Tag Archives: dishwasher

Hessen, Sundays

A photo dump for the first week of April…

Bill has been in Norway all week, and I’ve been left to my own devices here in Germany. I’ve been keeping busy with random chores, making song parodies, and watching lots of YouTube videos, while I ponder and worry about the future. Nevertheless, I can’t deny that we had some beautiful weather this week. The temperatures are up; the sun is out; and I’ve been fighting the urge to drink wine on the terrace. This week, my liver has gotten a much needed break from booze.

I did take a few pictures this week, to show our lovely little town erupting into spring. Yesterday, I noticed they put up the Easter display in our Dorfplatz, just like they do every year. I may not be German, but I sure do enjoy living here. It’s nice and quiet, predictable, and civilized.

Charlie strikes a pose. He sure looks happy!
Easter is here!

I wish I had more to report. When Bill goes away, I just kind of hunker down and get through things. I did go to the Rewe yesterday to get some groceries. I had a big brainfart while standing in line. Everybody seemed to want to check out at the same time, and the lady in front of me wanted cigarettes, which required the cashier to fetch them.

When she brought them to the register, I guess they either weren’t what she wanted or were too expensive. So then the cashier had to take them back. Meanwhile, my blood sugar was in the toilet and I was getting irritable. I counted out some money, but didn’t realize that I had mistakenly counted a five euro bill as a twenty euro bill.

And the lady in front of me said something in German, so much to my shame, I blurted out “I’m American.”

She came back in perfect English with, “I hope you aren’t in a hurry.” (or something along those lines)…

By the time she left, I was all flustered, and the cashier was telling me that I needed to give her more money. Fortunately, I noticed the shortage and gave her the twenty I had originally meant to give her. And then, on the way out of the Rewe, which is about a ten minute walk from my house, but I had the car, there was a huge group of people on bikes to navigate.

The only other significant thing that happened this week is that the dogs got much needed dentals done. That was no big deal, except for when I needed to find a parking spot. Our vet has little parking, and everybody seemed to be collecting their pets at the same time. After I paid the 1100 euro ($1400) bill for Noyzi and Charlie, I took them home. Today also happens to be the fifth anniversary of the day I saw Noyzi’s photo for the first time and fell in love with him. It took about six months to bring him home from Kosovo.

Oh… and today, I learned how to refill the salt in our dishwasher. That was quite a life skill. Seriously, Bill always handles that task, so I didn’t know. I had to guess that was why the dishwasher wouldn’t run. Below is a helpful video for those who are similarly questioning:

Let’s hear it for doing it yourself…

This week should be even more tranquil… although given what’s going on in US politics, maybe not. Ah well. Bill will be home on Saturday, and he’s taking the following Monday off. So maybe there will be something new to report then. As for today, I’m probably just going to hang out in the house…

I guess this post turned out to be more than I thought it would be.

Standard
housekeeping tips

A new era in German laundry… ;)

Exactly 24 hours ago as I write this, the Amazon delivery guys showed up with my new Siemens washer and dryer. It took about ten minutes for them to take them to the basement and hook them up, then pick up our old appliances and haul them away.

I did one small load yesterday, just to see how big the learning curve is. The dryer is a condenser version, which is a new thing for me. All you have to do with a condenser dryer is plug it in. I had balked at getting one, because I heard so many people complaining about them. However they do offer an advantage for people who live in places where they can’t access a window or dryer vent. We have a vent in this house, but for some reason, I couldn’t find a dryer with a vent system.

The first load went okay, although I’m going to have to get used to dryer cycles. The new machines are not WiFi enabled, which really surprised me. They also don’t have signals that tell you when the loads are done. However, they do have timers that show how much longer the cycle is. I love that. I discovered that if I’d gone one level higher and spent another 500 euros or so, I could have gotten WiFi capability. Maybe it’s not such a bad thing that I can’t hook them into our “smart” system. That’s one less thing to break.

Today, I’m washing the sheets, complete with Calgon tabs. We’ll see how that goes. Maybe next week, I’ll do the duvet covers, in honor of the onset of fall weather, which will be here before we know it. This summer has been pretty mild… (knock on wood).

I’m old enough to remember when vaguely racist Calgon ads ran on TV. We always used Calgon in the bathtub (Calgon, take me away!), but it turns out it’s pretty good for fighting kalk (limescale and chalk deposits) and softening the very hard German water.

Ancient Chinese secret, huh? They sure don’t make ads like this anymore, do they? 😀
This is how I used Calgon.

In other news… We bought a new TV the other day, and while we were at AAFES, I managed to get a picture of the Dutch cheese vending machine. It only takes credit cards, but it offers delights such as baby Gouda, jalapeno cheese, and garlic cheese, among other enticing varieties. It’s too bad I don’t love cheese the way Bill does. Seriously, I wish I were a cheese fan. I like it melted and mild, but I can’t just grab a hunk of it and chow down. I actually know someone who strongly resembles the Dutch lady on the side of the machine.

Shopping by vending machine sure is exciting. It is interesting to see the vast array of products offered by vending machine here in Europe. I’ve seen everything from wine to fresh meat to lentils, in addition to the usual chips, candy, and soda.

I know this is a dull posting. I just wanted to update on our laundry situation, since I’ve done it so many times before. Laundry is important. Trust me… when you first move to Germany and are living in a hotel, or some other place that doesn’t have laundry facilities, you very quickly find out how much you want and NEED a good washer and dryer. Or, at least a place to hang your laundry so it dries properly and doesn’t get sour.

As I write this, I realize I vented (see what I did there) about laundry etiquette on my original OH Blogspot blog. I think I’ll repost that rant on this blog because, why not?

Anyway… I’m grateful to have my new machines. Amazon.de’s delivery service was excellent. I’ve got no complaints. Maybe I wish I’d taken a few more minutes to make a choice that would have included WiFi enabled machines, but it doesn’t matter enough to me to return the machines and get different ones. I’ve never had a WiFi enabled washer and dryer before, anyway, so it’s not like I’m missing something I once had. And as of this morning, they’re fully paid for, so there is that. 😉

I did at least get the landlord’s Siemens dishwasher added to our smart network…

Standard
anecdotes, Baden-Württemberg, Hessen, housekeeping tips

A pretty dull week…

It’s been seven days since my last post on this blog. I haven’t written because I haven’t had too much to write about this week. We had extremely cold weather last week. It lasted until Monday, when the snow we got last week turned into black ice. Sure enough, I slipped and fell on my ass, bruising my left buttcheek. Since I also did something to my right hip, that was an even less welcome development than it might have otherwise been. My butt recovered after a day, but my right hip is still painful. I might even have to break down and see a doctor about it.

Arran had his latest chemo treatment last night. He’s now in the second phase of his treatment. Bill took him in, and said the vet was impressed by Arran’s resilience. He is still doing very well. I think she thought maybe he wouldn’t take to chemo, because of his age, and because he was getting sick when we got his first treatment. His red blood cells have improved, while his white blood cells are still elevated. But they would be elevated anyway, due to the treatments. Because he’s in the second phase of chemo, he doesn’t take as much medication. He goes to the vet every other week for IV push meds, and takes less of the Endoxan (chemo pill). However, he’s still on Prednisolone, which makes him more of a stinker than usual.

We have plans to go Villa Im Tal on the afternoon of the 26th. It’s one of our favorite fine dining restaurants. I look forward to it, although I worry that Arran will try to break into the basement while we’re gone. He’s regressed in his behavior since he started chemo. I ordered a new gate– one that’s sturdier and taller– to try to prevent him from invading the basement. Other than that, he’s mostly himself… taking walks, eating like a champ, sleeping, cuddling, and being cute. We’re really cherishing this time with him.

We had a new dishwasher installed yesterday. The old one was twelve years old and broke. I’m glad we got both things done before Christmas, which is pretty much going to shut everything down for a few days. Our landlord is slowly but surely upgrading our house. He says he wants to install new windows and a heat pump, too. As he was leaving yesterday, he asked Bill if we needed more wood for the fireplace or salt for the dishwasher. We’re fine, but it’s nice to have a landlord who cares about our well-being and happiness. I’m sure he likes having the house occupied, and after four years with us, he knows we won’t disturb him unless it’s really necessary.

Getting new windows will be like deja vu, since new windows were installed in our last house as we were moving in. It was kind of a painful process, but the windows were really nice. Maybe we’ll get electric shutters, too. 😉 Ex landlady put in electric shutters on the windows in the living room. They were very nice, but sometimes they didn’t work properly. She also lectured us about not losing the remote control, which of course we didn’t. That was probably one of the only things we did right in that house. :eyeroll:

Other than that, it’s been a pretty boring week. Although January and February can be pretty bleak in Germany, I kind of look forward to being done with the Christmas season. It’s so dark over here during this time of year. And because I don’t really want to leave Arran alone unless it’s necessary, I’ve been a bit “fun deprived” lately. With more light and warmth, we might be able to take him with us more often.

The only other thing that happened this week was our neighbor had a bunch of us over for Gluhwein. It was frigid outside, so when we came back into the house, I ordered a new parka. It probably won’t get used much, but it might be the last parka I will ever buy. Oh… and my neighbor thought I was an 80s baby, which was a nice compliment. I am very much a card carrying member of Generation X, though… born in the 70s.

Breckenheim sure is a friendly little village. It’s a lot of fun to bond with the neighbors. Funny enough, several of the ones who live near us are from Baden-Württemberg! They seem to like Hessen more. It’s probably because there’s wine… and people are a little warmer. I do miss the beautiful sights down in BW, though. It will always have a piece of my heart. 

The featured photo is of Arran near our wine barrel table. He was obsessed with the framed photo of my husband’s daughter’s family, because it smelled like the treats she sent in a box to us!

Standard
Uncategorized

Arran’s chemo #8

I don’t have a lot to write about Arran’s chemo treatment yesterday. It basically went off without incident. The only thing unusual was that our landlord had to come over with a repair guy, because the dishwasher isn’t working properly. The appointment he made was at 5:00, which was also when Arran’s chemo treatment was. Bill is pretty much the only one working at the office this week, so he couldn’t come home early. I had visions of Noyzi being home alone and panicking… the memories of that other dog we tried to rescue escaping is still fresh in my mind, even though that was almost three years ago.

So, before I took off for the vet’s, I put Noyzi in his “room”, and shut the door. He wasn’t happy about it and did some whining. But I knew he would be in there for less than an hour, since I knew Bill would be home before I got back from the vet’s office. As it turned out, Bill and I passed each other as I was heading out, and he was heading toward home. Noyzi was “locked up” for maybe ten minutes.

There was an adorable bulldog at the vet’s office last night, who kept dancing around making little shrieking noises. I like all dogs, although I’ve never been particularly attracted to the snub nosed dogs. That dog was pretty cute, though. Once he left, a lady with a very pretty boxer came in. I got the sense that the boxer didn’t like female dogs, because she had no issue with Arran, but was growling at another female dog– looked like a collie or something akin to it. Arran got most of his chemo in the waiting room, and he made no protest whatsoever, except I had to drag him into the exam room.

Next week, our chemo regime changes. Arran doesn’t have to go to the vet’s office for his IV drug infusion for the first time since October. Instead, he’ll just get pills, and more often. The week of Christmas, he’ll be back for another infusion. He’s still doing very well, in terms of his quality of life. He has a lot of energy… or a lot for a dog his age. Walks are still a must. In fact, the other day, he ruined a duvet because I was washing the sheets and he made a bed on the duvet, which I had put on the floor. I guess he forgot himself and peed all over it. I didn’t walk him the day before, so he had a couple of accidents. It gave me an excuse to buy a new duvet and cover, which I’d been wanting to do, anyway. In fact, I ended up buying two duvets.

Arran still loves to eat, and will jump and dance for his food. Last night, after he saw the vet, he demanded a treat from her. Then, after his chemo treatment, he wanted another one. And his face was all bright and adoring when we got home, and Bill was there to welcome us. He looks kind of timid and sad when we’re at the vet’s office, but the rest of the time, he’s mostly his old self. I still don’t know how long he’s got, but he’s definitely giving life his all. I still think getting chemo for him was a good decision, even though I know the results are temporary. This time with Arran is precious, and we know to enjoy it as much as we can.

The landlord and the repair guy were only here for a short while. The verdict is, we need a new dishwasher. The landlord didn’t even bat an eye about it. The one we’ve been using is about twelve years old, and somehow the hose wasn’t draining properly. Apparently, there was a lot of standing water under the machine. The landlord casually said he’d ordered a new dishwasher, and it will get to us sometime next week. I hope the next thing he replaces is the refrigerator. It’s definitely high time. He also told Bill that the vet who owns the practice where we take our dogs is actually one of our neighbors. His property is adjacent to our landlord’s backyard.

Once again, I’m shocked by the difference between him and our ex landlady. It’s night and day… Ex landlady would have blamed me for this development, even though all I’ve been doing is using the dishwasher the way I always have. In fact, Bill messes with it more than I do. I just put dishes in it.

Anyway, so ends this week’s chemo report. I’ll be home alone next week, so it’s good that the regime is changing.

Standard