Double-Half
or One Ten without ham

When I came from work yesterday I was freezing. And... changed from skirt into jeans, buhuuuu.
Mondays we nearly always walk to the city, but today I had no excuse anymore.
I´d packed my bag yesterday and went to the gym today.

Well, well, let´s see if I make it out of bed tomorrow.

After two months of sweet doin´ nothing (was too hot), I went to my full normal programm. No "soft" start, the full programm.
I did this on purpose, too. To see how fit or unfit I am.
To feel which muscles I train.

Means I have no right to complain or whine tomorrow! ;-)

Bet I won´t make it to the gym tomorrow, but I pack anyways.

And hope that summer comes back once more...

Sarah tagged me on this one - I love memes like that, they help me focus on the good things in life (and be less sad that summer seems to be over...).

1. Being with Ingo. We have so much in common, he´s so creative, he´s my soulmate :-)

2. Being healthy (yeah how lame, I know).

3. Living in this city (ok, I try to stop being so darn boring, but this is a phantastic town, really. Full of friendly people, nice places... and just our home).

4. Seing my Brother having a happy little family now - we´ve been through hard times (well, he´s been, I tried to help - with success, it seems).

5. Summer!

6. Riding the bike/moped with Ingo. Since I have that good bike, it´s just so much fun!

7. Reading a good book/watching Fringe/EUReKA/Supernatural...

8. My job and most of my colleagues (again, lame, I know. But I had a real bad job once with bad colleagues, it made me/my stomach sick).

9. Pizza! ;-) Ok, good food.

10. Holidaying!

I´d added Road Trips and the beach, too, but that would a) be more than 10 and b) is not fun in Germany...

Now, which ten things make you happy, Flea, MissyBoo and Barbara?

We printed out and signed the "notice of cancelation" for this apartment - tomorrow, before strolling to the city to have a sub, we´ll hand it over, have this and the copy signed. And then....
No one will control our rubbish (this is the case now). You park your car 4 cm over the line? The housewife will tell her husband you´re coming back RIGHT NOW and he´ll tell you NO!
We signed and then... I needed a 24-year-old-chick from Canada to explain to me that the first apartment you have together is something very special and that´s ok to miss it. Even if it´s not good *.



After being together for so long, huh, we´re like beginners!

So. The real thing will start.
Tomorrow.
I´ll miss this place.
But I look forward to a new chapter of our life, too.

Whew, time for Ingo to turn on the stove to make some yummy food (and - I do not lie!!!! - I got the first three words and Ingo came out of his place saying, "well, gotta start making dinner!" How weird is my life??? :-)...)

OMG, we leave this place! We head on.

*Friendship made in Cuba this year

Ingo just sent me this. Kinda frightening.

This was in June 2006.

This is now, end August:



This one slowly shows it´s face:




Ok, I started late this time. But... we had such a hot summer, I thought they´d catch up...

Phew, just back from a Birthday Party - yummiest food!

I just wonder... the Birthday-"Girl" and her Husband were just running around to serve their guests (even though it was buffet) - where was the fun for them?

I wonder, too... will people expect us to throw a party when we move into our OWN apartment?
Guess, so, huh?
But... It´ll be cold, November, and we´ll have but 84m²!

Well, first let´s move in, right?
Or rather... first: Let´s sign in front of the notary! ;-)

I am not a person who is mad at someone forever.

I throw a fit and 30 minutes later all is good - with the people I love.

He is different and breaks my heart right now. Like... it hurts. I feel treated unfair, unloved and I just don´t understand.

I asked for being good (!!!!).

No one is perfect, neither him, but it seems he thinks so.
No idea if this is the right place, but my heart hurts, feels like bursting.

How can you throw a person away. Someone who asks you seriously/jokingly/whatever ways to let it be ok and be good, have fun, have love?

I´d need somebody to lean on.

See, my life is that boring atm, I can only talk bout our weird weather - but this year is one to remember... again, third time "to go through" (must give the pic some sense, huh?).



This was/is one of the weirdest weather-periods I can remember.
The hardest winter I went through - being really aware of it, that is!

In 1972 it was so cold, the water pipes in my Dad´s shop/house froze.
It was like really, really cold, -20C or even less, the overhead contact lines froze and German armed forces had to rescue people from the trains, had to deliver food to people in villages and all (this is what Ingo told me - I was just a Newborn).

In 1977, I went to school and the snow put to the side of the streets (to clear the footpaths) was that high, I could hear the passing by cars, but not see them.
People put socks over their shoes, so they didn´t slip that easily on the ice. I remember my Dad rushing... "rushing" to my school, helping me getting home.

Hmm.... my parents had not such a good hand of when setting their kids in the world, huh? (1977 my Bro was born... in October, though ;-)...)

Not fun!

This was fun, though, Cuba this year, fooling around:



So, this year... So.Much.Snow.
And for so darn, darn long! It´s really no fun if you have to drive 60km each working day! First you have to scratch the car free from snow and ice and then drive very, very, very carefully. Ups, no! First, get the car out of your parking space without damage.
Did I hate it!
Couldn´t use the bike anymore, had to do everything on foot. And that was like walking through sand, phew. Not fun. Time-consuming, too.

And summer? Where was summer? It was too cold too long - and then summer came - BANG!

Too hot to do anything!
Our push-bikes... gah, forget it, like driving through an oven.
We didn´t even once ride our Moped...



Either way too hot - or... rainy.

Now we had so much rain the last days. The other day, news said this was the rain of 10 days we got on one.
17C today... mind you, August is the hottest month (ok, it´s nearly over, huh?).

I just so much do hope that weather gets back to normal.

Please not such a winter again!!!!

There were several Tornadoes in Germany, can you believe this???? How frightening is that?
Not in our area, but in Germany. In Europe.
Let´s not talk about Global Warming - weather is recorded now for about 150 years only.

Let´s see what time brings... uhh, doesn´t that sound like being old?



Well, no, this is not a pic too old. This was Mexico, a few years ago... Ingo, the Thinker :-)
I just tried to make it appear being an old pic found in some trunk...

Is your weather weird this year, too?

... and her proud Daddy, my "little" Bro:



And with her Granny, our Mum:



Yes, Bro took pics of everyone who held is Daughter, but with his professional cam, you see the reason in these pics, right?

Seesh, at first I was like really uncomfy - after all, her Father was the only Baby I had held before - and he was a bit older than she is.

She didn´t move, sleeping happily.
So I could get used to holding her.
She stretched a bit, but it was an easy job.
Guess after a while she pooped, but at age 4 Days it doesn´t smell that bad, right?

Amazing, those little, yet perfect fingers!!!

Her Mum is well, all is good.

They decided they won´t use titles like "Auntie" and "Uncle", I´m ok with that.

Yep, little Mia, born August 21st, 11:something (37, I think) p.m.

... And Our Sexy, Funny (Innovative?) Town

Last Sat we went to the Street Festival in our area-to-be.
Met the new Neighbours, The "old" Owners, had rounds of Beer, good music - and for the first time in my life I won something!!!

Really! Ingo bought these:



Ok, it was just "crap" like an Air-Guitar, a bag, a memo pad, a kid´s cap... but it was for a good purpose - and it was the first time in my entire life I won something!




Bands were playing, and look at the house, how beautiful (this is not ours, certainly):



Monday on our walk to the city, our Monday-ritual, yey aren´t these workers sexy?




(In case your brain works like Ingo´s... the helmet, I refer with this video below to the helmet and half-naked guys and fun, the pride and the rest is up to you, k?)



Sadly I couldn´t get the version I wanted, forbitten here...

Last not least, a rubbish-bin - you have to turn the volume up, it makes a sound when you throw something in - to motivate people to use them more often:

My last day off was Ingo´s only day off - finally summer came back! So we hopped into the car (the beautiful one) and went to Zoo Hannover. Finally!!

One of the new worlds was Outback Australia, which the pic obviously shows.
They even knew that Foster´s is not really the Aussie-stuff, well done, Emu it is in this case.



Never, never go without H20, reminds me of Mataranka :-)



The Oodnadatta-Track, oh, yes, we did it!
I have a real special memory on this one...

In Oodnadatta it was my turn to fill up the car. The Lady from the Pink Roadhouse asked where we´re going, which route we take.
"Oh, can you deliver these batteries to Alison? So she doesn´t need to wait for the postman..."
I got them in a brown paperbag and went to Alison´s Homestead, some 100 km from Oodnadatta.
When I turned in there, I heared a dog barking. Ok, Ingo had to go alone, I´m really afraid of dogs!
Funny was the sign in the middle of nowhere: "No Jehova´s Witnesses" - must have happened, huh?
Ingo came back after a while, I drove on some 20 km and found a place for the night. Next morning I started the car (we kept it like that: First person drives morning. After lunch we change driver - that driver finds the place for the night. And drives the next morning, so the other has to find a place for the night, just fair, huh?)
So, I start the car and uh-ohhh... Battery-sign was on! 340 km to go - or return to Alison - which we did.

It was classic - her husbund just started off in his little airplane the moment we came in!

Alison was willing to let us reload the battery on her car. Over 40C. And this takes a while.

Ingo talked me into leaving the car...

Remember? Dog!!!! Dog came over with a stick in mouth. To me!!! Ahhhhhh, help!!!!
No one helped and Dog stepped on my feet!
So I took the stick and "played" with the Dog forever. In over 40C. At some point it wasn´t clear if it was blood or just drool with the red dirt... ewwww.

In the end Alison called Oodnadatta Roadhouse, the mechanic advised us to take a huge hammer and give the bullbar a huge hit - was just the red dirt, car wasn´t getting any air.
Just to play safe we went back to Oodnadatta and he had a look, but all was ok.
Drove past Alison, found a place for the night, got outta car, pffffft. Yeah, a flat one.
Heck, we only wanted to visit Chambers Pillar. But didn´t, was I happy to hit the bitumen road! Found a place for the night and then...

Then Ingo told me the dog I "played" with was a fighting-dog, UUUUaaaahhhhh (but an untroubled one).

Yes, so much for William CK/Ooodnadatta!

This is what we did, too:



On to Africa,/The (free) boat-tour:




In Perth Zoo I only saw a picture of the giraffe, here I saw the real thing:



Coming from the Lion-City, I had to take a pic of him:



Coming from the Lion-City, Braunschweig, going to old enemy Hannover, we made sure to wear the proper T-Shirts, ha!



Next station: Canada! Also brand-new.







It was all very well done, here are even waves!



Last stop: India!





Certainly they also have primates and all - cam was dying, had to choose wisely - and everybody knows how they look like anyways, right?

Niece: Still not there.

What do you think?
The above (see the Lion to the right?) will probably come as real poster in the new apartment :-)

or ... I Am Slow (but I´m On Holiday)



Yeah, on holiday, as is Da Nico! "My" Pizza-shop in my Hometown, where I wanted to get a Ten Without Ham.

Hence, I had to do something, right?

Way back in January, I found Bugs Bunny aka Crazzy Pizza.
It´s cool. You can order online at anytime and say, deliver it at 6pm.

I ordered a Flintstone-Pizza (#6) and since you have to have at least 7€, I added Pizza-Rolls, Cheese&Ham.



Flintstone in German is "Feuerstein" and Feuer is HOT.

6pm (or was it 5:58?) the door-bell rang and there was my Pizza.
Great!

Dangerous thing, I tell ya - it´s YUM! As are the rolls! It was 8,60, I gave 10, Pizza-Boy and I were happy and I have 3 meals :-)

Me - holidaying on the balcony after having 2 little rolls :-)



Yes, T-Shirt says "Löwenstadt", Lion-City, my town :-)

Uhhhh, I got my hair really short on Tuesday!!! Gah! Grow, grow, grow, hair!

Niece was due yesterday. Still waiting.

Cool, huh?
Rather Hot!

Discreet, too, I love it :-)
Thanks again, Red Dirt Mummy!

Wish I had the money/time/someone invented beaming.
For the real thing.

When I came home after that bad day yesterday, I got a supergreat surprise, one that makes me wash the car :-)



Thank you Red Dirt Mummy, the car-sticker and also the rest arrived! :-)

Did I mention that I hate those automatical washing-bays? Guess will have to "force" Ingo through it and then my car will look much better - with that sticker, I mean!! :-)

I go over to my Mum´s Place to sort out my Dad´s clothes so Bro+Family can have the wardrobe.

One day before the Little One is due.

Dad´d so loved to be part of this (Baby).
Cancer, I hate you.

So I was at my family´s place today.
To throw all my Father´s clothes away (to the Red Cross), so Bro can have the wardrobe.
I feel sad, kinda.
Mum was like, away, away with it all.

In one of his jackets I found two 10-Mark billets. Yes, it´s that long ago...

For lunch we went to a Chinese Restaurant.
They were sloooow, won´t go there again. Service, umm, what for?
The way to it was ok, but the way back... we had to stop every 5 meters cause Mum was out of breath.
There were posters announcing good prices for new houses, the next upcoming festival ... it took her forever to get the messages.
When Niece is born we really need to meet the counselor on dementia... it was frightening. Only moments, but they add up.

At least, wo-hoot, I found this:



Bro is working on my ring!!! Maybe he makes it till Christmas? Ok, kinda mean, but he wanted to have this as a Birthday-Pressie. That would´ve been in January...

Niece is due tomorrow, Bro is a mental wreck....

Oh. And Da Nico is on holiday - no Ten Without Ham :-(

Uhhh, boy-oh-boy. my mind won´t let go!

Just to make a statement: Germans are dumb. In general.

They build houses for 4 lifetimes (at least) - the Hunnen might come, our houses will withstand.

Gahhhh. Our generation(s) don´t want this anymore!!!
Make it cheap, make it for one generation, k?

Well, anyhows, we have to live with this: Apartments/Houses are really expensive (and last forever-and ever...).

Now.
Ingo is 7 years older than I am. Heck, what a thrill for him, huh???
Men die younger than women do, in general - pressure!!!

Will you dare dying before I do!!!! NO!

So... as a consequence I don´t have so much money.
Who pays how much for the new apartment???
Let´s put it down to:

Ingo: 70%
Iris: 30 % (wohooo, surprise, huh?)

Guess who gets the big(gest) room?

Right.

Me.

That man loves me, huh?


Oh, my... we´ll be owners!!!
In Germany.. this is something special. For people like Ingo and me.

But lets not talk about politics...

This must all be about love, huh?

Happy me!!!!

Weirdo-me, three posts on one day.
And my mind is still working it out.
Owners. Us! Wopee!

I´m quite good at that, what do you think?

... or: Where Are We?

Our Monday-Ritual (since ending that darn weekend-relationship and starting real life) is: Walk into the City, go to Subway and have a Footlong, on Sodhexo.

When we came to Kohlmarkt we saw a real cool "ad":



This little garden is made by a tree nursery (not that it really worked - don´t remember the name, sorry guys, cool idea, mission no success!).

When you turn around you see this building with that beautiful sun - cam could capture it. The real sun is on holiday, just like me :-(



Right beside that you find:



Yes, Braunschweig has a Starbucks, too. Not only one, hey, we´re cool, right?
Are you in for a little tour?

This is the Katzenbrunnen, cat-fountain:



Certainly we also have Pizza Hut. Sadly different taste that I knew/like...



Maybe it´s a good thing it´s not as tasty, I seldom go there. Ok. I was there once.

Pizza-Hut, Starbucks, ok, those are names.

But then I started wondering... where are we?
Let me show you and keep in mind that this is Braunschweig, Germany.



Nope, no wood, you get clothes here.


Same here, clothes:



Please... take a step back, will ya?



Umm, no, wait, come on in! This is German. Backen, to bake. Cakes and pastries is what you get here.
Confused?

Right beside that you find this ad:



Just an ad from a photo-studio.

Don´t be confused. They didn´t forget the "s" - you get clothes and toys only - no fresh food, "people"!:




Some more German Shops:



It even says "sale"...

The Phone House? The Store? Aha.... um... just why?



Oh, right:



"Haar-Express" sounds too boring, right?

Off-topic: Our Brunonia:



We´re still to climb up there (hello, sun? Where are you?)

Back to topic:



This man just makes this pic, huh?

But maybe we´re in Hanoi?




Or Italy?




Oh, come on, step aside a bit, huh?




Guess where you find Saturn, in Space? No, in




the basement.
Hello? Basement??? Im Basement???
Im = in the. Argh!
Is that cool, did I miss something? Right, I´m getting old!
This is also why I nearly made a big jump at Saturn when I suddenly met this guy:



As mentioned before, Mondays we have a sub. Just why is the sign in English? Why is everything else in German there?



Surprisingly, though, I never saw someone smoking a cigarette in there. Or something else.
Theory I: People speak English.
Theory II: People assume that since smoking inside restaurants in Germany is not allowed, they should not do it in there either.
No idea which is the right one... Any guesses?

Off-topic: Our Main-Theatre:




Have been there once, with Team-Leader/Friend. Didn´t like it, the person behind me kept breathing in my neck, uahhh....
Anyone willing to go there with Ingo? He wants to, I don´t. For a reason, huh?

Last bite for today:



Ok, I admit: I´m a freakin`ole babbitt.

But what do you think, isn´t it kinda weird they give their German Shops English names with no reason?
And, mind you.... in many of those shops you´d have a problem if English is your only language.

But! What the heck!!!

We own an apartment in this beautiful town! Soon! Like hopefully this week for very, very real (we still need to see the notary).

Any German-named shops for no reason in your place?
Are you a babbitt, too?