The Best Neighbors

We really lucked out with our new neighbors.  Often neighbors can make or break your living experience here in Germany.  We have had nothing but very nice, sociable, responsible neighbors since moving to Germany.  We have heard complete horror stories from others so we know we are quite lucky. 

The idea of good neighbors is even more important when buying a place. We definitely will not be living anywhere else while we are living in Germany and the neighbor situation was really an afterthought when buying the house.  And boy, did we luck out.  Our neighbors we are closest to (physically and friendship wise) live next door. Our driveways are separated by just a short, wire type fence.  They have a boy a year older than Josie and a girl a year older than Benjamin.  We don't see their son much but when we had first moved in, their daughter would come over and jump on the trampoline with Josie and Josie would go over to play with their two cute little bunnies.  Since all of the Corona stuff we have texted and talked

more across the fence.  We ask each other if we can pick up anything at the store, I have borrowed some German reading books for our kids while we don't have access to our school library and they lent me a large cast iron roaster so I can make my bread.  We haven't done anything really socially with them but I think once things get back to normal we should have them over for a drink or dinner or dessert.
About a week or two into lockdown I asked if she needed anything.  She said she didn't but that her parents needed some tomatoes.  Not thinking a thing of it I picked up a small basket of tomatoes.  When her parents came by for what seems like a daily visit (they live just a couple blocks away) I handed them to her.  They were very

appreciative but I didn't think a thing about it.  Well, on Friday I get a message asking if I have refrigerator space for a special gift.  Her mom made a DELICIOUS cake with whipped cream frosting and a currant type frosting in the middle topped with shaved chocolate.  A Happy Easter, Late moving in, thank you for the tomatoes cake.  WOW!!  SO so nice!!!  Thankful to have such kind and thoughtful neighbors.
The very nice evening ended with some trampoline time for all of us.  Whoop Whoop!!

Dirty Dog

Mogli LOVES wading through this nasty canal by our house.  He chases birds and squirrels and is able to be off leash and really explore.  Up until recently it has been one of our favorite walks with him but he has becoming braver and the water has become nastier and the combo has not been good.  The

past few days we have just hosed him off with water when we have gotten home but then he really was starting to stink.  We bought some sensitive, all natural, puppy shampoo and gave him a warm bath with hot water from the tap mixed with cold hose water.  He actually didn't mind it so much. 

Daily Finds

Every day it seems we find something new about the house.  We bought it back in May 2019.  When we bought it there was a long time renter living in it.  He and his family had lived here for 9 years.  He was EXTREMELY organized and treated his things very well.  We ended up swapping our apartment for the house. Meaning, he didn't want to leave the house mostly because finding something even remotely equivalent in this area is nearly impossible.  But because we were living right around the corner in a very nice, large apartment at the time, the renter decided that our apartment was the best replacement he could find.

So, we swapped.  The move happened over the summer. We moved all of our stuff into storage on the HOTTEST day of the year in Berlin.  It was the day after school got out and the day before we left for our summer in Seattle.  We left a few things in the apartment that the old renter wanted and he left his house - but mostly the garage and downstairs storage areas - full of useful household things that we did not own here because we had never needed them and things the renter would not have space for or need for (yard tools/equipment) due to living in an apartment where the community garden space is maintained by the rental management company.  We knew many of the things that were coming with the house (trampoline, scooters, fire pit, baseball equipment, the big American fridge, tons of wardrobes - German houses and apartments nearly never have built in closets. Our

apartment happened to have them so we needed all new wardrobes but since the renter already owned them and would no longer need them in our apartment he left them in the house. ) Even before the renter moved out we had begun our remodel which continues to this day.  Most of it has been completed and a couple of months ago the construction guys finally cleared out all of their tools and equipment and since then it seems we find another treasure that the renter left.  Now, we aren't sure if these things were the renters or the original owner of the house but many of these things have great value to us. 
The daily find on Wednesday was a entire, small storeroom at the back of the carport which had tiki torches, fuel for the torches, an electric lawn mower and a huge hammock.  The weather was perfect for enjoying all of these new finds. 

Spring Break...Not So Much

I have been sitting outside in the sunshine each
morning enjoying a cup of coffee.  Pretending on
on a vacation somewhere else. 

We were set to have a 10 day German road trip right now.  The week has been perfect weather wise which was one thing I had worried about when we decided to not fly anywhere (south for more warmth and sunshine) and in fact the forecast boast the most perfect weather for a road trip.  High 60's/low 70's in all the cities we had hope to visit. I always put the weather of cities of coming trips on my phone's weather app.  Did you know that most of true happiness is not doing or being in the moment but in the dreaming, hoping and anticipating of something about to happen?  I always have our local weather and Seattle weather set on my phone but still have the cities we were about to visit and had been dreaming of it until just a couple weeks ago. So I just had a look through.  Yep.  All of the cities claim a PERFECT weather forecast for when we were supposed to be there.  Oh, well.  For the first time in my lifetime, my canceled trip and canceled plans coincides with the ENTIRE world's canceled trips and plans.  So we are all in this for a good cause.  No spring break, no restaurant outings and no social get togethers for ANYONE.  The whole situation still blows my mind sometime. 
Likely against popular opinion, there is something about this time of lockdown that I actually enjoy and will sorely miss once things are back to normal.  Granted, I wish it could have come with much less pain around the world and for loved ones that were sick or lost someone during this time.  I cannot even imagine what that nightmare must have been like and it really keeps me awake at night thinking of people dying alone.  But this time of really simple pleasures has been nice and comforting.  The freshly baked bread, the time with very little responsibilities and even fewer expectations.  There is something very beautiful in the quietness of the ENTIRE world. There has never been anything eve remotely like this in my lifetime.  We are pretty much business as usual around our house.  Marty already worked from home.  I hadn't started my two jobs yet... well, not really anyway.  The kids, even though they are annoyed by the school work that they should do are sleeping in and other than the normal occasional fight, enjoying each other.  I don't know, I think I might miss these days once they are gone.. but when will they be gone is the million dollar question. And HOW will they be gone is an even bigger question.  I think like most things I want the "normal" back but do not want to wade through the murky unknown to get back there.  The distance between what we are doing now and any sense of normalcy seems so far off and that time, that coming out time, scares me a bit. 
So Tuesday started off with more of the same.  Nothing really.  I did my big cooking days Monday and Tuesday where I make two large meals and then we alternate those throughout the week.  This time it was Meat Chili and Vegetarian Mexican corn and bean soup based on a recipe from the famed Colophon Cafe in Bellingham (dubbed "favorite soup" by Josie when she was maybe 3 years old because it was her favorite soup) and fresh cornbread for Monday and on Tuesday it was marinara sauce with meatballs and veggie meatballs with lentils and mushrooms as the base.  Normally I throw in one night of Yumm Bowls to mix it up a bit.  Day 2 of Spring Break. Not a road trip but not so bad either. 

Flowers!

With the nice weather and some time on our hands we decided to plant some flowers.  Since the remodel our yard has been a complete mess.  We were just about to start on a huge yard project with a new back patio, fire pit, new fence, etc. etc just when the whole lock down started.  We managed to (hopefully) save the nearly 100 year old rose bushes that we had to dig up before our remodel, transplant in the back in the shade for

the summer - hoping that the construction guys would remember to water them while we were in Seattle and the days were HOT and long and then we planted them back where they belonged in the Fall.  We were thrilled to see new growth on the leaves.  We didn't cover them at night like a lot of our neighbors when the really cold temps hit again last week so hopefully they make it.  But other than some very pruned back and not blossomed yet rose bushes our yard is pretty bare.  Moss grows where grass should and Mogli digs the biggest holes all over the

One solo tulip made it through the construction
work.  It has bloomed already and is now done. I
love tulips but they do not last long. 

yard.  The plan is to build a couple side gates and then only allow him unsupervised in the back yard where he can dig all he wants.  But for now we figured a few perennials might bring some color and life to our front yard.  We found a bunch of pots in the garage.  The old renter left so much stuff here and with all the construction workers stuff in our garage we had no idea what was really in there until they cleared their stuff out.  Lots of pots.  Just what we needed. We rode our bikes to the Home Depot equivalent (Obi) which is about a 10 minute bike ride.  We had to be cautious night to buy too much of anything as we only had our bike baskets and our backpacks. 

We ended up with a 25 pound bag of dirt that I was able to put into a grocery bag sticking up and out and then fold it over a bit to fit in the basket and Marty took the 4 large packs of multiple plants in his basket.  We saw some people biking with the handles of the plant packages hung off their handle bars.  When

there is a will there is a way.  There was a HUGE long line at the front of the store and at first we thought - WAY too many people. But even though it was nearly 10AM and the store normally opens at 7AM they were just opening. So at the strike of 10 the whole mass of people were let in and the place is as big as Home Depot so everyone spread out nicely. 
The kids have been particularly lazy.  Half of me thinks, well who can blame them.  I mean, they can't really go anywhere or do anything and it is Spring break but the other half wants them to get their lazy butts up and help with something, anything around the house.  The flowers were just the thing.  Back in Seattle the kids and Marty would plant our flowers in the pots and around the yard every year on Mother's Day.  It was a nice reminder of more normal times.  They will hopefully spread out and grow big... now it looks a bit bare but the color alone brings me joy.

We even took a walk all together later in the day
with the whole family.  And to top it off there was
no fighting. Yay!!

The day was warm - nearly 70 degrees so the kids started a water fight and barely helped but they were outside and laughing and not plopped on the couch.  So, I'm taking it as a win.

Sunshine and Bread

I probably should just start posting pictures.  Really not a lot happening here these days.  But for the first time since the lockdown began I have an actual title for my post. 
It is definitely classic Spring weather.  It snowed on Tuesday and was nearly 70 degrees by Saturday.  The change in weather was very welcomed.  And despite the one day of snow it has been very sunny, albeit sometimes very cold, since we ended with traditional life over three weeks ago. 

Other than TP being hard to find, baking yeast is also sold out

everywhere.  I have never wanted to make my own bread more than when I found out that there is no yeast ANYWHERE!  I had found flour but now no yeast.  Thankfully I have a friend with connections.  All of these hard to find things they days feels like drug deals when we do a "pick up" this time I walked by my friends 2nd story balcony and she just dropped down the small bags.   I also didn't have the cast iron pan required for baking the bread but by neighbor let me borrow theirs.  I gave her one of the 6 small packets of yeast in exchange.  It feels good to be able to "gift" and be given things that you actually really want and need.  Who knew that would become a pan and a small packet of yeast.  She was thrilled because she was hoping to make their special Easter bread but was sad to have not found yeast yet.  Problem solved for both of us.
I had written to another friend who is a seasoned baker for an easy starter recipe and Viola!!  I made bread!  The first night it was very flat. It tasted delicious with a crunchy outside and soft and tender inside.  There were two recipes and the first one had more water than the second one although the rest of the instructions were the same.  The next day I made another loaf and used the recipe with lesser water and it was PERFECT.  It looked good and it tasted

good.  Success!!!   The recipe - here- with the correct amount of water is SUPER easy and although it does take a long time to do the rise it is only about 10 minutes of hands on time.  So worth the wait!! Even Marty, my bread snob of a husband gave it two thumbs up and ranked it in some of the best breads he has ever eaten. 
The kids had a lot of trampolining, Mogli had a lot of walks.  We ate a lot of good food.  Yep, Groundhogs day. Over and over and over.

Week #3

It is hard to believe that this was the third week of our new normal.  No school, no public transportation, VERY few (about once per week) trips to the grocery store, still "home schooling" with less and less joy and success.  MANY many walks. 
Monday morning, Marty and I needed to swing by the Apoteke (pharmacy) and pick up some allergy meds for Benjamin. Marty said - why don't you duck in there (Aldi - a small grocery store along the way) to see if they have TP.  OK, why not. I doubted that they would.  But lo and behold they had about 20 packs of TP!  I

snagged one and went to pay walking out proudly, swinging my plastic "trophy" by the handle in the package. SCORE!  Then on to the pharmacy.    And that was the excitement for Monday.. Oh and a scrumptious lasagna that simmered all day for dinner.

On Tuesday is snowed.  Probably only the second time all year.  Perfect timing!  The kids took a break and jumped on the trampoline as the big flakes fell down and discussed how likely it was that it would stick. It didn't.  Then they made themselves hot chocolate.  A nice and welcomed break from "home schooling"

Wednesday was more of the same. Nothing really stuck out.  Still A LOT of fights with Benjamin.  He just really does not want to do anything school related.  And we fight because he just sits there for like an hour and writes one or two sentences.  Marty helps with German and I manage (or try without any success) his days. I have tried so many different approaches toward his schooling.  Heavy handed, totally flexible, giving him choice, not giving him choice.  Nothing really works.  Thursday we borrowed my friend, Fionnuala's car to get groceries.  Just Marty and I went this time and I have to say I am getting the grocery shopping with an actual cart and a car down.  The day before I had asked friends that live nearby if they needed anything from the

TP and wine delivery!

store.  They said if we could find TP they could use some.  Often there is a sign if there is even TP in stock saying that you are only allowed one roll per customer.  Thankfully I had already found TP earlier in the week so when I found it on Thursday I could buy it for them.  Then while in route with the goods I said that we were going to the "drink store"  It reminds me of the good old Pop Shoppe Pop of the 80's.  It is a store with just drinks.  Beer, water (regular and sparkling) wine, juices, flavored syrups, etc.  It is called Getranke Hoffman.  We really like (glass) bottled sparkling water and in normal times I can fit a 6 container glass bottles of sparkling water in my bike basket. 

Shortly after the snowy day and for nearly 95% of our
staying at home the days have been bright and sunny,
albeit a bit cold. First fire of the season. 

You pay a deposit (pfand) for the bottles and the container so when we are finished we just bike the empty bottles back in the container and exchange.  Anyway, I told our friends that wanted TP that we were going to the drink store to see if they wanted anything.  Buying drinks without a car is a total pain due to their weight.  They asked for 3 bottles of red and 3 of white.  SO happy to help out.  We know what it is like to try to stock up on liquids without a car.

The kid LOVES fires. 

Friday was the end of the 3rd week of "homeschooling" and also the beginning of our 2 week spring break.  The schooling from home has been my very least favorite part of this.  Not being with my children.  Just trying to get them to do some school work.  And really this only applies to Benjamin because Josie has managed her time and her homework like a champ.  But "teaching" Benjamin has been the hardest bit of parenting or teaching I have ever done and if I could have quit I would have which is saying a lot because I never quit. 

By Friday it was short sleeved weather again.
Benjamin found a magnifying glass and started
a fire using it and then read in front of it for hours. 

We were supposed to be going on a 10 day road trip around mostly Germany (touching into France, Luxembourg, Switzerland and possibly Austria) clearly that wasn't going to be happening with hotels and restaurants all closed.  But Spring Break will at least bring a bit of different to these days where everything is pretty much the same.  Benjamin still has some work to catch up that he didn't finish but I think I will give us both a week off before I bring it up.  Spring Break 2020...lamest one yet!!