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Living overseas

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Original poster

Streupflicht und Schneeschaufel

699 replies

finknottle · 05/01/2009 12:45

Thanks Gabster for the inspiration for the thread!

Add your resolutions here & I can slip alongside and pretend I'll make some too.
Still too fragile - my sleep patterns go haywire when I'm home, stay up till 1 or 2am, then awake at 5am (6 here, usual flipping school time) then I come back & keep crashing on the sofa at 10pm and wake up at 4 bright & breezy.

We have snow, very pretty and h is off till Weds so am pushing him out for Streupflicht, bartered it for a fry-up with real English bacon, hmmmmmm.
Forecast is for -12C to -14C tonight - and when the children go back to school on Thursday. Yikes.

OP posts:
admylin · 06/02/2009 11:06

Same here taipo. If h told me he'd got a great job offer in Sweden or Denmark I think I would just sit down and sob!

ZZZen · 06/02/2009 11:14

Hi ML! What happens at the lunchtime club? So glad she is happier, must be a weight off your mind.

I love your puppy, she sounds gorgeous

admylin · 06/02/2009 11:25

I had to sort of tell my neighbour politely to put a sock in it today. She has been talking to my dc about how great it would be if we had a dog too and then she came in one day and put the Tierheim website up on our computer and showed us the perfect dog for us, available now . She keeps saying she knows of this or that place to get puppies. All very nice of her but dd already thinks the one on tthe Tierheim website could be our dog. Trouble is the neighbour forgets that h has to be einverstanden first, I'm not getting a dog if he is against it. I told her to please stop until we've decided for sure. It's not fair to get their hopes like that.

MmeLindt · 06/02/2009 12:19

That is very unfair of your neighbour.

DH was not that keen on the idea of a dog but really left it up to me. He was worried about the fact that getting a dog is a huge commitment, we will likely (hopefully) have her for over 10 years so that is a long time to bind yourself to an animal. When you think about it, our children could be out of the house before the dog.

What we decided on was

  • small dog, that you can pretty much take everywhere
  • puppy so that we can train her ourselves, especially wiht having children, I did not want an older dog that might have issues
  • not a pedigree as they are too expensive and less robust

Everyone in the family has to be in agreement though, even if DH was not soooo keen at first. He still has a moan occasionally, but I caught him allowing the puppy to lick his face recently and he says hello to her before he gives me a kiss

ZZZen · 06/02/2009 12:53

Your neighbour has a lot of time for you, doesn't she admylin? I wonder sometimes if there is something lacking in her life atm. She does sound nice but it comes across at times as if you were her current project

admylin · 06/02/2009 15:47

Phew, ds came home ill from school with earache and the neighbour came down with her homeopathic kit and book and told me some of her home remedies. Then to my surprise, ds was on the sofa lying down, dd drawing and the neighbour went to my computer, which was switched on and put that dog zu verschenken website on that she told me about this morning. I even said to her please show it to me one morning when the dc aren't here I don't want to get their hopes up - but she just carried on and ignored me saying they have to fight for something if they want it. I said if they wanted a dog so badly they would talk about it more often and would have already convinced their dad but they haven't.

You are right ZZZen, she is very nice but she seems to be too interested in us. I know her dh earns quite alot so she's a bored housewife with grown up dc all flown the nest.

MmeLindt · 06/02/2009 17:39

Admylin
She sounds a bit overbearing and ever so slightly mad, tbh. I would never think of just using someone elses pc, even my brothers pc or a good friend.

admylin · 06/02/2009 17:46

Well I think I have perhaps made her too welcome and she feels abit too much at home. we get on but she is starting to make me feel uneasy. I admit to having pretended not to be at home a couple of times when I knew it was her ringing

ZZZen · 07/02/2009 07:35

"Deutschland hat ein gutes Image in der Welt: In einer Umfrage aus 21 Ländern trauen die meisten Befragten Deutschland einen positiven Einfluss auf das Weltgeschehen zu.

Überraschungssieg für Deutschland: Bei einer Umfrage der britischen BBC, welches Land den positivsten Einfluss auf das Weltgeschehen habe, landete die Bundesrepublik auf Platz eins. Schlechte Noten gab es für die USA. Auch China, Russland und Israel verschlechterten sich im Länder-Ranking."

ahh there you go, something positive

admylin · 07/02/2009 09:03

Lol at positive Einfluss on the rest of the world, what sort of Einfluss on the 'rest of the world' that has to live here though!

admylin · 07/02/2009 09:06

Wonder if Ernest got away? The weather focast didn't look too great last night.

MmeLindt · 07/02/2009 09:28

LOL at the "positiven Einfluss". I guess that is the typical stereotype of the fleissige German.

DH came home late last night, he was in a wine bar with colleagues and "forgot to come home". I emailed him that I was waiting behind the door with the rolling pin

He was getting a lift home from a friend so was a bit later than expected. Tbh, I was fine about it. At least I got to MN in peace for the evening.

MmeLindt · 07/02/2009 09:29

Good luck, Ernest with your flight. I hope you have a good time. Don't empty the British supermarkets now.

admylin · 07/02/2009 13:10

Yes, I hope you took an extra bag in your luggage to come back filled with goodies!

Update on the neighbour: the dsd is here this weekend and her and dd get on well. They rang the bell just now and came in for a while then she (the neighbour) said she thought we could watch a dvd together and have Abendessen but in our flat would be better. Ds is still ill, recovering on the sofa under a blanket. I said we'll see because ds is ill he might want his peace and then it would be better if dd and I just came up for a while to their place. She said no it's better if he's abgelenkt we'll come to you. I couldn't talk her out of it without her finding a reason to contradict what I was saying.

She started on about dogs again and I said listen I need to get my family to sign in blood infront of a lawyer that I will not be the only one left with all the work if we got a dog so until that has happpend we won't be getting a dog at all. I hope she understood this time.

They've gone back up now and want to come down at 5:30 - I'd like to have now and then but we had them last weekend too and if she's going to go on about dogs all the time I'll be having a great evening.

ZZZen · 07/02/2009 16:06

I think you need to cool it a bit. She does tend to override you, doesn't she? Are you being too Englishy and polite and not forthright enough maybe?

taipo · 08/02/2009 09:13

How was your evening admylin?

admylin · 08/02/2009 09:32

Morning!

Evening was OK as dd enjoyed playing with the dsd and h actually saved the day by coming home (well, I had to go and pick him up as it was pouring and he had his lap top) just as we were all sitting down to eat Abendessen , he was very sociable at first but then let them know that he had to work further so the neighbours dh understood and went up at 9.30pm as we don't have a study just the big living area with the desks and computers at one side - but if he hadn't got the hint then the neighbour would have been quite happy on our sofa all eveneing.

Now the next news! Dd loves cream cakes and especially those Sahnetorten things that are typically German. I can't make them, no idea or intrest to learn really but the neighbour has promised to make one for us and she told us last night that it's made and awaits us today for Kaffee und Kuchen. A bit much really but I can't not go as she's gone to the trouble of making it already.

MmeLindt · 08/02/2009 10:31

Hmm, Sahnetorte.

But I do agree with ZZZen that you are goign to have to be a bit un-British and make it more clear to your neighbour when you don't have time for her. Otherwise she is going to take over your life.

Perhaps you could go on the offensive, and arrange things to suit yourself. She seems to like spending time with the DC, perhaps you could delegate something to her? Is she particularly good at anything that you don't like to do, like maths or a language so that you could ask her for help with homework?

I am feeling rather grotty so DH has taken the DC to the farmers' market in France to get honey and a roasted chicken for dinner. He has said that he will go into town afterwards and get some magazines so that I can rest a bit. I am on the couch with the dog, a pot of tea and the fire roaring.

taipo · 08/02/2009 11:41

She does sound very overbearing. Probably quite well-meaning but also pretty scarey tbh. Hope the Kaffee and Kuchen goes OK.

ML, sorry you're still feeling grotty. though at the roaring fire!

admylin · 09/02/2009 08:22

Hope you feel better today mmelindt.

The afternoon was OK yesterday. They came down to us with the Sahnetorte but it wasn't a classic torte. She is very into health and natural products so she made it with quark mostly and some new healthy sort of gelatine Ersatz which she wasn't sure about using so when she took the ring off that was around the cake it sort of melted and collapsed. Then she said she'd put egg white in the mixture to make it lighter but it was somehow just slimey. Poor woman - the dc didn't manage to eat much and I forced a bit down with lots of coffee to wash it down. She meant well! They left just before 6 as they had to take the dsd back home.

taipo · 09/02/2009 09:39

lol at slimey cake. Somehow it makes her more sympathisch though than if she'd produced the perfect cake.

Why did they come to you? I thought the idea was to go up to theirs for K & K.

TheGabster · 09/02/2009 12:08

Hello everyone!

Phew, snowed under here with packing and organising stuff.

How is everyone? What's going on? Feel like I have not posted for aaaaaaaages.

taipo · 09/02/2009 17:06

Hi Gabster. Was wondering where you were! How's the packing going?

No snow here although which is a shame cos I actually like snow even if I hate this cold winter we're having.

taipo · 10/02/2009 07:50

OMG it's windy here!

I just went out to put the bins in the garage before they blew over and sent rubbish flying through the neighbourhood and nearly got blown over myself.

admylin · 10/02/2009 08:14

How is teh storm taipo? I've just seen the storm warnings for most of the south. Hope it doesn't come up here this afternoon, h has taken the car and I have to appear at this meeting without a hair out of place!