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)

Sometimes....

Sometimes life keeps you busy... or just messes up your plans.

I promised pics of my new kitchen, but lately I haven't felt like blogging at all. I think having the abstinence during my mood affected my blogging in a negative way. Can you imagine WESTY not blogging? geeeeezzz

After the heatwave we have now had torential rains (did I spell that right?). Thunder, lightning... the works. But I look at it positively. The trees and other plants needed it desperately. The farmers I'm sure are happy now. Some crops had to be harvested early already and others didn't grow properly. Maybe now things will be better.

There's still lots to do on my apartment but the worst mess is finished! YAY!

Work.... should I talk about work? Since the jerk retired things have gotten better, but I can't wait to retire myself in 2 years (actually 23 months and counting). So many changes in the way to do things. My motivation is DOWN!

My kids are ok, but have their problems as well. But that's life. My mom is now in special care for her demenz. She's 90 now. It's hard to explain how I feel... so far away, not being there for her but knowing she's in good care. My dad visited her and she actually recognised him. That really made him happy!

Lots of reports on German TV about the Love Parade... 21 deaths now. So sad..... The fault is being pushed from one to the other... as usual. So many mistakes were made!

OK, this was just a short entry to let y'all know I'm still around!

Dorrie

Pics of new apartment...finally

For those of you who still read me and are (im)patiently waiting for pictures of my new home, well I FINALLY got some uploaded.

This is my nice living room. Yes, that's a fireplace!! whooohoooo It was one of the reasons I picked this place... a dream come true.

This is the couch area and my desk with my computer (obviously). Like in my old place, I can watch tv while on the computer.... multi-tasking! lol

This one shows the door to the balcony and the dining table... with Shila getting into the picture.....

And this is the other work room, which is also the guest room. The computer here is not connected to the internet and is used for recording my dance music, etc.

The pictures of the kitchen I'll put in a separate entry. The bedroom isn't finished yet. The closet is installed, and the bed is usable, but my clothes having been sorted yet so it's a mess! lol I had other priorities...

For any KCL'ers who happen to stop by here and wonder why they can't get into it.... Matt and Sue had a lightning stike at their home and it seems that 3 of the 4 servers suffered major damage. Matt's working on getting it back up, but I'm sure he has other priorities. At least THEY are ok. I have no word about other damage. I had a lightning strike in a former home and it not only killed the power, but it went through the telephone line into my then computer and fax machine. Not fun, believe me.

Have a great week everyone!

Dorrie

Back to blogging... maybe

Today I finally got my land-line connected! I longer have to depend on the (slow) computer stick... and it seems to be fast enough (in this small villiage it almost didn't have internet at all). I took the day off work today so the guy from Telecom could come and do his stuff.... and he got it connected with no problems at all.

The funniest thing is my new number. When I first read the letter with my number, I could hardly stop laughing! And everyone I told it too laughed as well.

Obviously I have a new prefix... no biggy. And the first 3 digits are nothing special: 740 (ok, my son was born in 1974 so that makes it easy to remember). Then the last 4 digits.....

My office: -6015 My home phone: -6015 !!

Honestly, I didn't request it! And it means that, even after I retire, I'll still have those digits to remind me of my job! I could probably change it if I wanted, but I think I'll keep it.... those 4 digits were mine for that past 15 years anyway! lol

I LOVE my new apartment!! It's coming along fine, still some boxes to unpack. Wheelie did a FANTASTIC job on installing my kitchen. Sorry, no decent pictures yet but I'll get around to posting some soon, I promise!

I really live in the country now. The farmers are harvesting the fields all around my town. We're still having a heat wave with temps between 90°-100° F... only one day of very heavy thunder storms in 3 weeks. This is so unusual. So the farmers are harvesting earlier then normal. After a very cold and wet spring, causing some crops to be lousy, it is now hot and dry and the wheat, corn, and other produce are not growing! Looks like price increases coming on.... *sigh*

Well anyway, that's a "short" update of what's been going on in my world. Yes, I've been reading blogs and even commenting (rarily though), but now I'm back in business.... maybe. The weeks of "abstinence" has kind of killed my motivation to blog..... I just don't seem to enjoy it anymore. But, maybe it's just a phase I'm going through. We'll see....

Dorrie

Still internet Issues.....oh, well

Yep, I still don't have a land-line phone and internet connection in my new apartment, but luckily t-com sent me an internet "stick" for free. But it's not as fast I'm used to and makes surfing a pain. But at least it allows me to stop by and read... maybe even leave a comment.

My apartment is really starting to look great!

Here's a pic of Regina's car getting towed away... the day before the movers came!

This is how my kitchen looked the first days....

It's now finished enough that I was able to cook in it yesterday! yoooohoooo I'll post more pictures when I get them uploaded....

The heat wave we've been having doesn't make working on things easier. It's been almost 2 weeks of 30+°C (86°+F), at times near 100°F, weather plus high humidity is so unusual! Just a few weeks ago it was cold and rainy. Germany even had some tornados touching down today and heavy thunder storms here and there....none at my place, though. Air conditioning in some of Germany's high speed trains broke down, causing temps up to 50°C (122°F) in the trains! Needless to say, there are lots of questions to be answered.

And there's no air conditioning in my office building. Some people have set up ventilators.

Well, I've got more boxes to unpack... today Wheelie managed to get the rest of the kitchen cabinets installed, except for the oven! Yay for Wheelie!

Before I forget....

Wizardress!!

And tomorrow is Regina's birthday.....

Dorrie

Internet issues... still

Just to keep you folks up-dated....

I still don't have a land-line phone or proper internet connection. I'm online via a "stick", one of those mobile USB gadgets you plug into your computer. The internet is slower and not everything loads well. So, I only stop by to check on posts and read here and there. If a site loads well, then I may also leave a comment... it also makes uploading pictures a problem so you'll just have to be patient! ;-)

And I still don't have a kitchen! LOL That's a real pain!

I'm back to work since Monday. So far no major disasters in that area....

So, just a short note to let you know I'm still alive and kicking!

Dorrie

Back online... and more moving woes! lol

Well, hello everyone! I'm BACK! sort of.....

Theoretically the move went well. The movers (5 guys!) took the whole day to take furniture apart, pack things in the trucks, drive to the new place, unpack the truck, and put furniture back together. they did a good, professional job. Many boxes got left in the garage because there was no place to put them.

Luckily it didn't rain like during the weeks before..... and it hasn't rained since! In fact, we are now having a heat wave.... between 95°F and 100°F plus humid!! aaarrggghhh This is SO unusual for here. It may be record temps!

I still have so much to do, but my body decided I've done enough.... too much lifting, etc., I just don't have any strength left.... and the heat on top of it all. And since most of my helpers work and have family responsibilities I'm pretty much left on my own, and there is a lot of heavy-duty stuff still needed to do.... like installing the kitchen! Yep, one week is over and I still don't have a working kitchen! I wash dishes in the bathroom sink, and warm up meals with the microwave. We had to change some arranging of the cabinets because electric cables run through the kitchen wall were the hanging cabinets are supposed to go! What kind of stupid architech (sp) does that! duh... (must have been a man, lol). So that delayed things a bit.

AND, I still don't have my telephone and/or internet! The company (telecom) sent me a stick for internet usage for 3 months... for free! You see, the company that had the line connected here for the previous recident (aol, ahem) didn't disconnect when they were supposed to so telecom can't put my line in yet. So, I'm now using the stick and can finally do some catching up... especially my emails!

Anyway, I thought I'd use this opportunity to let you all know I've survived so far. I have to go back to work on Monday (puke). Of course, my office, like my apartment, has NO air conditioning! It's a luxury that only banks and grocery stores usually enjoy having. So you can imagine how stressful living here is at the moment due to the heat (I still prefer this heat to cold any day!).

The air conditioning in my car decided to stop working as well. And speaking of cars..... I was using my daughter's car most of the time since it has a huge trunk when the back seats are removed. The day before the movers came, the ignition quit! I was at a local home depot type store and had to get towed to the shop! What timing! aaarrggghhhhh again! It's repaired now but sure through my schedule off.

Today is the big soccer match between Argentina and Germany at the world championships in South Africa. It's just now starting on TV. I'm not a fan, but this game is important! Actually, this would be the best time to go to the stores since the streets and shops will be completely EMPTY! LOL

See ya all around.....

Dorrie

P.S. pictures of the move may get posted later.....