As I write this...

As I write this, I am waiting for the men to come to install my new hot water heater. They should be here any minute now. I heard a van pull up, but since then all has been silence. I think a hot water heater is called a boiler in England and I am not sure what it is called in the States, but it is the thing that gives me hot water throughout the apartment, including the radiators for the central heating, so getting a new one is a big deal. I hope this one is even more efficient than the old one, so more cost effective and ecologically sound.

I forgot to tell you about the great cardigan that I bought on Wednesday afternoon at a textiles shop. It is black with a big collar and two big buttons and it is almost as long as my skirt. I got it for 10 Euros and, although I did not want to spend any money on myself this month, I could not resist getting it at that price. It looks very classy and more expensive and it is very warm.

I also had to get a present for my sister whose birthday it is tomorrow. I got her a pretty necklace with beads that shimmer in any kind of light and look like crystals. They are threaded with very thin wire and seem to float in the air and there are three strings of them at unequal lengths. My sister loves necklaces as much as I do, so I know she will be happy with this one.

Well, the men with the boiler are here now and they've started the job. I am curious as to how long it will take them too install it. This is the first time in my life that I've ever gotten a new boiler, so it's quite an event. The cats and the Überhund are quite curious as well.

I'll try and not be too distracted by all of this and get on with writing.

Yesterday wasn't a very eventful day, it being Thursday and so far a day off for me, although it may not be much longer. I have an appointment next week with someone to see if I can fill up either my Thursday or my Friday mornings with a useful activity. It will be in the same building where I have my creative and ergo therapies now, but in a different kind of program and a special request needed to be made for it. It is possible that I will do another creative class on Thursdays, but anything is possible. We'll see. I am glad that I'm getting the opportunity.

I swept the apartment with a broom, because I didn't want to be bothered by the noise of the vacuum cleaner, but now, of course, I still have to vacuum the furniture, there's no way around it. The Überhund is shedding much less, but there still is an amazing amount of hair after a few days that all hides under the furniture. It is very satisfactory to sweep it all up into the dustpan.

The Überhund is having a wonderful time. Full of interest he is watching the men at work and commenting on their every move and when they go out to their van, he trots along behind them to see what they do there. He is so alert and in between this, he comes back to me and lies at my feet as if to reassure himself that everything is okay. The cats are climbing over the boxes and the equipment and are very curious. We don't often have such entertainment here.

At the end of the afternoon yesterday, I fell asleep on the sofa and was out cold for a while until the phone rang. It was someone who wanted to know if I wanted a subscription to a newspaper and I would, except that it is so expensive and I really can't afford it. If I could only get the Saturday newspaper, I would do that and I have to look into the possibility of getting that kind of subscription for my favorite newspaper, which was, believe it or not, originally a Christian newspaper, but it is a very informative one with excellent opinion pages and very interesting articles. I miss reading it.

The google reader keeps me updated on the blogs I read, but lately I have decided that I read too many and I have eliminated a few of them. There were just too many I was trying to keep track off and, although they all had their appeal, some of them had to go. Some were new to me and I had to make the decision if I wanted to invest my energy into really getting to know them better or to stop reading them. If they were more than fascinating, I kept them. It is really bad if you don't get around to reading your very favorites, you can't have that. I really do have my favorites, but I'm not going to tell you here who those are. That's for you to figure out.

All of the shops are open one night a week until 9 PM once a week on Thursdays. I purposely forget that this is so, because it is very tempting to go downtown then and walk through the festively decorated streets and sit in a café and watch all the people go by and maybe pop into a store and buy something very appealing. The café terraces are even pleasant to sit on, if you keep your coat on, because they are heated by space heaters that are quite efficient.

You can bet that it is very busy downtown now, because there is Winter Wonderland on the big square with an ice skating rink and the Christmas market with many stalls. Since I am not in that kind of mood, I try to ignore that bit of it and only incidentally try to catch glimpses of the festivities, which, I admit, is difficult.

I suppose that this weekend, I should write some Christmas cards and get in the mood a little bit. I am feeling some resistance, but I suppose it must be done. This will be the first time that I'll sign the cards with my maiden name. I have never done so before and it will be quite an experience. Some people I will have to inform and I will have to add a little note.

The guys that are installing the boiler are quite funny. They want to know everything about me and the animals, so in between all the activities, they are getting to hear my life story and are entertained. They also saw my young, divorced neighbor and wanted to know all about her, so I told them what I could. They are hoping to install a new boiler there soon.

Well, everything must come to an end and so must this. It has become a rambling sort of thing, but that's okay.

I hope you have a wonderful day.

Ciao...