I Have To Do What?

Here we are in Copenhagen. Finally!! And we found a house! Similar to this, just a few less rooms.


The process of working out the details is under way. The company is actually signing the lease, so it's going to be handled, from this point on, by the HR department. We've asked for a few things...a new fridge, new microwave, and the removal of the Spiderman carpet in one of the bedrooms....but the agent doesn't think any of this is going to be an issue since the guy is in a hurry for a tenant.

The new place has a very nice fenced yard for the dog, lots of very nice wooden lawn furniture for me, and a pool for John (albeit an unheated one).


I know an unheated pool in Denmark sounds kind of funny but six weeks use in a year is better than nothing! And we're tough.....I think.

The back wall of the house is glass which makes that great backyard feel like it's part of the house. And the first thing I'll do when I get there, is take all of that garden furniture waiting under the carport and place it around my new patio.


I am such a sucker for garden furniture. I spied this treasure trove as we drove up and most of what was inside the house became inconsequential.


We didn't look at all that many houses since there aren't all that many fully furnished houses to look at. We did see some apartments but I think a house is a much better option with the dog. Especially when I think about how many 4th and 5th floor apartments we saw in buildings with no elevators. Obviously all that bike riding to work and the grocery store has given the Danes nice strong legs.

I need nice strong legs, too, so I've been bike shopping online. I've been browsing the bike racks on the streets and been to a couple bike shops. The selection of bikes here is incredible! Which makes sense since 36% of the population of Copenhagen bike to work or school.


Who would have thunk that a country with a population as small as Denmark's would be able to support more than a dozen cycle manufacturers. Those companies sell enough bikes to the local market that they don't need to have their websites in any other language but Danish. After 4 nights of bike browsing, I've learned a fair bit of vocabulary. When I get back here in May, I'll begin my search in earnest and take some of them out for a test drive. That should amuse all of the Danes in the new neighborhood.

Whatever I do choose for a bike, it will have to be a good sturdy one. I might be forced into two wheel transportation by a new freakish Danish law that makes people with non-EU driver's licenses be completely retested in order to get a Danish driver's license. And foreigners living in Denmark are required to get a Danish license....an International one won't do either. Within 2 weeks of getting our residency cards we have to begin the process of converting our licenses.

The very nice lady with Deloitte passed this info to us a few minutes after John signed his contract and we handed her our immigration paper work. She was very sympathetic and apologized for her government but explained how the North American licensing system wasn't considered rigorous enough for us to qualify for an automatic flip. I can see by checking out the requirements of new drivers in Denmark she's right, but dammit, shouldn't 32 years of experience count for something?

We were strongly advised to take a driving course that prepares you for the tests....the written and the road (yikes!)....and she gave me a name of a place that has classes in English. English.....I never thought of that! Could be important, no? The written test is in Danish and so we have to take a certified interpreter with us. The interpreter must also be sitting in the back of the car during the road test too. The school has made an English translation of the Rules of the Road book but apparently it isn't perfect and it costs about $100. There isn't any point to just getting the book and studying on your own for the test, since the driving instructors are the only ones allowed to book appointments for testing. Mom and Dad are not legally allowed to teach the kids to drive here. You have to take driver education.

From what I've discovered, the written test is a bitch, with questions not designed to test your knowledge....but to trick you instead. The driving schools train you on how to take the test. They teach you the words they use with ambiguous meanings, and get you to practice and practice and practice. When they think you're ready, they go to your local "commune" and book your appointment. They also take care of getting the interpreter. Apparently, this isn't all that simple since there are 4 schedules that have to be coordinated for anything to happen.....space for the test on the commune's schedule, and the availability of the 3 parties involved. The instructor will also come to the written test with you. It takes an hour! Get 6 questions wrong out of 100 and you flunk.

That's the easy part. If I was a Dane I would HAVE to take the test on a manual transmission, but since I am an uncoordinated foreigner, they have relaxed the rules so that I may take my test on an automatic. But because I am an uncoordinated klutz, the car I use for the test has to have dual controls. The driving school will rent me the automatic but of course it costs more. (I think there is a ton of money to be made in the EU off foreigners who need to go to driving school.)

We had the cost of the driving school added to John's contract. It cost something like a 5,000 kroner (about $1000) each for the course. But this time it isn't the money.....it's a road test! Can't I show them a Manhattan parking ticket as proof I know how to drive anywhere? Would they accept the course I took in Texas to counter my speeding ticket last year? It was 6 freaking hours long!

There aren't all that many cars in Denmark, I don't get it. I can't see any here...


Wait, I can see a couple in this one if I squint...


And there's another one....behind that tree.


So there are a few round-abouts........I think I'd catch onto them quick enough. I know not to run over a cyclist. But will I remember to check the bike lanes on that driver's test? My new mantra is....bike lane, bike lane, bike lane. I WILL NOT forget there are bike lanes on all of the roads. I will forget everything I saw in Baku that passes for driving. When I am in Halifax next month, I will practice model driving skills and try to expunge some bad habits.

On the bright side I am not a new Danish driver who has an even more rigorous test to pass and a 7 hour first aid course to complete. Maybe that's why 36% of the people in Copenhagen bike to work.

I don't need a beer right now, I need a brewery tour.

The Old Pro Goes Carpet Shopping

This is the Maiden's Tower. Ruslan's Flying Carpet is located just to the right of the tower. Samir's Qizil Gul is located immediately to the left.



You can't see one shop from the other with the tower in the way, so it's easy to say good bye to one and slip 'round to the other. Like, Ruslan, Samir has a reputation as a good guy to deal with. Unlike Ruslan, he doesn't have a Montreal Canadiens baseball cap. But I have a feeling there might be a Toronto Maple Leafs one in his future.

I can't remember what day last week that I went to Samir's, but John was with me, and this time, Ali came in with us instead of just dropping us off on the boulevard. He brought a pair of carpets with him that had belonged to his great grandmother and he wanted to have them appraised.

EEEEEEEEEE!!! Just like Christmas!!!


And Santa came....



The first thing we got Samir to show us, after the opening pleasantries and pouring of the tea, were some silks.....and we got some more lessons.



These were creeping up into the $1800 dollar range and we didn't see one that we liked better than the one we both liked at The Flying Carpet. We had quite a stack of rugs piled up in front of us and the colors and patterns were beginning to all run together again. I was at the point of not knowing what I wanted anymore. John wasn't getting stressed out over this at all since he had convinced himself that Ruslan's pale silk Tabriz was his ace in the hole. He had initially thought that getting a carpet of local design with symbolism unique to the area would be the way to go. He was looking for a souvenir, while I wanted something to go under the dining room table we'd buy when we got Stateside again. Somewhere along the way he got caught up in my mantra of silk and changed his mind.

Then Samir unfurled this one onto the top of the pile.



Oooooohhhh!!! Pitter patter....

It is a Kazak...from a region in northern Azerbaijan. It had symbols. The Tree of Life. Moustache to represent man, earring to represent woman, birds which stand in for dragons! And it was big and it had a velvety sheen because it's merino goat's wool, and it was priced sort of right, and we both liked it very much so we bought it. Why? Well, we both really did fall in love with it. Pretty much end of story....um...not really though.....because we didn't exactly stop shopping. We didn't have quite enough money on us to pay for the carpet, so I had to come back.

A few days later, John went off to Copenhagen to see about his new job and I went downtown to square things up with Samir. I bought 2 kilims. I wanted 3 to give as gifts, but only saw 2 that I wanted. Gosh....I have to come down here and do this again! Pity.

Then in a stroke of good luck John came back from Denmark with a commission....to find a carpet for friends who live in Copenhagen. They wanted a silk rug about 2 meters by 3 meters.....nothing to flashy....something nice, and subtle, but still with some color. They sent me a picture to go by via email and away we went on Saturday.

Our first stop was to Ruslan's and out of the 4 silk carpets he had shown us on our first day, only 2 were left. One of them was the silk we had liked so much. This, Ruslan took as a sign that it was meant to be ours. John murmured something about our friends probably liking this one, so maybe we should just get that one and go home. Well, that was all well and good but I had told them that I'd go 'round to the shops, take some photos and then upload them so they could make their own choice. I didn't see how I could send them one picture and say, "Okay, this is it. Hope you like it." Spending your friends money is fun but does come with some responsibility. Would you trust this man with your 1500 bucks?


You can probably tell by the blue eyes that isn't Ruslan....

For myself, I succumbed to a trio of 100% silk sumaq's.



They just happened to be laid out on top of someone's pile when we entered the shop.


They are magic carpets, they knew my name and called out to me......they told me evil lies.....We make excellent Christmas presents!


I'd bet at a meter by a meter and a half they are too big to fit in a suitcase. Bummer! None of my carpet lessons to date have taught me how to turn off the siren voices in my head.....that must be an advanced class down at the carpet museum.

Since we had many more shops to go and only one day to hit them up, I finally gave John the exit signal and started to head up the stairs. When I turned to see if he was coming or not, he was still standing next to his rolled up beloved silk. The next thing I know, he whips his right hand out of his jeans pocket, slaps the top of the roll and says, We'll take it!

Score one for the man in the silly hat! What? I shot him the look. The one that combines "Hellllllo!" and "WTF?" all into one brow furrow. At this point, knitted brows notwithstanding, I start stammering. Trying tell John we can't do that. We have to shop more. I have to send pictures to Copenhagen. Ruslan is happy. He begins to discuss getting the certificate. John and Ruslan see me fidgeting there. John back tracks a little at the sight of me and tells Ruslan he is 90% sure that he'll take it.He'll let him know 100% tomorrow.

I'm still standing on the first step....beginning to get giddy thinking he can't be buying this carpet for people who haven't even seen it! He must be buying it for us! He must be happier with his Danish compensation than I thought! No one has told him what the tax rates are in Denmark! Maybe there won't be any Clay trips for the next two and a half years?

We exit the rug shop and begin to walk past the tower.



And an archeological dig....



We are headed in the general direction of a whole street full of carpet shops. I am trying to figure out what John was thinking. I want to know if he bought that for us, or was he feeling lucky and confident enough to buy it for them. He told me he thought it was the best rug he had seen, and if they didn't want it then he'd buy it. Yikes! We wave off the entreaties of the first few shop owners and wander a bit. The bag of sumaqs is a big flag for the vendors....folks in a buying mood! Put on the tea!

Eventually, we stop...mostly so I can take pictures to satisfy my need to send some choices to our friends. John's interest is waning a little since he is convinced he has the right one on hold down the street. I'm beginning to think he was right.

This one was nice but not big enough.



I liked this one, and the guy really came down his price, but it didn't look much like the picture I was carrying.



Neither did this one....



Or this one.....



It's right about now that John gets a phone call from Ali. There's a big concert for the holidays happening down on the Boardwalk. He wants us to head that way and he'll meet us. It isn't exactly a nice balmy day for an outdoor concert and we could hear it from where we were in the Old City. Some one is singing Can't Touch This. We decide a couple of cappucinos at Caramel Cafe sound better. I am still in a state of shock over my maybe I own it/maybe I don't silk carpet (in addition to the one I already bought with The Tree of Life pattern, the 2 kilims, and the 3 sumaqs). But I have a dozen or more pictures of contenders to send to Denmark later that night.

This is the photo of the carpet that they liked the best.



Looks kind of familiar, doesn't it? No, he didn't say I told you so. He's just a little smug, that's all. But he's gone out of town for a couple of weeks so it's okay. This side step to Houston has backed up our move by almost a month...which means three more paydays before the Danish taxes kick in and the Euro-Budget becomes effective. I still owe Ruslan $250 bucks for the sumaqs since I was a little short that day, too. I'm going to have to drop by there this week to give him some money.

Luckily, I have learned that the amount you can offer is never limited to what's in your wallet. John told Ruslan he'd pay for the silk at the end of the month. Hmmmmm.....John's out of town for a couple of weeks and it doesn't matter whether you have money or not.....

The Novice Goes Carpet Shopping

If there is one single thing that I wanted to take from Baku when we left, it's a carpet. I'd say Persian carpet but, according to the Azeris, there is no such thing as a Persian carpet because there are 20 million Azeris in Iran.....and so all Persian carpets are really Azeri carpets.....even though I don't think they make all the carpets. Also, there are many different kinds of Azeri carpets depending on the fiber, the region it was made, or where the design originated. I think after a week of intense carpet shopping, I can identify a few of them by sight. It really impresses me that I managed to get beyond 'ooohing' and 'ahhhhhing' to actually absorb some of what I was told in the shops.

At first I thought I wanted a silk pile rug large enough for a dining room. This was going to be at the absolute top of my budget but would still cost a lot less than if I was to buy one at home. My first stop was here, at "The Flying Carpet"


I went with Barbara on that first day. She introduced me to Ruslan (the shop's owner) as an absolute carpet neophyte, and I got the full crash course on "Carpetology"...served, of course, with hot cups of tea. Each lesson was accompanied by a full spread of delicious colors and textures as Ruslan, rolled out one beautiful carpet after another. It didn't matter to Ruslan what kind of carpet I said I wanted in the beginning, he had to show all types because I was new and couldn't really know what I wanted until I saw many. He told me to be patient he would get to the large silk ones later.

In the end I left "The Flying Carpet" with 4 rugs, 2 for the floor and 2 wall hangings. No money exchanged hands. I was to take them home on a try out.

This wool Quba carpet is about 40 years old, all the dyes are natural but the only thing I remember is that the reds come from beet root and the outer layers of onions. Oh, the teal blues are made by oxidizing copper, and a lot of the other colors are from different flowers that the rug maker would have grown in her yard. It was my first choice of the First Day Four. John wasn't all that wild about it. He said, "Keep shopping." Like that would be a problem?


I also really liked this wall hanging, The Garden of Eden. It has a little silk in it and is the only one I brought home that has any silk in it at all. So much for initial intentions.


I thought John would like this one, but he didn't, so it went back too.


This is the 4th one from the first day shopping at Ruslan's. Once I got this one home, it took me about 2 minutes to decide I didn't want it.


We took the 3rd and the 4th ones back the next day. Hung out with Ruslan, had some more tea while he showed us the larger silk on silk carpets he had in the shop (kind of like a well lit dungeon surrounded with piles of cushions and colors...rolled carpets leaning against the stone walls. John really really liked this silk Tabriz one.....it wasn't as dark as this in real life and the picture doesn't do it justice at all. The shading on the silk pile....just like velvet. I don't think I drooled on it but if I did Ruslan was kind enough not to comment.


I really really liked it, too. But being as we are beginning a new How Can We Ever Afford To Live in Europe? frugality plan, the $1500 best price made us hesitate.....more shopping. I could get the Quba and The Garden of Eden for $600 for both.

I learned a lot about carpet shopping from Ruslan. Not everything I needed to know was about the carpets, there were some things I learned about carpet sellers as well. First of all, you will always be offered tea and asked to sit. Sometimes you get a nice place to sit and sometimes it isn't so nice.....like an antique (I am being generous here) settee that looks like it's about to collapse, or eat you, when you sit on it. Carpet sellers are charming people who have a very logical and philosophical approach to their trade. As Ruslan told me, he can't lose if I don't buy a particular carpet. He can sell that carpet to someone else. (Insert appropriately accented English here.) "No problem...I no lose." Now, me on the other hand, I can lose. I walk away without buying something I like and, since he can sell it to someone else....I can lose. So, naturally, my interests are his greatest concern because no harm can come to him, only poor vulnerable me. I must remember to apply this way of thinking to other things in my life, such as a new pair of boots.

The second most lethal weapon in the arsenal of a carpet seller (taking a back seat only to the carpets themselves) is this.....

The simple, innocuous, desktop calculator. The tool that helps new recruits like me get over that first initial haggling experience with some grace and dignity, especially in the presence of others whose sheer presence would be enough to make that first low ball offer strangle in your throat. Most of the time the "last price" isn't given first, though a couple of times it was (as in the case of the silk beauty up there). So, haggling is expected but this ain't a bag of cherries, there are emotional ties in the mix. And sometimes there are other customers in the store who you just KNOW are experts and KNOW how much you should expect to pay for the privilege of taking your treasured one home with you forever. The fear of looking stupid can be overpowering. It can make fainthearted shoppers like myself exit stage left when no one is looking. So, if you pause for a deep breath after...'How much are you willing to pay?'....the calculator will be passed so you can sheepishly enter your amount without uttering a word. The calculator will be passed back and forth with each party getting closer until everyone is happy, and nobody loses. I am kind of proud that I had to resort to the calculator for only my first time. Ever since then, I've managed to blurt out my counteroffers without hesitation. Ruslan said I learned quick.

After we left 'The Flying Carpet', Ali took us to another carpet place close to where he lives. Using our usual North American logic, we thought that if it was away from the "tourist section" of town, the prices might be even better. Unfortunately, this is the lobby. It is not attached to a hotel. But it had hotel lobby prices.


We were offered cognac instead of tea. Instead of dungeon like stone walls, the main showroom had the proportions of a ballroom.


It also had some absolutely gargantuan silk rugs....with matching price tags.


I am so glad they don't take credit cards!


I don't remember the name of this carpet shop, if I ever did know it at all. I'll never forget the Mercedes S-class parked by the front steps with a couple of young Russian mafia types in dark sunglasses sitting in the front seat. And I'll never forget what was behind these doors.


This was amazing to watch.


There were about 8 looms in this room with 4 women at each, bent over and hands flying as they worked. They work five days a week, 10 hours a day. A wool rug takes 6 to 7 months to complete and a silk one longer, 9 months to a year.


None of the women gave us more than a passing glance and I think they're used to the touring customers.


And then there was the dying room...


And the dyed silk just hanging there waiting for my fingers to play with it.


At this point everything was beginning to get fuzzy and I wished I had taken that cognac to steady my hands. Drooling, quivering people do not win the bargaining game for carpets....even though I was pretty sure if I so much as asked price in this fancy-schmancy carpet place John would clamp a hand over my mouth before I could get the chance to show off my new bartering skills. I wonder if those mafia types parked out front were the boys they sent out to collect the carpets sent out on approval that didn't make it back as promised. That's logical right? If you've got their rug, you've got to come back...and probably 99% of the time that works.

By now we had been shopping for 2 days. John decided he really needed to get back to the office, so Ali took him there and then drove me home. I rested up for the next time. We were going to Samir's.

To be continued......

A Day in the Burbs

Ali drove me to the international school to get something signed the other day and didn't I leave my camera home on the desk! Monday must be laundry day in Baku because almost all of the apartment balconies we passed were decorated with clothes. I have no idea how clothes hanging to dry over a dusty dirt road would be clean for very long, but I am making a point to go back that same way next Monday to get a picture. It wasn't an overly attractive thing, but it was perfect nonetheless. There are many examples of beautiful architecture in this city, and that's all well and good....but for some reason I am drawn to the square Soviet block apartments. They have nothing in particular to recommend them but they fascinate me, despite their downright ugliness. Just weird I guess.

Another thing that we passed on our way to the school was one of those old Soviet neighborhood heating plants. There were a couple of smoke stacks that drew my attention as we drove past this rusting abandoned plant. Ali told me it was for heat back in "Soviet Time". Apparently the Soviets heated entire neighborhoods of apartment blocks with one single boiler. It was hot water heating via wall rads and the heat was turned on in the middle of November and turned off in the middle of March. No one had a thermostat to control their own temperature, no one could turn the individual rads on or off....which is the same in our house. I always thought it was odd that the rads had no shut off valves. There are no thermostats, either. If I want heat I go outside to the mechanical room and turn the crank. If I want it off, I got outside and turn it back. Rudimentary system, but at least I have the control and not the Polit Bureau.

I did finally get around to taking a picture of the Dom Soviet this weekend. It was built by German P.O.W's during the second world war. This thing is huge (see the teeny tiny cars?) and has an enormous square in front. Back in "Soviet Time"....before 1991, it was the Soviet Ministry Building and I've heard it called just "the ministry." It's gorgeous when it's all lit up at night, so that's another photo I have to get before we leave here.



A few of weekends ago we decided to take the dog for a drive. We ended up on the north side of the Absheron Peninsula (Baku is on the south side). We only drove about 30 kilometers at the most but we passed what is supposed to someday be a neighborhood that looks like one in a western country. The plan on the website shows normal sized houses, with lawns, yards, and sidewalks, and no high walls separating one neighbor from another.

Right now it looks like this......



Across the road from the new development was a field with "badam" trees supporting a crop of grocery bags.



I think "badam" are hazelnuts (as per the hand signals accompanied by circuitous description and deduction between Ali and me). This is something he tried to explain to me a long time ago since we live in the area of the city known as Badamdar. But, as with most things, it took me a while to get it.

When we left Villa Badam, we followed the road further up the shore toward Sumqayit, the 3rd largest city in Azerbaijan. Here they make (or have at some point made)......stuff.....like synthetic rubber, fertilizers, aluminum, batteries, and caustic soda, in addition to various and sundry petrochemicals. The Soviets made lots of.....um....stuff.... there too, back in the day. I do believe it has come to the attention of WHO. I think I read somewhere that a nearby town is called "Polymer." No kidding!

What would a nice heavily industrialized, ecologically interesting town be without nearby beaches?


It's kind of universal how things just tend to go to pot over the winter, eh?



I'm really sorry I'm not going to be here in the summer and won't get the chance to change in one of these handy dandy cabanas. Or sip a few margaritas at the Marlboro Bar (which is supposed to be busy and rockin' in the summer with happy beach goers).....



Then again, the way our moves always get delayed and pushed back due to unforeseen circumstances, I might get that chance after all. I sure would like to know if I dipped a toe in the Caspian would my nail polish come off? Honestly, these folks have to be made of hardier stuff than I am.



Where is his hard hat? Where is his fall protection? What about his voltage absorbing gloves and shoes? Are there no industrial supply companies in Baku? I am sure you can get all of this stuff at Taza Bazaar! He could drop his wire cutters out of that basket onto the head of a passing pedestrian!

This electric company repairman held my fascination while John was in the Baku Roasting Company getting us a couple of lattes. That process takes about 15 minutes, with no line up, and in that time, this guy got his wires up and connected to the pole with nary a spark. He was down on the ground and safely back in his truck by the time my coffee was passed through the car window. I burnt my lips on it and suffered more injury than this guy with his death defying attitude toward electrocution. I'm amazed that this was a genuine electric company employee, and it makes me a little hesitant to report outages. Next time I need to call, I'm going to wait until the freezer full of Alberta beef is on its last few ice crystals. I'm not sure I could handle the guilt of sending someone up the power pole like that.

But if I did lose all that meat, I could take a little stroll down to the corner to get one of these guys.....except.....not!



Those sheep are grazing inside the concrete bunker for the power pole and these turkeys are left to wander along the sides of the road (mostly in the road). The number of turkeys is dwindling so I guess that they turned out to be a profitable investment for Buddy, the Green-Shack-Rancher-Butcher. Is it really necessary for every few streets to have an outdoor butcher shop? Go ahead, call me a "lamb hugger."


And just because it's free range poultry, doesn't necessarily mean it's good for you.

When I get to Denmark, I'll take some pictures of the happy Danish cows. They're supposed to be the happiest cows in the world....or maybe that's the people. Er....no, I don't mean the people are happy cows.....I mean the cows themselves are happy...really happy......like the people, who are the happiest people in the world. Danes are so freakin' happy, they are even happy to pay taxes. I discovered this little tidbit on a website for people moving to Denmark. WOW! There's obviously something way more interesting in their water than heavy metals!

If I find some Danish sheep I will photograph them, too. I bet the ewes will have pink bows and the rams, spit polished hooves. They won't graze inside concrete power pole bunkers, they'll romp in perfect green, government-maintained, meadows....under the watchful eyes of expensively groomed Sheep Dogs. Like this one.



He will look like this again when he gets to Denmark! I swear he will! (Even though he claims to have lost his passport and would prefer to stay here.....where there is a woeful lack of grooming parlors.)

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Who would have ever thought that an invite to a St. Patrick's Day function would come with the note..."Black Tie, Suit, Formal"? Not me that's for sure. We found out about the St. Patrick's Day funk-she-on....to be held in the Guba Ballroom at the Hyatt while grocery shopping at the end of February. It came highly recommended by friends as the best of the Baku expat parties, bar none.....well, bar open like all the rest of them I actually.

John looked into getting us tickets....which he got....and then he forwarded the email with all the details. The "black tie formal" thing freaked me out more than a little. Why were we being asked to get all gussied up to drink green beer and eat corned beef and cabbage? I don't think I've ever dressed up for St. Pat's in anything more fancy than a "Kiss Me I'm Irish" tee shirt accessorized with a glitter covered bowler. I hadn't bargained on any more fancy parties following the Robbie Burns supper back in January. I thought I was going to get out of Dodge without having to dress up again. I am starting to get really sick of those black palazzo pants.

So, the big do wasn't exactly on St.Patrick's Day. It was on March 7th since everyone was going to be vacating Baku for spring break. Thank goodness for that! I figured that would take care of the requirement to wear green because it wasn't really St. Patrick's Day. In the end, I did find something to wear, got all dressed up and the whole thing was much better than I expected. A quick check of the seating chart let us know that we were sitting with the band.....this time a quintet of guys flown in from Ireland just for this. We exchanged cards and an "If you're ever in the area." Filling out the remaining spots in our group was a contingent of Norwegians who made me explain why St. Patrick was held in such high esteem by the Irish. And, I kid you not....me...this Irish Catholic girl who graduated from St. Patrick's High School and a Jesuit University.....came up with "It has something to do with some snakes." I thought I did much better with my explanation of a Leprechaun......"A cross between and elf and a troll." The Norwegians understood "troll".

Well, there wasn't a green beer in sight and the meal was beef tenderloin followed by chocolate mousse. This travesty, though delicious, was mitigated by the large bottle of Bailey's on every table. The Norwegians were good and fun company. They even shamed me into dancing. And as always we won something in the raffles....no trips this time, though. I now have my very own hurling stick and ball.

Jutland, Jutland, Jutland

So, it's official. We are moving to Denmark. The notice on the house has been given for the end of this month, and the movers have been here to do their estimates. John is going to Copenhagen on Thursday and Friday to meet with his boss-to-be, and I guess I'm supposed to be starting the sorting and tossing process any time now. Probably should have started that last week but.....I was having a hard time getting my head around picking up stakes after only a year. So, I have to admit I was dragging my heels. It isn't that I don't want to move to Denmark, it's just that I'm not totally in the mood to move anywhere yet. I was rather enjoying being hunkered down with my books and my freezer full of Alberta beef. I haven't read a quarter of the books yet, but we are making a concerted effort to get through the beef before we go. (I will confess to buying a chicken last week to break the monotony of rib eyes, though.)

Today I made a list of things to think about doing before the big day. The big day is the 30th of March, our planned departure from Baku. The movers said they could be here to pack and load on the weekend of the 28th and 29th, so that's what we'll do. My visa expires on April 2nd, so I have to be gone by then unless I want to spend the money to renew it. And even more important than the money, the upcoming Novruz holidays means that getting a new visa, even on the fast track, is going to take too long. I don't want to have my passport out of my hands for a couple of weeks. I wish Canada would do what Britain does and allow you to have an extra one. Sure would come in handy when you have to hand it over to a foreign government.

Anyway, I seem to have way too many clothes here so I want to cull the dregs out of the wardrobes, and maybe some of John's dregs, too.....if I can get him to give something up. I have to separate our things from those of the landlord, and then put our things into some sort of order so I won't have a mess on my hands at the other end. I also need to decide what's coming with us and what can go on the truck. Oh....and I can't forget to call British Midland to get the lowdown on transiting Kenai through Heathrow. They HAVE to have a place to kennel dogs overnight.....I sure hope so! If we can overnight in London, we can get the direct flight to Halifax which makes the whole dog importing business a whole lot easier. I dread the thought of having to fly all the way to Toronto, only to pick him up for customs clearance, give him just a hug, and then put him right back on a plane for Halifax. The flying time will be hours longer. So, add to the list that phone call and getting his health certificate from the vet here. I need to find one!

John is planning a dinner with all of the folks from the office for next week and there are some friends we want to see before we leave. I am getting some prints made of photos taken by a famous Baku photographer (who looks and awful lot like Bono). I wish I had time to get them, and about a dozen other things I had planned, framed before we go. Framing is so cheap in Baku. But I have a feeling that isn't going to get done. Since we are going to one of the most expensive places to live, I'm trying to think of what I'm going to need and don't have with me here. I saw a salad spinner at Master Tibot's last month for about $15 so I'm adding that as a necessity. Mine is in storage in Houston.

I think John and I are going to Copenhagen next week to look for a place to live. We had tickets for tonight but we just didn't have a chance to get things set up to go. The decision not to go was made this afternoon, so I'm glad I didn't waste time packing. And I'm glad I'll be in bed at 3:00 am tonight instead of driving to the airport. Tomorrow, I'm going to spend some time going over the offerings on that website of rentals he sent me today. It only took a glance to see that I am going to be downsizing considerably....which is okay considering there ain't gonna be no maid with this house.

Speaking of which....our new one starts tomorrow. Does that not say something about my ironing? John insisted we replace Lena when she quit working. I've been trying to keep up with the shirts and the pants (drawing the line at underwear and night clothes). Anyway, I can't hold a candle to Lena's abilities with laundry...and so I am to be replaced.

I miss Lena a lot. She was here every Tuesday and Friday and it was nice to have someone else in this great big house besides just me. Sadly her health situation isn't good and understandably she stopped coming a few weeks ago. She was here on a Friday, and when I woke up the following Tuesday the house was too quiet. I knew then that she wasn't coming back.....and we've since found out that her cancer is much more advanced than they originally thought. Instead of stage two, it's stage four. A bone scan revealed that it had spread to her leg. Apparently surgery is out and she began her chemotherapy treatments last week. It sounds like they are doing the same things they do back home but I can't say for sure. Her daughter told us she is to get one treatment every three weeks for six months. It doesn't sound good but I'm hoping for the best. I have to check with her daughter this week to see if she is up to some company. I have to say good bye before we leave.

Oh...I don't like the way that sounds.....at all.

Okay, onto carpet shopping. We got one. Even though we have joined the ranks of the recently frugal......and for some strange reason I have started to view purchases in light of how much better use that money could be put. Maybe it was the CNN item I watched the other week about the woman in India who lost her job, and had to tell her kids that they couldn't go back to their public school because she couldn't pay the $3 fee that the school required. For some reason that little item, just made all of "this" which includes 21 handbags, 46 pairs of shoes, and 9 pairs of jeans that don't fit because I eat too much seem really really shameful. I wanted 3 carpets but I only bought one. But I'm not fooling myself either, when I get within 100 feet of Macy's again.....I'll totally forget how many pairs of shoes I have. I just know I will.