but I'm sure it looked hilarious!

Our landlord will be arriving in 15 minutes with a painter to look around our current house and make a list of rooms that will need to be painted before the next tenants can move in. It looks like a bomb has gone off in here. *AND* due to a combination of procrastination and spectacularly bad planning I've only just noticed that our vacuum cleaner is at the other house. So I just vacuumed our whole downstairs floor with a dustbuster.

Man, I can't wait until this transition phase is behind us!

Actually I had two shots of vodka just before I came in!

I had my standard biennial physical this week. My doctor checked my blood, respiration and circulation and then led me into an examination room where she did an ultrasound check of my major organs just to make sure that everything was still where it should be. (It was.)

I was watching the screen, following along with her when she said:

"Aha. There's your gall bladder. You must be sober."

I stifled a laugh. "Am I sober? Um, yeah, it's 11am!"

And it was only then that I realized that the German word for "sober" (nüchtern) also means that you have an empty stomach. :-D

Quick update

Haven't written in a while and am realizing that all kinds of things are going on that aren't being recorded here! So here's a list, not necessarily in chronological order or order of importance.

1. Thought the cat was at death's door, but it turns out that she's fine. Thank goodness, but worrying about her probably shortened *my* life.
2. We bought the house, have organized for contractors to put a door into one wall and move the door on another. I've painted one wall in S's room and have schlepped over more boxes than I care to remember. Official moving date is set for April 6th.
3. B stepped wrong coming down the stairs and has sprained his ankle. It was surprisingly hard to find crutches that were the right size for him. He didn't seem to mind all the attention he got the first day he used them but quickly decided that they're way too much effort and is champing at the bit wanting to heal up and get off of them. Might last another week.
4. M is in Moscow on business this week and keeps sending me pictures of our old haunts- on the one hand I'm thrilled for him and on the other I'm positively green with jealousy.
5. Went down today and registered B for middle school for next year! How on earth is this possible?!
6. Yesterday a bully knocked S down, ripped off his good boots and threw them 5 stories down a stairwell. They're totally trashed. I was livid! Called him up and went ballistic over the telephone like a Howler straight out of Harry Potter. Afterward I felt totally ashamed and totally satisfied all at the same time... :-P
7. We were hoping to find someone to take over our current house from May 1st in order to avoid paying an extra month of double rent. The real estate agent called me yesterday to say she's found someone and they're happy to move in already in the middle of April! AWESOME!

I'm sure there's more, but I'm so fried at this moment that nothing is coming to mind. More later...

A quick trip down the rabbit hole.

I was just hiking in the woods when suddenly a herd of cross-dressers thundered past! They were a group of older men with enviably perky boobs, flowing wigs and lacy socks peeking out above their jogging shoes. They waved merrily as they passed and I returned their greeting, slightly dumbfounded.

It was only a few seconds later as a second group passed me, this time dressed up as clowns, that it hit me: Fasching. The running club obviously decided to spice up their training today.

Crazy German Carnival is sure keeping my life interesting this week!

OMG, are you OK?

B got home before me this afternoon. When I arrived he opened the door. He was deathly pale with dark rings under his eyes and a little bit of dried blood at the corner of his mouth.

It took me several horrified seconds before I realized that his class had a Fasching (Carnival) party at school today and he'd dressed himself up as a vampire...