Although we had somewhat decent weather over the weekend, Bill and I decided to stay home and take care of a few chores. Or, actually, Bill did chores, and I made anti-Trump song parodies based on old songs by Blondie.

On Friday of this week, our old mattress, along with a freezer Bill bought from a former co-worker in Stuttgart, and a few other odds and ends, will be picked up and hauled somewhere. Since the freezer is tall, cumbersome, and heavy, Bill decided to disassemble the freezer as much as possible. He took off the door, and removed the drawers.

He also went out to buy more dog food, and while he was out, acquired a couple of large plastic bins. He put our Christmas stuff into the bins, and cleared out more junk that needs to be discarded or donated. Our basement looks a lot better now, and I look forward to having the space that will be made once we get rid of the freezer, which hasn’t worked since 2019.

Back in 2017, when we still lived near Stuttgart, I had suggested to Bill that maybe we should buy a stand alone freezer. That was because the house we lived in only had a tiny “dorm sized” fridge, with no freezer space to speak of. That fridge also barely worked, and though the landlady had presumably provided it, she accused us of DUMPING it on her when we moved out, and stealing our own fridge, which I purchased when we moved into that house. Anyway, instead of buying a new freezer, Bill decided to help out his buddy, an enthusiastic hunter, who was moving back to the States. He bought one of the three freezers the guy was unloading.

I was actually against that idea, since in my experience, used appliances don’t always work so well in the long run. We could also afford to get a new freezer, and I would have chosen a smaller freezer, in any case. But anyway, that freezer worked for a couple of years. It was a lot bigger than what we needed. And then, in 2019, it stopped functioning. It’s been taking up space in our basement ever since.

Aside from cleaning up the basement and dismantling the freezer, Bill also made homemade tomato sauce for pasta, which we’ll probably have tonight, and he brewed another batch of beer. It always amazes me how domestic my husband is, especially considering his background, and the fact that he actually has a wife who stays home. Some of the tomatoes were supplied by our landlord, who brought them over yesterday morning, while I was sitting on the toilet. It took me a moment to get to the door, and he was afraid he’d gotten me out of bed! Not quite! We also have a lot of cherry tomatoes from Bill’s gardening efforts over the summer.

Not surprisingly, the weather has gotten a lot cooler. That new air conditioner we bought last week is now becoming a lot less necessary, although we still use it at night, if only because the noise makes it easier to sleep. The new mattress is also an enormous improvement, although I’m finding that we need to break it in. Or maybe I need to get a new topper for it. Maybe next time Bill schedules a bulk trash pick up, we’ll get rid of the topper, along with the old sun umbrella in our garage, and maybe the air conditioner we replaced.

Bill also worked on lining up interviews for the C.G. Jung Institute. He has to go to Switzerland and have in person interviews with three analysts before he can complete the application process. Lining up the appointments hasn’t been easy, as two of the analysts are in Zürich, and one is in Lausanne. But he’s planning an overnight trip to Lausanne next week. Then, in October, he will travel to Zürich again for the other two appointments, as the analysts there have offices within walking distance of each other. I may go with him on the trip to Zürich, since it might also give me a chance to see Dr. Blair in Stuttgart and get my teeth cleaned. Bill has to pay for the interviews in Switzerland. But he’s so excited and interested in the program, that he’s willing to jump through the hoops.

The featured photo is of the rose bush in the backyard. It has a few blossoms. It’s been known to produce flowers until December, but this year, I think it will go dormant early. Our neighbor’s apple tree, which usually dumps apples all over the yard, is also pretty sparse in fruit production this year. That’s okay with me, since the apples that fall in the yard are usually eaten up by worms and such. There is no doubt about it, though… autumn is rapidly approaching.

Every German house we’ve lived in has had at least one rose bush– and they’ve all been different colors! Our first house had pink ones; second house had yellow ones; and here, we have red roses. The red ones are my favorites. I think this house might be my favorite, too, which makes sense, since it’s also the most expensive of the three!

This isn’t the most exciting post, I know… but on a more interesting note, Bill and I are going to Budapest, Hungary on September 7th, and we’ll be there until the 13th. So the travel blog will be waking up again soon.