Breakfast Time

Every morning we eat breakfast out on our little balcony. It takes several trips to get everything out there but it's worth it. There are window boxes on the ledge filled with beautiful flowers. A potted tree stands in the corner. We eat our yogurt and drink some juice and then a big glass of water while we listen to the quiet sounds of the morning. We watch our neighbor's dog in their yard. We see a few kids picked up in a van to head to school. A few ladies walk by on their way to work. It's a peaceful way to begin our day.

Will the Real Mrs. Hackert Please Stand Up?

Last week Brian was subbing for the art teacher while she was in the states for a funeral. Later that day a very excited class arrived in the library. One of the students ran up to me to tell me, "There's a boy who's a Mrs. Hackert, and he taught us art today." It made me smile.

The First Noel

A few weeks ago we went to the store and noticed that the Christmas decorations were already for sale. We weren't quite in the mood for Christmas purchasing on September 23.

Church in English

Tonight we went to an English church service. On the second Sunday of each month we'll be able to attend this service. It was a great time of fellowship, singing and praising God all in English. I can hardly wait until next month!

Our Farm

On our little balcony we have a beautiful potted tree.

This week we also added some pretty flowers in a windowbox. We enjoy our plants each morning as we eat our breakfast on the balcony.

Granola, Bugs and Mold

Today I began to make some homemade granola. The oatmeal comes in 4 cup bags which is just perfect for my recipe. I cut open the corner of the bag and poured the oats into the bowl as I was reading the recipe for the next ingredient. I took out the brown sugar and was beginning to measure it as Brian came into the room. He looked down into the bowl and said, "You have bugs in there." Sure enough, the whole bowl was swarming with busy little black bugs. They must have been living in the bag of oatmeal. After dumping out that oatmeal and getting out a new bowl, I opened another bag of oatmeal. The oats were greenish black and covered with mold. I was finally able to make some delicious granola with my third bag of oats. Some things are just more complicated here.

Shopping is Not Always Fun

Step #1: Walk to the grocery store with the hot sun beating down on you.
Step #2: Stop at the cash machine outside the store only to find out it isn't working.
Step #3: Go into the store and fill your cart with groceries while crossing all the items off the grocery list.
Step #4: Enter the last aisle of the store as the power flicks off.
Step #5: Get in line for the nearest cashier just as the cash registers are rebooting after the power outage.
Step #6: Watch the power flick off again.
Step #7: Wait for the cash registers to reboot again.
Step #8: Watch the power flick off again.
Step #9: Talk about leaving the store.
Step #10: Wait for the cash registers to reboot again.
Step #11: Watch the power flick off again.
Step #12: Wait for the cash registers to reboot again.
Step #13: Talk about leaving the store.
Step #14: Watch the power flick off again.
Step #15: Wait for the cash registers to reboot again.
Step #16: Watch the power flick off again.
Step #17: Realize we've stood in line for 30 minutes and not one single person has checked out.
Step #18: Leave the store and catch a cab to another grocery store.
Step #19: Decide we're too hungry to shop. Tell the taxi driver to take us to Burger King.
Step #20: Eat hamburgers while listening to the blaring music from a birthday party in the restaurant.
Step #21: Walk to the grocery store down the street.
Step #22: Try to decifer the grocery list with all the items that were crossed off earlier tonight.
Step #23: Stand in line and pay for the groceries.
Step #24: Take a taxi home.
Step #25: Haul all the groceries upstairs and put them away. Deep sigh.


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