1. _I woke at_ 6:58.
2. It was the reason, of course, _due to jet-lag_.
3. _Staying up all night long_ is something I no longer feel the need to do.
4. I have another errand to run, then _I’ll be able to sit back and relax for a while_.
5. _Love is everywhere_…just go find it
6. What were once vices _are now virtues_.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to _a quiet dinner with Hubby_, tomorrow my plans include _catching up with house work_ and Sunday, I want to _enjoy my furkids and husband_!
I woke up this morning early, very early, again. I felt bright eyed, so I got up and walked the dogs, made coffee and answered some email. You know those people who ask what time of day is your best time of day? This morning I would have answered “morning”, although I have really never been a morning person.
I digress.
I made breakfast, cleaned up the kitchen, and finished netting the cherry tree by putting a skirt along the bottom. I came in, kissed Hubby good-bye, and then, while talking on the phone with my sister, swept the bathroom and kitchen, washed both floors and took the throw rugs down to the basement to wash.
Late morning found me washing shelves in the bath and kitchen and then actually stopping long enough to make my lunch. A lovely salad. Yes, I was being super productive and seemed to have endless energy.
Until I finished my lunch, and then I slowly started to feel woozy!
My brain felt like it was stuffed with wool, and I felt chilled, despite the warm and humid temperatures.
I kicked off my shoes and took my blanket and lay down on the sofa with Anneliese, Arnie and Greta, who were all a little concerned about this uncharacteristic behavior, and all jumped to my side to nurse me.
I fell instantly asleep, a deep, heavy sleep and stayed this way for over an hour before waking with an aching head, and feeling even more tired than I did before.
COFFEE!!!
I made myself a strong cup, splashed some water on my face and tried to wake up. As the coffee warmed me, and I shook the cobwebs from my head, I realized that I had hit the wall! The Jet-lag wall. This was bad, but then good too.
You see, now that I have hit the wall, I should wake up on Thursday in my own time zone, functioning at my usual lazy level. Not too awake and not too sleepy either.
So it’s back to my life here in New Hampshire. Back to meetings, and dogs, and husbands that must be fed proper meals.
Tuesday I was officially initiated into my Altrusa Club. Altrusa is a great way to give back to your community and there are a wonderful group of women here in town that I will be working with. I’d started several months back to apply and tonight was the ceremony. It was so special and made me feel very much wanted and needed as an important part of our community.
Here we are being initiated. It was such a lovely ceremony, full of care and love.
With my sponsor, Vickie. She has been so supportive of my desire not only to join Altrusa, but to run for Library Trustee.
I arrived home rather late and found Hubby had enjoyed some of the Beef Burgundy that I prepared for him. He said it was very good. It definitely smelled like it!
Anneliese is still going to sleep very early at night. Either she is pregnant and feeling exhausted by it, or she has very bad “doggy jet lag”.
I planted a few extra squash plants today that I had been growing as backups in the green house. Now everything is planted.
We have just one last skirting to tie onto the smaller cherry tree. I think next year we will have to get new netting and figure out another way to net those trees. It has really been a challenge to net them this year!
It was an amazingly beautiful day here today! 74 degrees, bright sunshine and a gentle breeze! It reminded me why I love New England summers!
This was my first normal day home. By this I mean, I slept until almost 6 AM, ate normal meals, and even was able to help Hubby net the cherry tree in our yard. Netting the tree proved to be a bit more of a challenge than we anticipated, but after 2 hours the tree is netted and the cherries are safe from those rotten little birds!
I made salads for lunch for the two of us and then Hubby went off to work and I sat down and had a sinking spell. Oh how I felt like sleeping!
However, I decided to just stick it out and stay awake. I made some nice tea and sat with the dogs and sipped it. Eventually I got my second wind, and went off to get the mail and some groceries.
Our town is currently overrun with motorcycles as this is motorcycle week here in New Hampshire. What this means is that we have unbelievable traffic in town and getting from one place to the next can be a real challenge.
I’d finished my shopping when I began to pull out of the parking lot, and a woman turned around and started wagging her finger at me telling me to slow down! This was almost funny because the car was going perhaps 2 miles an hour!
I came home and worked to make Hubby a really nice meal for dinner. One of his favorites. Meatloaf, mashed potatoes and brussel sprouts! I also made a fruit salad for dessert.
Anneliese is already in bed, and I am not long behind her. It’s a little funny when a dog is also experiencing jet lag!
I started Saturday saying good-bye to my dearest Uschi, and her husband, Volker!
The trip home was definitely eventful. I got a good seat out of Berlin, and I reconnected with a pretty woman who works as the security check person at the Berlin Airport. She was working again and remembered Anneliese and me from last year. Anyway I chatted with her while I waited and then was boarded before most of the other passengers onto the flight in Business Class. This was great because I had a chance to settle Anneliese before the other passengers came on board.
I settled into my seat, and once we were airborne, I put my feet up and used pillows to prop them up more, so that they could rest. It did not do much good, as my feet and legs swelled more and more and by the time I reached JFK in New York I could hardly walk.
I made it through Customs okay, (they did spend a lot of time going through Anneliese’s documents, I think because her coloring stated her as: wild-boar!) and then I tried to get to the earlier flight to Boston but missed it by 5 minutes!
I called Hubby and we were busy trying to decide what to do, when I learned that my regular flight from JFK (set to depart at 7 pm) to Boston was delayed due to a mechanical problem. So we decided I should take a taxi cab to LaGuadia Airport across town and fly up on the shuttle. So, off I went to get a cab.
Luckily I got a good cab driver this time, and I made it over to the other airport quickly. Anneliese and I checked in and also got good seats up to Boston. The weather was rainy and the flight a bit bumpy, but we arrived 2 hours earlier than I would have with the JFK flight. When we landed I asked if the JFK flight was still delayed. They told me then that the flight had been canceled! How lucky I was to go over to LaGuadia and get the shuttle flight to Boston!
Hubby picked us up in the cold rain and brought us home. Oh how wonderful it is to be home.
We arrived home about 9:45 pm and we had a light supper. Emily arrived for the night and we visited with her until 11 PM and then we all went to bed. I slept well, although I woke with painful feet and had to walk around the bedroom a while and use the heating pad on my feet for a while. But mostly I slept well, and didn’t fully wake until 5:45 this morning, so I think I am getting on schedule.
My garden did pretty well in my absence, but I will need to do some work on it tomorrow. My pea plants need to have string, strung and I want to plant some extra squash in the garden as a few plants are not thriving the way I’d like.
Emily left us at 11 AM Sunday morning.
The rest of the day I caught up on the laundry and cooked a few meals for Hubby. It was a nice, relaxing day. A very good recovery day!
Today it has been 25 years since my car accident. 25 years since my daughter Katie passed from this world. Yet, in so many ways it is like she was just with me yesterday.
It’s an odd feeling, you know. To have someone you love so very much taken from you so early in their life. It is a difficult thing. For many years I fought with myself because, despite the fact that Katie had passed, I had somehow managed to go on.
Many people said that they would never be able to live if they lost their child. That statement simply cut me to the bone in the early days. I truly wondered if I had done something wrong in having survived at all.
I struggled and wept. I isolated myself and truly was tortured by the horror of that day. I prayed for a miracle. I begged for a miracle and none came.
Or maybe it did. You see. Eventually I began to allow my faith to comfort me. When I was able to do that, I was able to let go and leave Katie to rest in peace.
Katie was a wonderful little girl. She had a mostly cheery disposition, loved her mother, father, sister and life. She was kind, and gentle and thoughtful in ways one doesn’t expect a six year old to be.
She had a great sense of humor, a good imagination, and not too much got her down.
Yes, it has been twenty-five years since my little girl left me and today I am grieving. I did not get to watch her grow up. I didn’t get to see her go on her first date, to her prom, or graduate from High School. There will be no college, or wedding, and I will never hold her baby in my arms.
However, I have said it before and I will believe it until the day that I go to meet the good Lord above, Love Never Dies!
So rest in peace my dearest daughter. One day we will be reunited and the time we will share will be endless.
Today was the last day for me in Berlin. We took the S-Bahn into Potsdamer Platz and enjoyed the afternoon. My feet were aching before we even opened the door to leave, so we knew that a lot of walking was not in order. Some, yes, but a lot, no.
We started fairly late, so when we arrived we went right to lunch. Volker and I both had wonderful Wiener Schnitzel,
and Uschi had Zander, a type of Pike Fish.
It was all very delicious, and we enjoyed the wonderful meal! However after that Uschi and I insisted we walk to burn off all the calories. I’m afraid I would have had to walk to the USA and back to burn up all the calories I consumed, but I did mention a hasty return to Weight Watchers on Wednesday.
Me with a Lego giraffe!
Uschi and I with our Healthy strawberry Sundays!
Volker with his berry delight treat!
We walked around Potsdamer Platz shopping area, and I got several cute camisole tops and a few presents for people back home. We even stopped for the requisite gelato and fruit!
I love Berlin!
Soon my feet were really barking at me so we decided to head home. We got here just before dinner time and once we got the dogs settled, we went over to our friend, Sybille’s house for “girls night”. Oh what fun it was to enjoy some time with just the girls! Thank you again, Sybille!
We arrived home and I finished my packing, walked Anneliese, and now I am preparing for bed. After all, tomorrow I get up very early, fly all day long, and get home very late! I will be awake nearly 24 hours upon my arrival.
Okay, I know I have pretty ugly feet. I accepted this long ago. With feet, there is not much you can do about it either. Just cover them up and hope that no one asks to see them, and that your partner doesn’t break off the relationship when he or she does!
Why am I bringing up feet right now, when all my thoughts should be surrounding Anneliese and our trip to Germany?
I woke up yesterday morning with “Shrek Feet”!
See the similarities?
It has been unmercifully hot here in Berlin. Last night when I went to bed it was nearly 90 degrees just in my room and not much cooler outside! So, yesterday morning when I woke up and my two feet looked like meatloaves, I was more than a little concerned.
I decided I needed water. I drank and drank, but noticed that the liquid was just staying put. Uschi and I went to the Apotheke and spoke to the Pharmacist who gave me an all natural fluid pill. Eventually I should get rid of the fluid. (and so far they seem to be working)
We came back home, I drank a ton of liquid and took my pill. Then we both sat with our feet up and watched TV.
Even Anneliese came out for a while. Uschi’s dog Noah, went outside under the sprinkler, so until he dried off, he was kept out of the house. Anneliese didn’t mind that at all!
In fact on this trip, Anneliese has made herself right at home. She loves her Uncle Volker and her Auntie Uschi, and considers their furniture, her furniture!
Yesterday we also went to a discount shoe store and bought a pair of sandals for the trip home. I still cannot get my puffy feet into my shoes, so velcro sandals to the rescue!
On my last day here, we are going in to Potsdamer Platz. It is a wonderful area to shop around, and most of it is well shaded. I am taking Uschi and Volker out for a meal today and Potsdmer Platz has many nice restaurants there. If Uschi’s and my feet hold up, we may walk around the Tiergarten and enjoy the sights. If our feet give out, we will have Volker drive us back home.
It is hard to believe that my time in Berlin is at an end. I so enjoy spending time with Uschi and her family, and going to the beautiful places in this country! Germany will always be my second home!
1. Cool water_ feels great.
2. The solution is always stay true to yourself_.
3. _Sometimes I can’t fall asleep.
4. How about _just a little more vacation.
5. _Gelato is something I highly recommend!
6. Imagine _lots of dackel puppies_.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to _my last night talking with Uschi, tomorrow my plans include _flying to JFK and then Boston and then seeing Hubby, Fritz, Greta and Arnie!_ and Sunday, I want to _recover from my travels_!
It’s a lovely and warm spring day here in Berlin. Anneliese and I arrived on Thursday at about 9:15 AM. She was an absolute angel on the planes, but I do have to tell you about a real jerk that we encountered in New York City.
We were forced to fly into LaGuardia Airport from Boston, as our original flight became overly full at the very last moment. This found me running from one gate to the next, clutching Anneliese and catching that flight, along with several other employees. We all agreed to share a taxi from LaGuardia to JFK Airport on the other side of the city.
Well, it was very hot, 87 degrees (F) and humid. When we all got into the taxi, the air conditioner was blowing lovely cold air. I could feel Anneliese panting heavily so I unzipped her bag and let her head pop out, so she could breath.
Well, the moron cab driver announced that “I do not run air conditioning for a DOG!”. We were all incensed and we did not tip the jerk. The ride was long, hot and by the time we reached Kennedy Airport, we were all dripping messes! I was angry and felt bad that the other 3 people were forced to suffer.
When I got to the gate for the Berlin flight, I noticed my name was not on the passenger cleared or the passenger stand-by list. I went to the counter and found out that a mistake had been made in Boston, but the nice man assured me that I would get a nice seat, and I did.
Business Class was not completely full and this was wonderful. It meant I did not have to share my area with any one but Anneliese, and that I could also enjoy conversation with the all male Stewards for the flight. They were all the best, and a pleasure to speak with.
The ride was bumpy and I had to get up a few times to visit the ladies room even thought the seat belt sign was on. However we made it in one piece and early to boot! All good things.
Uschi’s husband too me out to lunch along with their daughter. We had Chinese food! It’s very different here, from what we get in the USA. Perhaps a bit hotter.
When Uschi arrived home from work, we hugged and hugged and talked and talked. We even took a walk, which felt very fine indeed.
Since I have not slept at all in the last two days, I plan a nice early bedtime with Anneliese, and then I hope to hit the ground running in the morning.
Meanwhile, here is a picture of Uschi’s handsome dog, Noah!
