Tag Archives: wine stand

customs

Raising a glass to Arran…

Breckenheim had a wine stand last night. We decided to attend, so we could salute Arran in style. Noyzi came with us, because we’re hoping to get him more used to people. We’d like to be able to take him more places. Besides, he genuinely loves people, but he’s scared of those he doesn’t know. Taking him out in the village is a good way to help him get more socialized.

We enjoyed a few glasses of local wine and talked to some of our neighbors. We told them about Arran, and how we lost him yesterday morning. I wondered if they thought we were weird for going out… We ran into our landlady– or, the wife of our landlord. I think she’s the one who legally owns our house, since her brother built it. She asked where Arran was, and we told her what happened.

It struck me as kind of strange. When we lost Zane, our landlords didn’t know until over a year later. That’s how much privacy they give us, even though we’re next door neighbors. Our former landlady probably would have known within days, even though she didn’t live next door.

Anyway, we said we’d seen her artwork at the neighborhood art show in the fall. She laughed, and said that wasn’t her artwork. It seems there’s another woman in our village with the same name. She’s much older. The landlady said she’s always having to tell people she isn’t the same person! Either way, the artwork was beautiful. Our landlady has a nice sense of style, too. She was wearing a pretty scarf. Maybe that reveals a certain artistic bent.

We also met an English speaking guy who hailed from the Nagold area and moved to Breckenheim. He said he used to work as a waiter at a nightclub in Stuttgart. One night, the deejay was very late coming in, and he was flanked by two police officers when he finally did show up. I guess the show didn’t go on that night.

It was a pretty average wine stand, but I did get a nice video of the neighborhood horses passing, as well as a few photos…

I love this about our village… horses, wine, and dogs. Who could ask for more?

It was nice to get our and enjoy the onset of spring… and now we can make some travel plans. We’re long overdue for a trip. After three years of road trips, I might even be convinced to fly on a plane and go somewhere further afield.

Before business picked up.
I’m so lucky to share life with Bill.
And Noyzi, our Kosovar rescue dog.
But we’re still missing our sweet Arran.
Noyzi was very good. He settled down a lot as the time passed.

Cheers to Arran, who is no longer suffering, and no longer has cancer or needs chemo… and doesn’t have to worry about trying to jump up on our too tall bed. I like to think of his soul finally free of his sick, but very strong body. The featured photo is the second to the last one we have of Arran. I took the last one in the vet’s office, just before we said goodbye. I don’t normally do that… but for some reason, I just felt like doing it. I’ll keep it private, because I don’t want people to remember him in that way. He was a majestic dog with a larger than life presence. We were blessed to know him.

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Winter is back in Wiesbaden…

We didn’t enjoy any excursions over the weekend because winter has come back to Wiesbaden with a chilly flourish. I also needed to wait for some new recording equipment to arrive, which it did in the afternoon. By Sunday, the weather was grim and decidedly cold. So we stayed home, ate takeout food, listened to music, and talked. We also enjoyed another weekend with Arran.

His lymph node under his left foreleg has gotten noticeably bigger. I don’t have to feel for it anymore. It’s now pretty obvious on casual view. And yet, Arran is still eating, sleeping, playing, walking, and being his adorable self. I know it’s probably not going to be much longer before he starts feeling badly again. But for now, we’re enjoying his affectionate company. He and Noyzi even seem to be getting along better lately. The featured photo was taken today. Yesterday, I actually caught them lying next to each other, as if they were pals.

I sense that Arran knows he’s going to be headed to the Rainbow Bridge soon. Most of our dogs have been like this, toward the end. Our beagle, Flea, used to insist on sitting with us in the last months of his life. Our first rescue, CuCullain, used to insist on taking walks with both Bill and me. Zane came and found me and slathered me with kisses two weeks before he died. MacGregor was probably in too much pain to show us this kind of affection before he passed, but instead, seemed to stay with us through Arran, who often acts like his predecessor.

Arran has always been a velcro dog, but he’s become even more so lately. Noyzi is also spending more time hanging out with me, rather than staying in his bed in his room, which is also an entertainment room that we rarely use.

I just took the dogs for a walk. Arran had plenty of energy, even though he has a peach sized swelling by his leg. He’s supposed to go to the vet for more chemo tomorrow. It seems to keep him feeling okay, even though the cancer is obviously progressing.

Still, I am amazed when I see Arran behave like he did in the video below, which was taken a couple of days ago. Arran truly is an amazing dog… resilient, loving, affectionate, and full of surprises. I don’t know if or when we will find his successor, but that dog will have some big pawprints to fill, even if Arran is, himself, just a medium sized dog.

Arran really is an incredible dog. He’s such a fighter!

It’s nice to see Arran and Noyzi getting along better. It was a long time coming. When we had Zane, the situation was the opposite. For awhile, Zane and Arran were actual buddies who got along beautifully. Then, Zane started having health problems. Arran took advantage and tried to be the top dog. He would pick fights with Zane, who did not enjoy fighting, but would fight if it was necessary.

Sometimes, Arran got the better of Zane, but there were a few notable times when Zane kicked Arran’s ass. I always got the sense that Zane really resented Arran for that. It was like he never forgave him for turning on him. They weren’t really friends at the end of Zane’s life.

With Noyzi, it seems like the opposite is true. Arran hated Noyzi at first, but slowly came around. And now, they almost seem like friends. I think it’s because Arran is very devoted to us. It’s like he knows he has to go soon, and he’s passing the torch. Or maybe it’s just comforting thinking for a silly human.

Maybe Noyzi has a little bit of Zane in him… and now Zane is in a much bigger and more imposing body. Noyzi doesn’t fight at all, but one time, Arran got too jealous and was eager to get into a scrap with him. Noyzi calmly put his massive paw on Arran’s back, and that was the end of that nonsense. Arran hit the ground and never tried such a stunt again.

Anyway, I’m going to try to enjoy this time… especially as the dogs finally bond a little. I’m sure that when the time is right, Arran will be back in the same way Zane is.

Bill did notice the sign was up for the wine stand this weekend. Maybe we’ll get to go. I know Hofheim is having a City Wine Fest this weekend. I hope we can get out and have some fun, before Bill has to go on another business trip.

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anecdotes

This weekend is pretty much ruined…

A few days ago, I was really looking forward to this weekend. The weather looked like it was going to be beautiful. There were several wine centered events going on, to include our local wine stand that takes place in the town square. Before COVID-19 messed everything up, we would have those wine stands every other week during the warm months. They were a lot of fun, and a great way to get to know the neighbors.

There was a wine market in Hofheim yesterday, and a wine festival in Ingelheim, which I really wanted to go to. Fortunately, the fest will continue all week until next Sunday. Hopefully, by then, I’ll be well, and Bill won’t have to work.

That’s right… I am sick this weekend. I don’t know how it happened, but it has put a real damper on our fun. Thanks to a big work exercise, Bill also had to work this morning. He arranged to do a four hour shift early today, so we could have had the rest of the day to do something fun. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere today, either.

I spent most of yesterday in bed with gastroenteritis. I don’t know how I got it. I don’t spend time around anyone other than Bill, and he hasn’t had it. It’s possible I ate something that made me sick. It came on Friday night, when I suddenly developed a fever and chills. Of course I was worried about COVID-19, even though I live like a hermit.

As Friday night went on, my stomach started to feel weird. I actually wanted pizza for dinner, though, and was relieved that when Bill made it, I could easily smell it. Unfortunately, the pizza didn’t last. After dinner, the vomiting started. I spent the whole night shivering under two duvets.

Yesterday, Bill made breakfast and, once again, I was relieved that I could smell it. In fact, the aroma of bacon was almost overwhelming. But breakfast also didn’t stay with me. I resolved not to try to eat anything else, other than a waffle syrup cookie, which is pretty bland. I managed to hang onto that and the two sodas Bill brought me. Then I watched movies and took a nap.

This morning, my stomach feels marginally better, but I can’t trust my sphincter. A good sneeze, fart, or cough could make quite a mess, if you catch my drift. So I don’t think we’ll be doing anything today, because I don’t want to crap my pants.

I did have Bill go out and get a COVID test, just to make sure that wasn’t the source of my discomfort. At first, before the diarrhea set in, I thought it might be possible that the virus finally found me. He paid two euros for a Chinese COVID-19 home test. We tried to use it last night, but somehow didn’t do the test right. So I ended up with no result.

I did think to take some photos, though… the directions are in German and include pictures. Bill later said he saw there was a video we could have watched for instructions. It reminded me a little of a pregnancy test, except the sample to be tested came from my nose.

  • Noyzi is no longer afraid of the TV. He sat for a moment as I watched Netflix.
  • A Chinese COVID-19 test. Would someone like to tell me why the people in the picture are so happy?
  • My phone quickly recognized the QR code.
  • Contents of the box.
  • But we clearly messed up somehow.

Oh well… I guess I’ll do more reading today. I do feel somewhat better than I did yesterday, at least. I think the fever went away, and I haven’t had to puke since yesterday morning. So there’s some bright news…

SIGH.

I’ll end this post on a positive note. Four years ago, I was also sick. That time, it was with a very nasty cold that I picked up when we cruised in Scotland. I wasn’t surprised that I got the cold, since there was a visibly sick woman on the boat who kept sniffling all week. By the time the cruise was almost over, I had her cold. Although that beat the everloving hell out of the norovirus infection I got in Scotland in March of 2016, having that cold was pretty miserable.

Bill and I came home to our driveway torn up, since our former landlords decided to renovate it. The work wasn’t completed while we were gone. Then, the day after it was done, while I was still sick, the landlords came over unannounced. I opened the door to get the mail, dressed in my nightgown. There they were, standing there on the driveway, inspecting the work. I had an awkward conversation with them, not just because I wasn’t dressed and had a bad cold, but also because by that time, our relationship had gone sour. A few weeks prior to our trip to Scotland, an awning that the landlady’s husband had “fixed” collapsed on a windy day. They tried to blame me for it, and the wife got very irate and screamed at me in my living room, specifically blaming me for other things that were wrong in the house.

The next day, the landlords showed up unannounced and started cleaning the gutters, right outside my bedroom window. I was in bed, still sick with the cold, and FUMING, because it was yet another unexpected visit. I had told them I was sick, and was trying to rest. Of course they never thought to consider my feelings. I was just someone whose husband they were deigning to let rent their house. Clearly, in their minds, I was not entitled to any respect, privacy, or consideration. I literally wanted to throttle them. (I am not the most patient patient) But instead of telling them to come back another day, like I should have, I just tried to ignore them.

Well… I didn’t quite ignore them. I posted on Facebook that I felt like choking them. I noticed yesterday that I had written that. I was really upset. Later, Bill did ask them for more notice, and was met with a rather rude response. But if you know what happened in the end, you know that we eventually came out on top in that situation, although it took some time.

Anyway, it occurred to me yesterday, reading that past Facebook status, that I have much to be grateful for. I don’t get sick very often in Wiesbaden. Bill doesn’t have to travel to Africa, so he doesn’t bring home weird germs. When I do get sick, I can recuperate in private. The landlord lives next door, but he never bothers us, and would never do loud work on our house without planning ahead. And I just really prefer this house on so many levels. In fact, yesterday, it occurred to me how glad I was to be resting in my own bed and using my own bathroom. When I last had a stomach bug, I had to deal with it while traveling. It was awful. So I’m glad to be at home, and glad to be living somewhere where the landlord isn’t an inconsiderate jerk.

And hopefully, the rest of this virus will “run its course”… I just ate a banana, so we’ll see how that goes. Looks like the fever may be done, too.

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