News from Northern Germany

I know I've been slack.. and I've probably irritated the hell out of some of you who want to know what's going on with Michael and me... sorry. Ok, I'm not THAT sorry.. hehe. We've been busy.. and I've been adjusting to my new surroundings.. not to mention, trying to get used to the German keyboard and remembering that there are umlaute on there now.. ok, and the keys are misplaced somewhat (in my view anyway) but I will get used to it.. so, dear reader, if something gets misspelled here, you'll know why.

But now I have a chance to correct my slackness and post an update on the happenings in the north. I think I have been to almost every store in Rendsburg now.. hehe.. except the shuh stores, which Michael refuses to let me go in (and with good reason I suppose, since one whole suitcase I brought with me was filled with shoes.. and more are coming from America as I write this).

So far, we have only painted the living room walls, with 3 rooms left to paint, but the furniture has been delivered and Michael put together the closet we ordered from IKEA (an exercise in frustration I think, but he is a saint). Our apartment is lovely, by the way. I love it. We need pictures on the walls, but we're working on that... I did paint a canvas already and we hung it, but that project calls for another canvas and more paint.. I will get to it eventually. But I am no artist, really, so don't get the impression that I am.. I just like to dabble.

We got new light fixtures too.. not, to my chagrin, the red Maria Theresa chandelier I originally threatened to buy, but a black and white one that looks lovely over the dining table, and goes very well with the color of the room. I am very happy with it, even if it isn't red... but I did get my way with the red color anyway, and we have red pillows on our white sofas.. yes, I said white sofas.. I know. It's a foolish color for a sofa.. but at present we don't have any little ones to spill things on it.. aside from me (the Hobbit) that is... lol.

We've been to the plant store.. because first, I love to grow things. And second, I wanted my dearest love to make me pesto. So, four basil plants later, we have planters on the balcony (which is evidently a must in Germany) filled with lemon thyme, white marguerites, wire vine, mint, and of course, the basil... and also another of some small purple flower (don't ask me what it is) that has really vibrant blooms. I also got some fern and spider grass and three other plants I cannot name, for the living room - let's hope they all live.

And I have been to several grocery stores, of course. The cheeses here are amazing in variety and I love cheese.. as for the mayonnaise, well, there is no Duke's and no Hellmann's, but the kind I did try that Michael bought wasn't so bad.. I even made a good potato salad with it - American potato salad (or as close as could get without Duke's and India relish), and Michael liked it.. hehe.. at least he said it was good, but I don't know whether he was just being nice or if it was true.. to me, it was okay. But as far as I'm concerned, there's nothing to beat German mustard anywhere in America. Really. And I did find a good peanut butter here too.. well, Michael hates peanut butter, so there is more for me.. hehe.

I brought some jars of things with me from America in my luggage.. Canteloupe butter. Hot pickled okra. South Carolina honey. And a 2 lb bag of Plantation Rice (that we haven't opened yet, nor have we opened the butter). Michael likes okra! Surprise! He'd never eaten okra before, and I haven't seen it in the groceries here, naturally, but we did find some okra seed to grow it ourselves.. the time for planting it has passed, but maybe next year.. And since the jar I brought is almost gone already, I guess I will have to beg my sister to send more..

The wedding plans are moving forward too.. we have sent all the documents necessary for the wedding, and I brought my wedding dress with me... and no, Michael has been an absolute angel and he has not peeked to see the dress.. so we are trying to pick a date in the first week of August.. I'll let you all know when we decide. It will be a simple ceremony, but I will get to see a little of Dänemark, since that is where we will get hitched.. we've pretty much picked out where we will stay while there, and now we're just waiting for the approval to do it... for some weird reason, the Danish government has a holiday in the month of July and they don't perform weddings at all in this month.. otherwise, I would already be Michael's wife.. maybe he is glad for the respite.. to get used to the idea that he will never be separated from me again.. or maybe he just needs to evaluate what it's going to be like to have an American for a spouse.. hehe.

So far, we have had a wonderful time just being together. And as the days pass, it only gets better. I can't imagine being anywhere but here with him. Of course, I miss my family a little.. but only a little at this point... everything is too new.. too much of an adventure to really drive home the fact that I am thousands of miles from Mom & Dad & Sister & Brother & Friends. Maybe that will come later, I don't know, but I am not going to worry about it now because I'm having too much fun being here. Is that mean? Hmmm.. something to think about.

I know that most Americans have preconceived notions of what Europe is like, or not, depending on whether they pay attention to the news in other parts of the world besides their own, but sitting on the tarmac in New Jersey, I gave up all those notions and decided to just let the experiences come to me.. to try not to place my own imaginings, or apply them to any situation here. So I'm letting this new life happen on its own, without judgement of what should be, or what I think it should be.. like whether the eggs have to go straight to the refrigerator.

And Michael.. well, what can I say? He is the love of my life. He is wonderful. He is patient. And we must be two of the happiest people on the planet, because together we are complete. And we both know that one cannot live without the other. To me, his happiness comes before my own, and to him, I always come first.. so we will explore and discover this adventure together.. make our life here together, and conquer the challenges that we both know lie ahead of us. Because love is the reason I came to Deutschland, and when all is said and done.. home is where the heart is. And my heart belongs to a stubborn German.. Ich liebe dich, Michael.... mehr als mein leben.