so I guess everything went well.

I called Son #1 and yelled and screamed at him 'cause he promised to do things that were not done. He called me back, after receiving the message, at 9:30 am, to tell me that he was on the way over to accomplish some of the tasks.

Wow. Great.

Now he is getting in the zone and we are out of time. At least he is cleaning the pool and it will look sparkly for the new tenants.

It is now ten of seven in the evening and I haven't heard from the property management company or the new tenants.

Maybe this is a good thing, maybe I can relax.

Maybe I can get some sort of life.

Two Down - None To Go

I leased my house yesterday.

Felt really tired the the day before. Son Number One called my cell phone at two in the morning. He was locked out of the house and needed in. I got out of bed to answer the phone and let him in the house.

The problem was I couldn't get back to sleep, so I gave up the ghost, and stayed up. I decided to call in sick again. I am so naughty recently. I determined that there were lots of errands and chores that could be accomplished in my sleep deprived state that needed to be done and work was not one of them.

I went to the property management company to deliver the photos of the house because my connection to the Internet has been shaky at best recently. I also got another sign for the end of the lane. The company put a sign on the property near the house but unless someone knew to look for the house, drivers wouldn't see the that the house was for rent.

Late in the afternoon I was outside the house taking a break with the boys when a car pulled up the lane. A lady got out and said that they were doing a drive by so that they could view the house the next day.

I asked her if she wanted to take a quick peek now. When she realized I was the owner and not the cleaning lady she agreed to take a look.

An hour and a half later the whole family was drooling and asked what they needed to do to sign the lease. I called the property management company and put them on the phone. They went to the management office and filled out the rental application. I got a call later that night and was told they qualified. They signed the lease the yesterday.

I passed the reinspection for the occupancy permit today. They move in next Thursday. My cleaning and painting saga are coming to an end. The house looks really good and I can get a life again.

Carpets and Shane

Today was a day of ups and downs.

The carpet cleaner came this morning and Rita, the gal who cleans for me, let them in. Rita is also the carpet guy's mom so I assume that they had coffee together as they surveyed the damage.

Have I ever mentioned that my sons are slobs?

I am replacing all the carpeting in the lower level because they trashed the carpeting. I have sworn that after they left, I would gut the whole area and call the fire department to have them hose everything out. I have come very close to that prediction.

Well, after surveying the damage to the rugs, the carpet guy called me at work. He said that he had good news and bad news.

In my family this is never a good statement. (As an aside, I say that to the Spousal Unit and hope he wants the good news first. Good news is, "Sweetness, I really, really love you. Let's chat about the bad news at a later time.")

The good news is that the upstairs carpets are OK. The bad news was that the main floor carpets have a wear pattern that carpet guy didn't think he could get out.

I said, "Shane, please try, I am out of money. I have you budgeted for cleaning but none for replacement. Just do your best."

The rest of the day I spent worrying and researching. Worrying about which orifice I could possibly pull the nonexistent money out of to pay for new carpeting and researching where I could find carpeting that could be purchased and laid in a very timely manner.

I didn't come up with many options.

This evening I passed up a very needed night out with some of my coworkers to go check out the carpeting.

Shane is once again "THE MAN." There was one mysterious spot that he couldn't get out. I didn't think he would be able to get that one, but it is not too bad.

The rest of the carpeting is glorious.

After The Rain

Lately we have been having major storms. Tornado warnings with funnel clouds sited in nearby areas. We take shelter and do all the right things as far as the storms are concerned.

A couple of days ago we had storms again.

One day of lovely weather and then pounding rain with hail and tornado warnings the next.

Let's get back to normal St. Louis Summer weather..... HOT, HOT, and more HOT. Throw in a little 100% humidity. I'm fine.

After this storm, I went out and took pictures.

The rose bush, by the side of the walk, cried in the storm and left this behind.

Woo Hoo - One Down - One To GO

Last night I signed a lease. I am ecstatic. The new tenants wanted a long term lease.

I am stressed to the max about getting my house ready for renters and then the other foot fell.

My old tenants gave me a 3 day notice and said that the deposit would suffice for the 30 day notice rent. NOT. I have no way to contact them at this time so everything may be a moot point.

They left a cord of wood in the garage so I need to get a termite inspection.

They didn't clean the house or the carpeting or have the fireplaces cleaned or inspected so I get to do all this on my dime.

I am not a slum lord so I will do all that needs to be done to get the house rentable.

I advertised the house prior to having all the tasks done and started showing the house. My Murphy's law luck of course kicked in.

The ceiling downstairs is now being repaired from the toilet overflowing and at this time, for once, I am on task to have everything accomplished in a timely manner.

There was one couple that saw beyond the needed repair and asked to be considered. They gave me a deposit and the credit check money and went home and waited. Their references and credit check came back good. I like them even more, the second time I met with them. A really nice family that just needs more room.

And, they want to stay long term. They signed a 4 year lease, just to stay in the same neighborhood.

Crazy Days

I'll post an update tonight. We are in the last throes of the move and I need to go for now.

For a Married Woman, My Social Calendar Is Really Filling Up. With Guys.

Spousal Unit is leaving next Tuesday. On the way to the airport, we will drop off the car for shipment, and then continue to the gate. I get to kiss him goodbye and then see him in the middle of October.

For a married woman, my social calendar is really filling up. With guys.

The floor guy is coming at 7:30 this evening. His son is in an after school activity and will come after that is over.

The counter top guy came Friday night and retook all the measurements and created the templates. I fed his son. We chatted about recent events while clearing off the counters to make the templates. He will be back to install the counter top in a week or so.

The rug guy is coming in two weeks. He is the son of my cleaning lady and the best around.

The fill-in-the-hole-next-to-the-driveway guy will be here when the ground dries out enough.

I still need to contact the paint-the-house guy. I'm scared about contacting him. We have a lot of walls.

The install-the-new-shutters, install-the-new doors, and seal-the-new-tile-floor guy will come when I call.

I hope Spousal Unit is OK with all this.

Can You See Me Crying??

My house is labeled.

The labels denote Storage, Ship, or N/A. The N/A label means we can't take it with us or can't store it. Lots of our STUFF falls into the N/A category. Premium olive oil, sambol olek, sherry vinegar.

Can you see me crying??

That is also one of the reasons we had a drink our booze night(s).

No booze ships.

We are arranging the house by shipping or storage.

To save time with the packers we have done a scurry, scurry to put the rooms in "order" by the take or store determination.

This room is a storage room.

It was my library, that is going away for awhile.

I am sad.


This is my living room. It is also going away.

The new house has a family room/dining room combo and will not fit everything.

The furniture is not meant to sit on every day, so we aren't taking it.

I decided to put the linens that we aren't taking on the sofa. They are piled high.

I am a linen freak.



These are most of the linens that we are taking.

Two sets of towels, two sets of sheets for each bed. Blankets, feather comforters, and that's about all.

The cedar chest will double as a coffee table in the studio/attic.






Spousal Unit's favorite chair is in the closet.

It is a yucky yellow velvet, from the 70's, but so, so comfy. It is down filled. I also love this chair.

By creating ship or storage rooms we needed to get a little creative.

I only hope the chair comes out of the closet soon.

We're Getting a Little Crazy Here

These are the last few days and we are really getting serious about the move.

Son #1 informed me that he was going to the Cards game today and that he had already spoken to his beloved father. If I needed him to do anything, it would need to be in the next few minutes, because he was leaving in an hour.

You ask, how many levels of ballistic did I go???

He didn't understand my incoherent shrieks and luckily Spousal Unit arrived on the scene. What he didn't tell his beloved father was that it was a noon game. Beloved father thought it was a night game.

Son #1 did not attend the game today. Son #1 ended up calling one of his friends, who came over to assist in moving the furniture, that we need to put in temporary storage, for him to move back to school this fall.

Son # 2 arrived on the scene and started moving furniture. He, unfortunately had to go to work early in the afternoon. His room is now void of furniture, but the STUFF remains. I had to ask Spousal Unit what it was like. I still won't check his room. I'd have a coronary.

I have all the figurines and collectibles boxed up. I have all the artwork/wall stuff inventoried. My baskets and salt glaze pottery are set aside.

The linens that we are taking are packed and in the blanket chest and cedar chest.

My goal tomorrow is to have all rooms, set aside, as totally storage or shipping. This allows for less direction we must give to the packers.

Monday night, after work, I guess the last thing to do is inventory all my undies and socks.

Happy Mother's Day to Me

We sorta held a drink our booze night last night. Most, many, of my co-workers were out of town, so they didn't attend.

Eldest son invited some of his friends and they obliged and drank some of the stuff.

I woke up at 3:30 am and came out for a glass of water. The ice was gone. I guess Margarettas needed to be frozen and they used all the ice.

At least I was properly clothed when I came out. I tend to sleep walk. Major, embarrassing moments in the past.

I woke up because the wind was so strong, that the doors were rattling and with the window open, the trees were making sounds that were so loud, that I couldn't sleep.

A little after I went back to bed, we lost power.

This may have been a blessing in disguise. I got a lot accomplished today.

I have been avoiding some of the stuff that needs to be done. I've been just too overwhelmeed to function. I went through the house and cleared out the FreeCycle, Recycle stuff, but I really needed to figure what I would take to Germany stuff.

Sometimes nature figures out what is best.

Anyway, power has now been restored, and I can put out a blog.

If this is the least that happens on Mother's Day, I'll take it.

Petunias, Toilets, Spousal Unit, and Germany Update... Sorta

Spousal Unit, bless his little heart, is going through his clothes closet.

The gal that was here recently to do our pre-move inspection, casually remarked that he had more clothes than I have. That is so true, because I have gotten together with my girl friends and cleaned out the stuff. They take what they want and I FreeCycle the rest.

Spousal Unit is starting to feel the pressure. He is leaving tomorrow, to go back to Germany. When he returns, he will have two weeks before he's outta here. So, he is cleaning out his closet and deciding what to keep and what to FreeCycle.

Lord knows, I love the man, but he should have started doing some of this stuff weeks, months ago. He needs a girl friend. NOT, in that way, but I hope you know what I mean.

We can barely get into the bedroom because all his stuff is on the floor or the bed and he is only half done.

I am almost to the point that I am either going to drop everything off at Goodwill or order a roll-off dumpster to just be done with it all. If you know me, these actions are totally, not me.

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A couple of readers suggested that I plant the petunias, as I mentioned last night in the toilet. Now, normally I would think that is an excellent idea.

True, I could only do so if the toilet was in the back yard.

One does not have a petunia, planted toilet on one's front porch. So Gauche.

I also need to reinstall the toilet in the "Powder Room" after the new tile floor is grouted.

Jim is THE man.

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Guess what? Spousal Unit is going back to Germany. We get to have some more fun with his emails. Let's hope that this time, he sends pictures, and takes measurements of the rooms in the houses.

The buffaloes were cute, but those type of pictures don't give me any information on what I need to bring.