So Many Things, So Little Time...
We have been crazily busy for the last week, thus the light posting.
First: Merry Christmas to all of my friends and family (or rather, the 12 friends and family who can read this blog now, sigh)! I hope that you are all having a wonderful, happy Christmas and a safe one too. Sounds like the weather outside (in Minnesota) is frightful! Be careful everyone.
It looked like we were going to have a white Christmas in Stuttgart, but no dice. It snowed quite a bit earlier in the week and then it warmed up and rained, so we're having a brown, muddy Christmas.
Makes for pleasant moving when you have people tramping in and out and in and out of your old apartment and your new apartment with muddy, salt-covered shoes. The Germans are absolutely NUTS when it comes to laying down the salt. The sidewalks are crunchy, they lay it on so dang thick!
Anyway, about the move: the shortest Navy move ever. I think Hans figured that this is my ninth move in seven years of marriage, if you count moving from Mankato to St. Paul. So to say that I have moving down to a fine art is an understatement. I am a packing/moving/unpacking machine. We've slept in this apartment since Tuesday night and all I have to do is hang curtains and I'm done. For a year. Hopefully...who knows when the Navy will drop another surprise on us!
The apartment is good. It's just down the street from the old place, so all week we were driving back and forth, back and forth with truckloads of boxes. On Tuesday, Hans had a bunch of guys from work come over and move all the big stuff (we rented a big van for that). So we've been sleeping in this apartment since Tuesday. It is a little bigger in some areas, like the living room, and a little smaller in some areas, like the master bedroom. Seriously, I dare not eat because if my hips get even an inch wider, I won't be able to pass between the end of our bed and the wall. It's our cozy little loooooove nest.
There are still a few things left at the old place and I still have to clean the kitchen. Tomorrow we'll clean out the storage cage in the basement and transfer all of that junk to our new building and that will be that.
Annika and I went shopping at IKEA yesterday. I thought it would be crowded, but it was actually very empty, which was nice. I got brave and went up to customer service to ask if they would take our VAT form...and they were very nice and said yes. Germans are taxed 19% (!!!) on purchases, and as US citizens, we're entitled to get out of paying that, but certain places accept it and certain places don't. Aren't you proud of me Jen? I got 40 Euro back!
Annika played in the play area the entire time, so I got to shop all on my own. I bought two new bookcases for our ever-growing collection of books (and to replace one of our old ones that has absolutely been trashed through multiple moves). I bought all kinds of things for Will's new bedroom: sheets, a quilt, a mobile, little fabric boxes to hold his diapers, wall stickers. It is too cute. I bought a beautiful crib for him from our local "eBay" type website...a gorgeous cherry-colored sleigh crib. Got a great deal on it...I'm seriously thrilled with it. Today, Hans put it together, I decorated and now Will's asleep in his basket in the crib. I think the crib felt a little like living in Rhode Island and suddenly living in Texas. We'll ease into the transition...
I think I will miss him tonight, sleeping in his basket next to me...
All right, I have to go hang some curtains. Frohe Weinachten!
First: Merry Christmas to all of my friends and family (or rather, the 12 friends and family who can read this blog now, sigh)! I hope that you are all having a wonderful, happy Christmas and a safe one too. Sounds like the weather outside (in Minnesota) is frightful! Be careful everyone.
It looked like we were going to have a white Christmas in Stuttgart, but no dice. It snowed quite a bit earlier in the week and then it warmed up and rained, so we're having a brown, muddy Christmas.
Makes for pleasant moving when you have people tramping in and out and in and out of your old apartment and your new apartment with muddy, salt-covered shoes. The Germans are absolutely NUTS when it comes to laying down the salt. The sidewalks are crunchy, they lay it on so dang thick!
Anyway, about the move: the shortest Navy move ever. I think Hans figured that this is my ninth move in seven years of marriage, if you count moving from Mankato to St. Paul. So to say that I have moving down to a fine art is an understatement. I am a packing/moving/unpacking machine. We've slept in this apartment since Tuesday night and all I have to do is hang curtains and I'm done. For a year. Hopefully...who knows when the Navy will drop another surprise on us!
The apartment is good. It's just down the street from the old place, so all week we were driving back and forth, back and forth with truckloads of boxes. On Tuesday, Hans had a bunch of guys from work come over and move all the big stuff (we rented a big van for that). So we've been sleeping in this apartment since Tuesday. It is a little bigger in some areas, like the living room, and a little smaller in some areas, like the master bedroom. Seriously, I dare not eat because if my hips get even an inch wider, I won't be able to pass between the end of our bed and the wall. It's our cozy little loooooove nest.
There are still a few things left at the old place and I still have to clean the kitchen. Tomorrow we'll clean out the storage cage in the basement and transfer all of that junk to our new building and that will be that.
Annika and I went shopping at IKEA yesterday. I thought it would be crowded, but it was actually very empty, which was nice. I got brave and went up to customer service to ask if they would take our VAT form...and they were very nice and said yes. Germans are taxed 19% (!!!) on purchases, and as US citizens, we're entitled to get out of paying that, but certain places accept it and certain places don't. Aren't you proud of me Jen? I got 40 Euro back!
Annika played in the play area the entire time, so I got to shop all on my own. I bought two new bookcases for our ever-growing collection of books (and to replace one of our old ones that has absolutely been trashed through multiple moves). I bought all kinds of things for Will's new bedroom: sheets, a quilt, a mobile, little fabric boxes to hold his diapers, wall stickers. It is too cute. I bought a beautiful crib for him from our local "eBay" type website...a gorgeous cherry-colored sleigh crib. Got a great deal on it...I'm seriously thrilled with it. Today, Hans put it together, I decorated and now Will's asleep in his basket in the crib. I think the crib felt a little like living in Rhode Island and suddenly living in Texas. We'll ease into the transition...
I think I will miss him tonight, sleeping in his basket next to me...
All right, I have to go hang some curtains. Frohe Weinachten!
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