The 7th Circle of Hell (Ikea)

Before we get back into the story, I have a couple of sidetracks I thought I would divulge. First and foremost, a special 'hello' to Lesley, Tim, Bailey, Nichole and especially Griff. We are praying for you guys and we hope all goes spectacularly during the procedure tomorrow. Ok, now, on the less serious side - it seems I am quite adept at bathroom etiquette. In the last month and a half, I have walked into three bathrooms while people were conducting their business. The last time was today, in a public bathroom in the klinik of all places. It is completely on my mind now whenever I open a bathroom door. I think I will adopt the strategy of knocking everytime before I try the door, no matter what. The thing I don't understand is, lock the friggen door! If the door was locked in these cases, it would have never happened. Who doesn't lock the bathroom door, especially in public places? Oh, and I am not talking about walking in on Jodi or Erika either. Today, my new, aged, hospital 'acquintance' was tucking Captain Winkie into his pants when I walked in. I am more than happy to pass this vision on to you. Well, back to the story...

May 24, Hello again Ikea (ih-kay-ah)

While perusing the Ikea receipt (which seemed as long as Santa's list), we came to the conclusion that they hadn't ordered us a kitchen sink cupboard. For the uninitiated, ikea freestanding kitchens require a cupboard bottom first, and then you put on your range or sinktop or counter surface. So, we had a kitchen sink coming, with no where to install it. Well, off to ikea to pick up the missing part. We were hoping to add it on to the large delivery we already had coming for Monday, but as our luck would have it, this couldn't quite be arranged. So, we lugged the 100 lb base cupboard from ikea to the bus stop (0.5 km walk) onto the bus (20 min), transferred onto the tram (0.5 km walk, 15 min ride), and then from the tram station to our place (0.2 km). Oh, and we also had some other purchases to take with us as well. And Erika and Reese. Did I mention it was raining? Grandma took care of Erika and Reese, and I took the one box and Jodi took another one, and we tried our best. Jodi's hands started giving out on the 2nd transfer, so the 45 min trip took a little longer than expected. But, we got it home, and it wasn't too bad to put together:

I even had time to showcase my electrician skills (of course made difficult by ikea), but it sure felt good to have a light in Erika's room (or any room for that matter):

So, now all we have to do is cut a hole in the back for the water taps, and a hole in the bottom for the drain, and easily install the top and faucet. Doesn't sound too bad...

May 25th, Reese's First Birthday

Not much happening again in Freiburg for the Sabbath, so we were free to relax and enjoy the gaffer's birthday. We started off with some buns and meat and cheese for breakfast, and then took the tram to Günterstal (a ritzy suburb) and caught a bus to the bottom of a small mountain nearby. From there we could take a ride up a cable car to the summit (Schauinslandbahn).

It was a really good time, except Mom G. almost derailed the car and tried to claw herself out of 6 inches of plexiglass. We were just talking about random stuff when Mom started focusing really hard and concentrating on an otherwise superficial topic. The bells went off for Jodi and she knew the claustrophobia was kicking in.

Luckily, I had a thick pamphlet I could wave her way to lower the body temperature enough to keep her from passing out (and/or taking us all with her). The frantic waving got things under control in a couple minutes, and the remainder of the trip was amazing and pamphlet free; the mountain is full of 'diverse vegetation' (Sarah and Peggy). It was really green, moreso than I have ever seen before:

The top had a cute playground for the kids, and a little (albeit touristy) restaurant which Mom bought us lunch at. The trip down was much less eventful, and Reese was pretty tuckered out. All in all, a pretty fun first birthday.

Jodi and Jeff