Job Perks

Most of you know that my job is aviation related. I used to really enjoy it, but usually not so much anymore (2 more years and I can retired! yay!). But occssionally I have some good days with some nice "perks".... yesterday was such a day.

I visited an air show at a local glider field. It was actually more of an "open house" then air show, but it did have one BIG attraction: a Junkers JU 52 aircraft was available for sight seeing tours. the flights were booked out in no time.

It just so happened, that the captain was an old time friend of mine, and when he asked if I wanted to come along on the reserve seat in the cockpit, I didn't hesitate to say YES!

This picture should give you an impression of this bird's size.....

Some old fashioned equipment....

as well as modern....

We had great weather and the German landscape is quite green after weeks of rain... (that's the Rhine River by-the-way...)

The co-pilot took this picture of me and "Captain Uwe"..

And then it was time to land...

Today we have rain showers so they probably won't be able to have any flights, and of course few people visit air shows when it rains. I feel sorry for the organzers (we have FIVE air shows in my immediate area this weekend).

So I had a fun and interesting day yesterday!

Dorrie

Family worries.....

Some of you may already know that my mom has been suffering from demenz for some time now. It got so bad soon after my last visit home 2 years ago that she had to put in a care center. Well, a couple of weeks ago she fell and had to have her hip operated on. She's now in a special care place before returning to the care center. She'll be 91 on Sept. 1 and they didn't expect her to walk too soon after the OP, but she is already practicing with her walker! Mom, you go, girl!

She's lost a lot of weight but seems to be doing well enough. She actually recognised my dad at his last visit, too! He was really happy about that!

And now I got an email this morning that my dad is in the hospital! He's been having problems for some time with walking because of a pinched nerve in his spine... or at least that was what we thought was the cause. He's been generally not feeling so well lately, which is understandable with all the problems he has gone through with mom, and having his apartment flooded some months ago!

And now it looks like he has heart problems. There are 3 alternatives for him at his age... 1. continue just using his medication which hasn't been helping much 2. put a wire up the femaral artery to see what's wrong and if a balloon can open the flow or 3. open heart surgery! My dad: "You ain't cutting my chest open!! I want nothing invasive. " (stubborn ole geezer lol). Anyway, it seems that they have talked him into getting the wire put in so the doc can see what's really wrong, and then perhaps open heart surgery after all! That decision will be made today....

So, to all those of you who pray... please add my folks! Thanks!

My new kitchen

As I've already mentioned a few times, German apartments do NOT usually come with kitchens or other fixtures already installed, except the toilet, sink, and bath tubs. So, when you move in, you either buy new or bring your old kitchen with you. That's what I did....

Over ten years ago I had a small single bedroom apartment. The kitchen area was VERY tiny with only room for a sink and two cabinets... I had to use a counter top stop for cooking. Then I moved into a larger place and, since, the cabinets were from IKEA, all I had to do was add a few matching cabinets, as well as a proper stove. Now I've moved again, and again IKEA is my friend! hah!

This is how my kitchen looked during the first week...

Since Wheelie and I both had to work, leaving us only a few hours a week to hammer away, it took a while to get things done. But I am sooooo happy with the results! And it all goes to Wheelie's credit! He did a fantastic job!

Yes, I know the doors are different tectures. That's the only disadvantage with IKEA... over the years they may change companies that produce their stuff and the wood my be a different tone... and also the original doors darken after awhile due to sunlight. But I'm not finicky about that. If it really bothered me, all I would have to do is purchase all the doors new (which would cost more then it's worth actually). But I'm not complaining!

There are still some minor deco stuff to do, and the light on the ceiling isn't installed yet (yep, no preinstalled light features except in the bath rooms, either).

In some ways I really like having homes really naked when moving in, that way I can choose myself what type of kitchen, what lamps, etc. I want and not be satisfied with what some designer thought is best.

After days of torential rains the weather is now back to warm and sunny. Nice!

Dorrie

P.S. newsbreak: KCL should be up and running next week, maybe as soon as tomorrow (Monday)