Excitement Abounds!

Well. No, not really. But I have managed to finally get around to gutting the living room and re-arranging the furniture, and tomorrow we will be replacing the unit that the TV and electrical stuff stands upon. We've been looking for the perfect replacement for a couple of years now. Not too wide and not too tall. The present incumbent is about a metre and a half high by about 160 centimetres wide. The replacement is maybe five centimetres wider and about the same height, with drawers and cupboards where DVDs and CDs can be squirreled away. This is great, because at the moment thetop of the piano and of a small cupboard are covered with CD holders and piled-up CDs, and we ran out of room on the DVD unit (nigh on 2 metres tall, big enough to have two rows of DVDs on each shelf) years ago. 

D also bought me a new bookcase, as my existing one (which will hopefully be rebuilt either later today or tomorrow) is overloaded. Or would have been overloaded when rebuilt! I am quite looking forward to getting some of my books unpacked...I may and go do that in a little while.

I've also found out that German courses start at the local college next month, and I have to go along next Tuesday evening to find out which level of course I need to go on. Apparently they will administer a test and that will sort out which class I need to take. Probably a series of classes, in all honesty, as I'd like to get my German up to as near fluent as I can. Hopefully though I can start looking for work by about Easter - if not before! I've had a look at some job sites, but most office work round here requires a decent level of German, and I can get by when I go shopping and that's really about it at the moment. Not really good enough!

We've had some snow of late, too, much to the delight of the resident felines. Loki  - being a Norwegian Forest cat - is supposed to be built for snowy weather. He was Not Amused, as this photo should illustrate!

So What Have I Been Doing?

Obviously I didn't do nothing between the end of September last year and the second of January this.

Well, there was finishing work. Then there was packing (I'd made a start, but not as much of a start as I'd thought). Then I flew out to Germany for a week or so and we drove back over in a hired van and spent a further ten days packing up my flat and cleaning it up as best we could. D hurt his back and I came down with a filthy cold, so we didn't actually finish till we were all but driving to Hull to catch the ferry. I had to leave a few things behind, but hopefully they will still be there later when I go to pick them up, which will probably be this summer some time.

We got back to Germany on 28 October, and most of my stuff is now either in the dining area or in the second spare bedroom. We've managed to just about finish decorating that room now, although there are still some bits of trim still to finish off and I have to paint the woodwork. The bookcase is going to be sanded, stained and reconstructed, with some added strengthening bits and new castors. 

I had the opportunity in November to spend a couple of weeks in Ullapool at my brother's. We only had a couple of days together though, as the purpose of my visit was to cover for him and his wife while they were in Norway. So, I had almost two weeks of working in the shop every day, something I haven't actually done in years. Not sure I've ever worked the whole day from opening to closing, or at least I hadn't before this last trip. It was actually quite good fun!

I also got to spend time with H's kids, who are now 17 and 16. I remember when they were babies - hard to believe they're both about to finish school and one is off to University to become a primary school teacher. 

The most difficult part was keeping quiet as to why they were off to Norway. It did cause quite a lot of gossip, mainly because Norway in November isn't exactly the sort of warm, exotic place you imagine jetting off to for your first holiday together in a good three years. 

Fortunately I had the presence of mind to ask whether H's kids knew why they were going. No, they had no idea. They still have no idea, and won't till probably the beginning of February. 

Apart from that, I've just been decorating and cleaning and tidying, and enjoying a quiet Christmas and New Year!

Happy New Year!

Well, here we are - year, what, three of this blog? I think it is, anyway. Or possibly four. Yes, it is - year four! Who'd a thunk it, eh?

This time last year, I was metaphorically shitting bricks about the reception I would get when I returned to work (quite rightly too, as I discovered). Now? Now the future is stretching ahead of me into some degree of uncertainty. I need to register myself here in Germany, register my car, get myself on a German language course and look at getting a job of some kind. Even a 'Wollen Sie pommes mitzu?' sort of a job would do...

There is much decorating and cleaning of the house yet to be done. That will occupy a lot of my time. At some point this year, I will hopefully become an Aunt. Whether to one baby or two is yet to be ascertained. The next scan date is January 13, so let's just cross everything and hope for the weaker of the two blobs.

Insomnia has not helped me settle life down into some sort of rhythm, but I am going to try and sort that out now that things are moving in terms of getting upstairs sorted out. Tidy up, de-clutter, create space. Space is important. 

Anyway, I only came here to see if I could find an answer for Fimb regarding archiving an old blog and starting again using the same blog!