Tag Archives: German windows

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!

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anecdotes

German windows!

One thing about living in Germany that is very different than living in America is that Germans take their windows very seriously.  When we were looking for places to live, we talked to our current landlords, who proudly informed us that they were in the process of replacing all of the windows in the house we’re living in.  And then they told us they were going to put screens on them!

I come from the southern United States, where screens on the windows are a given fact of life.  We put them on our windows to keep out the intense sun and all the bugs and leaves that tend to fly around down there.  Here in Germany, screens on the windows are pretty rare.  When we lived here last time, my husband Bill, who is perpetually “hot-natured”, would complain about having to choose between having a cooler home with the windows open or dealing with bugs.  So when our landlords mentioned screens, he was interested.

Personally, I like to keep the windows closed unless it’s very stuffy because I am sensitive to noise, either the noise I make or the noise others make.  I also get cold easier than my husband does.  Especially during the summer, we’re often gently fighting over the temperature.

Some of the windows in our house were already replaced before we moved in.  The rest were finished last month over a couple of particularly chaotic days.  It seems the local company that did the windows has someone on staff who routinely messes up the measurements.  She happens to be the business owner’s daughter, so she stays in the job, even though her mistakes sometimes cause waste.  She happened to get the wrong measurements for the windows pictured below.  At one point, that entire panel of windows was removed and covered with plywood.

But look at them now!

 

The new windows are fantastic!  They are very heavy duty, high quality, and triple paned, so there’s a lot less noise going into or out of the house.  With two loud hounds and my own penchant for making and playing music, that’s a good thing.

It was great to get the glass back after a week of plywood.

This is a door that got a new screen on it.

The screens were added yesterday to several windows.  This screen door has powerful magnets that keep the door closed.  If we wanted to, we could leave the big door open and let fresh air in without fear of insect invasion.  We probably won’t, though, because we have dogs that bark!

 

I was really glad we didn’t get screens on all windows because one thing I love about German windows is being able to look out of them without any obstruction.  Our windows happen to overlook a nice field with lots of trees.  Sometimes I like to take pictures of the scenery.  Not having screens on all of the windows lets me do that, yet I can also open the windows that do have them and prevent insects from invading the house.  I also love that they have three settings.  You can open the window, close it, or set it to crack at the top.  It’s very cool.

I never thought I’d be so excited about windows, but I am.  I love the fact that they are large and let in a lot of natural light, even if it can mean buying curtains that are huge!  I have never been one to like using overhead lighting and much prefer lamps in my house.  And I really only want to use those when there’s no natural light coming in.  Large German windows make it easier to do that.  They probably help save money, too.  Our landlords also put in electric shutters on the window panel in our living room.  They work by remote control and are fabulous when we need to go out or want privacy.

My landlord asked about our windows in the USA.  I told him that most of them weren’t like what we have here, though I knew of some people that special ordered German windows with the rolling shades.  I imagine most people who are willing to do something like that are either immigrants or people who lived in Germany with the military.  It probably costs a bundle to do.

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