Really and truly...

I am now really and truly awake and better able to write a post than I was early this morning, although I don't do badly then considering the early hour. It wasn't anything important that I wrote, but then a lot of times I just babble anyway and nothing much is lost by not reading it, except that I stated that Tyke might be a cockapoo. The more I consider that option, the more I come to believe in it and I wish they had just written that in his passport instead. Maybe they did a lot of wishful thinking, ignoring all the short, curly hair. I've had him for 2 months now and there is no way that he is a long haired American cocker spaniel.

My niece celebrates her birthday today, she is now 17 years old. I still have to go and buy her present, but I know what I want to get her. My grandson's birthday is on the 17th and on the 16th is my son's birthday, which is always a tough day that I'm mentally preparing myself for now. I don't let the day sneak up on me, because experience has shown that this is a bad idea. When I say that I'm mentally preparing myself for it, I have no idea what exactly I mean by that, other than that I am aware ahead of time that the day is coming up and that I'm ready for emotional turmoil.

I've been out with Tyke twice now and we met a 7 month old Labrador who very much wanted to play with him, much to Tyke's delight, and the owner was an American, so I got to speak some English too with my Dutch accent which even I can hear now. I hear myself talk funny and try not to, but it can't be helped. If I were in the States for a few weeks, though, I would be speaking English like a regular American in no time. Right, I can make that claim, because it won't be tested any time soon. I won't have to be sardined into an airplane for a while, much to my relief.

Besides taking a nap this morning, I took one in the afternoon too, on the sofa in the sunlight. It was most pleasant and I slept for 2 hours. Tyke manages to stay out of trouble during that whole time. I think he is past his demolition days and can now be trusted with books on the bookcase. I love taking naps, but I really need them too, because I stop functioning well if I don't take them. I think that is because of my medicines and I think it is a side effect, but one I can easily live with. As long as I don't have to perform at a job all day, there is no problem. I would get into trouble if I had a job to go to and steady hours to work. I don't know how well I would handle that and what it would do to my general moods. Being "on" all the time would be hard without regular breaks. I think it would exhaust me to have to perform constantly and be up to par all the time.

I have to wash Tyke with a warm soapy wash cloth. He really need a trim and a bath, but I have to co-ordinate the appointment for that with my sister, who often works during the week. I figure I can make him look and smell good with a quick wash and then brush him. So, I'm off to do that now.

Have a nice evening and I hope you've all had a nice day, or are still having it.

Ciao,

Nora

All of Northern Europe...

All of Northern Europe got a big layer of snow yesterday except for the Netherlands. We got a fine dusting of it and then got rained on and it made the snow disappear. Secretly I am very happy about that, well, maybe not that secretly, because you all know I didn't want it to snow. I don't know why we were spared, it was a fluke of nature.

After giving it much thought, and listening to my nagging little inner voice, I canceled the purchase of the new sofa and I was much relieved after I did so. I kept being unhappy with the idea of it and couldn't justify it in my mind. I think I will wait a good while before I will get a new sofa, or may even do what some of you suggested and have this old one reupholstered. I'll see. The thing about this sofa is, that it is awfully comfortable and great to fall asleep on. The new sofa didn't have such great armrests even though it was bigger. Well, it's all water under the bridge now. Luckily, I was not to late to cancel and that was a very good thing.

I keep sleeping very well. I do get up once in the middle of the night to go to the toilet, but I have enough sense to go back to sleep, where in the past I thought I had to get up and turn the computer on. I sleep late in the mornings, at least what I consider late, and feel well rested. Luckily, most of the time, the Überhund sleeps as late as I do, so I don't have to get up to let him out or to feed him. When it comes to timing, we're tuned into each other.

I just finished another book, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. It has a very sad and surprising ending that is very troublesome. I was almost asleep when I finished it and laid awake some time after that thinking about it. I have a grandson who is the same age as the main characters of the book and that made me extra sensitive as to what happened to them. My grandson lives far away from me and there is nothing I can do to shelter him in any way from any kind of harm. Sometimes that makes me feel so sad. Especially when reading books about very brave little boys in dire circumstances.

I only read when I go to bed a night, because it is bound to put me to sleep, no matter how exciting the story. I always have this incredible need to sleep and I must guard against making the circumstances too favorable. Sitting on the sofa with a book results in me falling asleep with it.

I haven't gotten a library membership yet, because so far I have had enough books to read, but I'm running out and will have to get one shortly. I like owning books better than I like borrowing them, but they can be costly. There is a good on line bookstore that has English language literature where I buy books. It's the greatest invention since the wheel. There is never a book that I can't find. They also sell second hand books, which is really a good deal. It's cheaper for me than buying at Amazon.

Well, it's getting kind of late and I do still have to take out the Überhund. He has been waiting patiently, but I have no doubt that he really needs to go, because he has had his breakfast.

Have a very terrific day and I hope you aren't too much bothered by the snow.

Ciao...

Sunday Morning.

Am I happy yet? Let me have a look...yes, I am happy already, even at this early hour and even though my Senseo coffee maker is acting up and wants me to do complicated things to it in order for me to get a whole mug full of coffee. Darn thing!

I think it maybe time to get an espresso machine, either that or get one of those press down coffee makers to which you add hot water. The last would be a lot cheaper, of course, and I would just have to get an electric water boiler. Mmm...economic decisions. We all know which would be the smartest thing to do. Yes, I will look into this first thing next week when I get my money.

No, I have already made up my mind. Espresso machines are too expensive, so it is a plunger coffee pot with an electric water boiler and I know just where to get them at a good price. Just to make doubly sure, I will check out the competition.

See, I like being sensible. Whoever said I was only an expensive airhead was wrong. I am blond, but that is where all similarity ends. My love for clothes and other nice things is purely coincidental.

Speaking of nice things, I have managed to wrangle a whole mug of coffee out of the Senseo maker and I am mighty happy about that. For a moment I panicked when it wouldn't work at all. I banged the water tank around a few times, because that's where the problem is, and the little floater shot up again. It tells the machine when it is out of water, only it does it now with a full tank. Doubtlessly it is our hard water that is the cause of it and I will have to clean it with a special product several times and see if that works.

I can usually figure out why something doesn't work, but I can't always fix it, I'm not technical enough for that. I also get confused by technical drawings and diagrams and written instructions, unless they are very simple. I always feel a bit of panic rise up when faced with one of them. I have the same reaction to algebra and geometry, if that explains anything. I can do some, as long as it does not get too complicated, but I can never do those problems that require you to apply a formula.

We have some very smart people in our family and I don't consider myself to be dumb, but school was never a happy experience for me the way it was for my daughter, for example. For me, school was just traumatic and I was so glad when I was done with high school and I could go to work. I did finish first in my class, but that didn't mean anything to me, I just wanted to be released. My daughter has a law degree and was always able to study easily and get good grades as a rule. My son was just like me and extremely unhappy in an academic environment and had to be released as quickly as possible too. He had ADD and was dyslexic and I wonder what my particular problem may have been academically.

Well, that's all water under the bridge now. My grandson does great in school, so I am very happy about that. It seems he got his mother's brains.

You all do realize that today is Sunday, don't you? It is one of the nicer days of the week. The weather isn't that great and it isn't a good day to take photographs, but at least it is a free day and a day of rest. On top of that, tomorrow is Monday, when I have creative therapy, so that is all perfect to me.

It is amazing how fast the week has gone by again and I swear that, as I am getting older, the time flies by and there just is no slowing it down. I try to cram as much as I can into each day, but much to my chagrin, a person does have to sleep at night.

I try to read when I go to bed at night, but I only manage a page or two. I have been reading the same book forever now. The Memory Keeper's Daughter. I am almost done with it, but it is almost a ridiculous activity, this reading of mine when I lay in bed, because I fall asleep so quickly. I do wake up with my reading glasses still on, sometimes squashed to one side of my face and a little bent out of shape. I'm afraid to read during the day, because I know I will fall asleep and that is not supposed to happen.

Well, that's all I've got to tell you this morning, so you all have a terrific day with whatever you do and wish me luck with my Senseo machine. I do want to drink coffee today.

Mwah!