What's a girl gonna do when she wakes up at 7:00 on a Saturday morning? I'm all caught up on everything for the week. I've weeded through my email, and picked out the 5 real ones out of the 40 that came from concert halls and arenas all across America, the 50 that came from hotels and hotel reward plans, and the 20 I got with offers from plus size clothing shops. Ah.....the remnants of tours past.
Anyway, I had a look at this blog and decided it was desperately boring in appearance. Time for a redo, and redo I did. Voila! The brand new Sally's is up and running with some sidebar sprucing to come if I happen to wake up at 7 again tomorrow. If that doesn't happen my short attention span, may mean it stays as it is. So far, I'm liking it!
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
When Houseboys Go A.W.O.L.
Where is he?? The dirt is beginning to show on the light wood floors and I bought him a brand new broom last week! Man, there's even fresh Ajax and Bang waiting in the closet. Lars has disappeared. He didn't make it on Friday. Then Sunday night he called and said he was coming Monday at 16:00. No show again. It's now 19:00 on Tuesday and no Lars....no text message. The last time he was here to clean the house he didn't clean the house, he cleaned some of the pool and mowed the grass. Cleaning the pool cost me both of the scrubbing brooms that he uses on the floors. Hence, the new one.
My spidey senses are telling me foreclosure is imminent and he's done doing anything with this house. I wouldn't put another nickel in it if the bank was taking it from me, so why should he? No sign of the pool guy who was supposed to finish what he started two weeks ago. I'm guessing Lars is hanging back in typical non-confrontational Danish style. John's going to have to ask the legal guys to call him up to find out what gives pretty soon. I sure hope he's keeping up his payments on the flat screen TV.
While all of this house drama is going on, John is planning (or recruiting me to plan) a party for his department at work. Depending on how wide a sweep of it he makes, we're talking about 30 to 60 people who would expect a pool with water in it. I wonder if we could ask each of them to bring us 20 gallons of water with them. Probably not....I asked and was told that pot-luck isn't done over here.
I can't say I'm too comfortable inviting people to a barbecue with the backyard looking like an open pit mine. There is still a hole in the patio that I`m trying to hide with a big slab of cardboard and a lavender plant.
My spidey senses are telling me foreclosure is imminent and he's done doing anything with this house. I wouldn't put another nickel in it if the bank was taking it from me, so why should he? No sign of the pool guy who was supposed to finish what he started two weeks ago. I'm guessing Lars is hanging back in typical non-confrontational Danish style. John's going to have to ask the legal guys to call him up to find out what gives pretty soon. I sure hope he's keeping up his payments on the flat screen TV.
While all of this house drama is going on, John is planning (or recruiting me to plan) a party for his department at work. Depending on how wide a sweep of it he makes, we're talking about 30 to 60 people who would expect a pool with water in it. I wonder if we could ask each of them to bring us 20 gallons of water with them. Probably not....I asked and was told that pot-luck isn't done over here.
I can't say I'm too comfortable inviting people to a barbecue with the backyard looking like an open pit mine. There is still a hole in the patio that I`m trying to hide with a big slab of cardboard and a lavender plant.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Just for Shits & Giggles
Ever wonder where I go when I disappear for long periods of unaccounted for time? I do, too....
I took 2 online classes this winter...neither of them Danish language. These ones we a lot of fun!! Danish language classes wouldn't be near as much fun as this. The assignment, in Flash, was to create an animated interpretation of a movie. I think I covered all the high points.
In another class, Adobe Illustrator, things were humming along pretty smoothly until the instructor slapped us with a last minute final exam. That resulted in this....which turned out much better than I expected. I guess I learned something.
Reason for choosing to illustrate a butterfly....you only have to draw half of it, then you can mirror image the other half....using your noodle counts too, you know.
I took 2 online classes this winter...neither of them Danish language. These ones we a lot of fun!! Danish language classes wouldn't be near as much fun as this. The assignment, in Flash, was to create an animated interpretation of a movie. I think I covered all the high points.
In another class, Adobe Illustrator, things were humming along pretty smoothly until the instructor slapped us with a last minute final exam. That resulted in this....which turned out much better than I expected. I guess I learned something.
Reason for choosing to illustrate a butterfly....you only have to draw half of it, then you can mirror image the other half....using your noodle counts too, you know.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Using Our Oyster Cards
A few months ago I decided it would be a good idea to drag John away from work for one of the many May long weekends we get, here, in Denmark. Two days after I booked and paid for a trip to London the $#*&(@@(&$^&$%^@*&##(&*%%$) volcano in Iceland started to spew ash and I became a little concerned that we might not get away after all. But the beast calmed and (knock on wood) seems to remain calm and we got there....and bonus! We got back!
The trip was great! But man, there were a lot of people. We used our Oyster cards to get around on the tube and the buses and despite John having a little trouble tapping his mollusk at first, it was a super way to get places.
The weather was hot and sunny....we burnt our foreheads on the bus tour, and I came home with a head cold since a person can only hold so many loops and rails on public transportation without becoming ridden with microbes. The London underground also throws in lots of escalator and staircase railings to sweeten the mix. I knew at first glance I was being offered a free souvenir.
Luckily, the full blown snorgies waited until I got home and a good time was had by all. The new camera performed superbly. John only drifted off to sleep at the beginning of 'Les Miserables' and I only had to poke him up until the 'Master of the House' number. He seemed to rouse after that. He stayed fully awake for all of 'Jersey Boys'.....maybe because I sold it to him as 'The Sopranos, the Musical'...dunno but he liked it better.
One of my favorite things, since I love architecture, was the Natural History Museum. What a beautiful building!
After touring the museum we decided to sit in the bar at the hotel until it was time to go to the airport. Since 3 days doesn't even scratch the surface in London, we have to go back. And I need to do some more shopping there...it was amazing!
Not sure where we're going on our next little jaunt. We've decided that we really HAVE to get out and see more while we are here. Our second year of a 2 year contract has begun and weekends are a wasting. So far on the table for consideration are Budapest, Vienna (which lost out to London by a hair this last time), Greece (friends have a house there), and Paris (since we can use the Marriott timeshare right outside of the city). The thing is though, you can drive to Germany in a short time from here...Berlin is only 7 hours away by car and that sounds awfully interesting, too.
I've got to figure out a way to pay for all this traveling and a week of touring in August...hmmm...details. A couple of weeks ago John said he was going to take the 'Business Closed' sign off the door since it had been a while since any customers had shown up here. I told him that as long as I was living in this house, that sign was staying on the door. I'm glad it's still there because the very next day, at 4 pm, a customer came up the drive, read the sign and left.
Those 2 ideas in the previous paragraph are totally unrelated. Here's a few shots from London.
That's us flying home. No sign of nasty ash anywhere.....one of these days I have to write about living with Mt. Redoubt when it decided to mess up our nice pristine Alaskan winter.
The rest of the London pix are here...
Sally's London Smugmug Gallery
The trip was great! But man, there were a lot of people. We used our Oyster cards to get around on the tube and the buses and despite John having a little trouble tapping his mollusk at first, it was a super way to get places.
The weather was hot and sunny....we burnt our foreheads on the bus tour, and I came home with a head cold since a person can only hold so many loops and rails on public transportation without becoming ridden with microbes. The London underground also throws in lots of escalator and staircase railings to sweeten the mix. I knew at first glance I was being offered a free souvenir.
Luckily, the full blown snorgies waited until I got home and a good time was had by all. The new camera performed superbly. John only drifted off to sleep at the beginning of 'Les Miserables' and I only had to poke him up until the 'Master of the House' number. He seemed to rouse after that. He stayed fully awake for all of 'Jersey Boys'.....maybe because I sold it to him as 'The Sopranos, the Musical'...dunno but he liked it better.
One of my favorite things, since I love architecture, was the Natural History Museum. What a beautiful building!
We missed the London Eye because we saved it for our last day and got lazy.
After touring the museum we decided to sit in the bar at the hotel until it was time to go to the airport. Since 3 days doesn't even scratch the surface in London, we have to go back. And I need to do some more shopping there...it was amazing!
Not sure where we're going on our next little jaunt. We've decided that we really HAVE to get out and see more while we are here. Our second year of a 2 year contract has begun and weekends are a wasting. So far on the table for consideration are Budapest, Vienna (which lost out to London by a hair this last time), Greece (friends have a house there), and Paris (since we can use the Marriott timeshare right outside of the city). The thing is though, you can drive to Germany in a short time from here...Berlin is only 7 hours away by car and that sounds awfully interesting, too.
I've got to figure out a way to pay for all this traveling and a week of touring in August...hmmm...details. A couple of weeks ago John said he was going to take the 'Business Closed' sign off the door since it had been a while since any customers had shown up here. I told him that as long as I was living in this house, that sign was staying on the door. I'm glad it's still there because the very next day, at 4 pm, a customer came up the drive, read the sign and left.
Those 2 ideas in the previous paragraph are totally unrelated. Here's a few shots from London.
Picadilly Circus
Lost in Leicester Square
Blackpool vs. Leeds
St.Paul's Cathedral
Buckingham Palace
Along the Thames
That's us flying home. No sign of nasty ash anywhere.....one of these days I have to write about living with Mt. Redoubt when it decided to mess up our nice pristine Alaskan winter.
The rest of the London pix are here...
Sally's London Smugmug Gallery
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
The Further Adventures of Lars & The Little Woman
When Lars came by to clean a few weeks ago, he sheepishly asked if he could have his mail sent here. He said he didn't have his apartment anymore, he had split with 'his girl' and is living at his parent's house. It seemed a little strange that his mail couldn't go to Mom & Dad's but he told me there wouldn't be much, and so feeling sorry for the guy, I agreed.
It's been about 20 days that his mail has been coming here and a conservative estimate would put the volume of mail at 30 pieces.....almost all of them from banks, card companies, the mortgage company, and collection agencies. I wonder if I need to be checking into the rights of tenants in a foreclosure in Denmark. Will I come home someday to find a bailiff's padlock on the door? The Danes put a great amount of importance on addresses. This is a country where your bank automatically sends your account information to the tax authorities every year at tax time. Funny that Oprah didn't point that out when she did her show from Copenhagen last fall. Did she mention the drinking age is 16? But I digress.....
It's been quite a few months since we've started to suspect that Lars was having financial problems. Every time that we mentioned some work that needed to be done around the house, he put us off....saying he had no money. A broke landlord is not the best thing to have when the big burner on the cooktop has only one setting left and thats 'high'. What's he going to say when I tell him the roof is leaking? I guess buckets are cheap enough.
Our biggest immediate concern is the pool, or as it is in its present state, the big cement hole in the back yard. The pool guy has been out to investigate. He claims the leak is fixed though he didn't actually DO anything. Lars dug up part of the patio so he could fix the light that doesn't work,but apparently that wasn't necessary. He wanted the rest of the water out of the pool so he could do the electrical work without toasting his underwear. The water is out...except for a small mosquito breeding pond in the deep end....and if it ever stops raining pool guy might come back to finish. There is some question about who is going to pay for last year's chemicals though. It seems we didn't pay a bill we didn't get. The pool guy couldn't remember how much was owed, just that he wasn't coming back here until he got his money.
Now, we have to refill the pool and how is 'Lars of No Money' going to pay for it, should it come out of the rent? The lease says (and we told him when we took the place) we weren't going to pay to maintain his pool) If only he'd fixed it when we first told him about it! But, we pay for the water so why bother....hmmmm....since his address is here now, I could probably call the kommune and switch it back over to his name. I suppse that means some day our water will be shut off for non-payment.
Yesterday, Lars sent me a text that said he was on his way over to clean the house. He comes once a week and does the floors, the kitchen, the bathroom, and the lawn mowing....um yeah...the light yard work. But, he didn't show up. He didn't answer when I texted him back a few hours later wondering if he was still coming. Something must have happened in the half hour it usually takes him to get here after he texts. I dunno. I don't get him just not showing up. He sent a message he was on his way and Lord knows he seems to need the money. It's hard not to feel sorry for the guy. He's still fairly young and he must feel like his life is in the crapper right now. My gut is telling me that his 'girl' got the 5 years in Denmark she needed to stay here without him, and said "See ya' later."
I'm also going to guess that she wasn't happy with her new digs, considering she had this nice house with a pool to look forward to when she moved here. And it's probably damn near impossible to run a business from a 2 room apartment with 3 people living there. Something had to give.
As Lars problems mount, those of Lena, my housekeeper in Baku, are over. I found out last week that she succumbed to her cancer a couple of months ago. She was 47 years old.
I'll stop whining about my house now and be grateful the Danish government sent me a note in January to tell me it was time to come in for a mammogram. With all this moving around I had been very very bad and missed quite a few years. I really thought about blowing off my summons to Bjipsberg Hospital on the morning of January 19th, but I went. They send you a letter with your results, in Danish of course....most nerve wracking Google translate ever....but all was okay. See you in 2 years (even better).
I was told that Lena remained feisty and fought her cancer hard right up until the end. The last time I saw her she was so angry and it was heartbreaking. I hope she eventually found some peace in her final months. R.I.P. Lena.....
It's been about 20 days that his mail has been coming here and a conservative estimate would put the volume of mail at 30 pieces.....almost all of them from banks, card companies, the mortgage company, and collection agencies. I wonder if I need to be checking into the rights of tenants in a foreclosure in Denmark. Will I come home someday to find a bailiff's padlock on the door? The Danes put a great amount of importance on addresses. This is a country where your bank automatically sends your account information to the tax authorities every year at tax time. Funny that Oprah didn't point that out when she did her show from Copenhagen last fall. Did she mention the drinking age is 16? But I digress.....
It's been quite a few months since we've started to suspect that Lars was having financial problems. Every time that we mentioned some work that needed to be done around the house, he put us off....saying he had no money. A broke landlord is not the best thing to have when the big burner on the cooktop has only one setting left and thats 'high'. What's he going to say when I tell him the roof is leaking? I guess buckets are cheap enough.
Our biggest immediate concern is the pool, or as it is in its present state, the big cement hole in the back yard. The pool guy has been out to investigate. He claims the leak is fixed though he didn't actually DO anything. Lars dug up part of the patio so he could fix the light that doesn't work,but apparently that wasn't necessary. He wanted the rest of the water out of the pool so he could do the electrical work without toasting his underwear. The water is out...except for a small mosquito breeding pond in the deep end....and if it ever stops raining pool guy might come back to finish. There is some question about who is going to pay for last year's chemicals though. It seems we didn't pay a bill we didn't get. The pool guy couldn't remember how much was owed, just that he wasn't coming back here until he got his money.
Now, we have to refill the pool and how is 'Lars of No Money' going to pay for it, should it come out of the rent? The lease says (and we told him when we took the place) we weren't going to pay to maintain his pool) If only he'd fixed it when we first told him about it! But, we pay for the water so why bother....hmmmm....since his address is here now, I could probably call the kommune and switch it back over to his name. I suppse that means some day our water will be shut off for non-payment.
Yesterday, Lars sent me a text that said he was on his way over to clean the house. He comes once a week and does the floors, the kitchen, the bathroom, and the lawn mowing....um yeah...the light yard work. But, he didn't show up. He didn't answer when I texted him back a few hours later wondering if he was still coming. Something must have happened in the half hour it usually takes him to get here after he texts. I dunno. I don't get him just not showing up. He sent a message he was on his way and Lord knows he seems to need the money. It's hard not to feel sorry for the guy. He's still fairly young and he must feel like his life is in the crapper right now. My gut is telling me that his 'girl' got the 5 years in Denmark she needed to stay here without him, and said "See ya' later."
I'm also going to guess that she wasn't happy with her new digs, considering she had this nice house with a pool to look forward to when she moved here. And it's probably damn near impossible to run a business from a 2 room apartment with 3 people living there. Something had to give.
As Lars problems mount, those of Lena, my housekeeper in Baku, are over. I found out last week that she succumbed to her cancer a couple of months ago. She was 47 years old.
I'll stop whining about my house now and be grateful the Danish government sent me a note in January to tell me it was time to come in for a mammogram. With all this moving around I had been very very bad and missed quite a few years. I really thought about blowing off my summons to Bjipsberg Hospital on the morning of January 19th, but I went. They send you a letter with your results, in Danish of course....most nerve wracking Google translate ever....but all was okay. See you in 2 years (even better).
I was told that Lena remained feisty and fought her cancer hard right up until the end. The last time I saw her she was so angry and it was heartbreaking. I hope she eventually found some peace in her final months. R.I.P. Lena.....
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Mystified
Around here, a person answers the door with some trepidation...for good reason. This morning while John was in the shower, there was a tap on the front door. I sort of wondered what the mailman had that he had to hand it to me in person. With my new found comfort in this house, I assumed that the shadow that had passed by the dining room window was him. It wasn't. It was Lars' brother (I'll call him Claus, which in Danish, rhymes with 'house') and his girl friend, also Thai (like Lars girl/wife?). I guess the brothers got a package deal.
He wanted to come in and look around because they were interested in renting it when we moved out. I curbed the "Huh???" at the back of my throat and formulated a "What???"
However, I dare say the look on my face was 100% "Huh???" So....we have 13 moths left on the lease. What the hell??
If only we had gotten out of the house on time....we were on our way out for groceries...we could have avoided this little encounter. I sent them away, telling them John was in the shower, and they couldn't come in until he was out....and we were back from groceries....if ever at all. Claus asked me to call him when we got home. I said "no" you can come by at 5 o'clock....BUT.....being as you're Lars' brother haven't you been in here before? Shouldn't you already know what the house is like? Don't you know we have until next year on the lease? He seemed to understand all of this but... who knows?
I guess he wants to show it to his girlfriend. I wonder if she'll think the furniture is staying....it isn't. I wonder if they're thinking of setting up business again. Lars has been crying poor mouth a lot lately and I don't think moving out of this house has really done much to alleviate the financial difficulties caused by the loss of a certain income. John's theory is that Lars would like to move back into the house, with his brother and his girlfriend, to restart the business, and this little expedition was to plant the seed of us thinking we've got a way out of the lease. I don't know about that but it sure seems odd that someone would come for a look see more than a year out, and that person happens to be the landlord's brother.
Very curious. Maybe Lars thinks he can't afford to fix the pool, and he was really worried that the company was going to after him for the excess on the water bill. I don't know, but this might all have to come up when I see him next week. I assume he didn't call to ask me in advance because he knew I'd tell him to get stuffed (in a nice Canadian kind of way).
This warrants some definite feelers, though. I could move out of here if I found the right place. Moving is a hassle but we don't have that much stuff.....errr....maybe we do. And getting everything hooked up again.....there are charges for all those new hook-ups. But, it would be nice to be withing walking distance of a market and a few shops. Something to mull over, just in case. Claus kept saying they wanted to move in when we moved out and even when I said "If we moved now, you want to move in?" he agreed.....but often the finer details get lost in translation (or lack thereof).
***A little bit later (6:55 to be exact)...***
I must have done a great job of scaring them off because they didn't come back at five. Maybe "Fuzzy" the dog frightened them half to death with his barking and hairy fierceness. I'm still going to Scandia Housing's website tonight to look at what's available. Maybe Claus is anxious and we CAN get a new place before next year.
I bet if the neighbors saw them coming up the drive, they were freaking out.
He wanted to come in and look around because they were interested in renting it when we moved out. I curbed the "Huh???" at the back of my throat and formulated a "What???"
However, I dare say the look on my face was 100% "Huh???" So....we have 13 moths left on the lease. What the hell??
If only we had gotten out of the house on time....we were on our way out for groceries...we could have avoided this little encounter. I sent them away, telling them John was in the shower, and they couldn't come in until he was out....and we were back from groceries....if ever at all. Claus asked me to call him when we got home. I said "no" you can come by at 5 o'clock....BUT.....being as you're Lars' brother haven't you been in here before? Shouldn't you already know what the house is like? Don't you know we have until next year on the lease? He seemed to understand all of this but... who knows?
I guess he wants to show it to his girlfriend. I wonder if she'll think the furniture is staying....it isn't. I wonder if they're thinking of setting up business again. Lars has been crying poor mouth a lot lately and I don't think moving out of this house has really done much to alleviate the financial difficulties caused by the loss of a certain income. John's theory is that Lars would like to move back into the house, with his brother and his girlfriend, to restart the business, and this little expedition was to plant the seed of us thinking we've got a way out of the lease. I don't know about that but it sure seems odd that someone would come for a look see more than a year out, and that person happens to be the landlord's brother.
Very curious. Maybe Lars thinks he can't afford to fix the pool, and he was really worried that the company was going to after him for the excess on the water bill. I don't know, but this might all have to come up when I see him next week. I assume he didn't call to ask me in advance because he knew I'd tell him to get stuffed (in a nice Canadian kind of way).
This warrants some definite feelers, though. I could move out of here if I found the right place. Moving is a hassle but we don't have that much stuff.....errr....maybe we do. And getting everything hooked up again.....there are charges for all those new hook-ups. But, it would be nice to be withing walking distance of a market and a few shops. Something to mull over, just in case. Claus kept saying they wanted to move in when we moved out and even when I said "If we moved now, you want to move in?" he agreed.....but often the finer details get lost in translation (or lack thereof).
***A little bit later (6:55 to be exact)...***
I must have done a great job of scaring them off because they didn't come back at five. Maybe "Fuzzy" the dog frightened them half to death with his barking and hairy fierceness. I'm still going to Scandia Housing's website tonight to look at what's available. Maybe Claus is anxious and we CAN get a new place before next year.
I bet if the neighbors saw them coming up the drive, they were freaking out.
Thursday, April 08, 2010
Back in Business
I just paid a $2,000 water bill. That's our estimate of usage for the next six months....because the pool continued to dribble water back into the ecosystem all summer long and we kept dangling the hose in it to keep the water level up to the skimmers so as not to burn out the pump. Lars, the landlord/pool & house boy is a little worried because I told him that the company's accountant (who is kindly reimbursing our outrageous utility bills) might go into shock when he notices that the water bill has doubled since the last time we sent one. If we don't get our money back, I told him..."I'm coming after you. Since you let it go on all summer and didn't get anyone in to fix it."
I was a little nervous when the notice came to read the meter....being that we had been feeding the pool all summer. It turns out we doubled consumption. All summer long Lars babbled about why it might be happening but he always came back to evaporation. Okay, fella...let me go get the "Pictou County Water Resources Evaluation Study"....I know it's over 30 years old, and I know it's out of print (though you can get it still online)...BUT!! That's my name on there! Right below the title. So, I do know a little bit about evaporation, or did.....so don't give me any chatter about the sun stealing my H2O.
At least the evaporation idea was less wearing on John's nerves than the "John must have vacuumed the drain plug out" theory.
We will know in a few weeks because he has consulted the pool guy who will come in "April or May" to investigate the problem. Luckily the rate of water loss increased sufficiently that we recognized the futility of keeping up. We turned off the pump in early October and let the thing drain. It reached a level of about 2 feet from bottom and stopped. Apparently is drains out into the ground and not into a pipe because Lars thinks that it met the level of the water table and stopped.
That pool was a beautiful thing last summer. Very relaxing.
It might be a big concrete hole this year. I suppose we could store things in it or make it into a vegetable garden.
When I last wrote anything significant, I was just starting to get unpacked and settled....the movers never did come that day. We had to wait another few weeks before our things were released...because the company paid the Baku office of the movers, but no one communicated this to the Danish branch....who just didn't believe anyone had been paid. It seems like a long time ago now. Despite a less than confident beginning, not one thing was broken or missing from the move. That was a first! I can only conclude that the roads are very smooth in Belarus and Ukraine. We did get settled, bought some more stuff at IKEA and now we're all nice and cozy in the little Danish whorehouse.
We had a few more visitors, the last one about six months ago at 2:30 in the morning. I was still up when I heard a soft tapping at the front door....so soft I had to point at the dog and tell him to bark. I got John out of bed. He went to the door and spoke with a gentleman who appeared to be drinking, but well dressed in a nice suit and tie. John said he looked like he was in his thirties.....never got one dirty old man, ever. Knock on wood, but it seems like the word of our closure has filtered through the ranks, and folks are going elsewhere for their fun.
Getting Kenai into the country was easy in the end. I did all of the things I was supposed to do to make him legal and EU ready, and when the big moment of truth came at Danish Customs, there was no one to be found. There was supposed to be a vet there to check his papers and his microchip....but no...they were renovating the customs area and one of the carpenters had to search for a border agent. It all sounded so serious on the web site. It just didn't seem right that we went through this long separation for nothing.....to think that I could just follow the green arrow on the baggage hall floor, and be out into the fresh air and freedom.
No way! I wanted something official. When a customs guy finally showed up he asked where we were traveling from, he handed me the microchip reader, I scanned Kenai's chip, and handed it back to him. He said okay.....I backed up two paces, turned right and that was it. Welcome to Denmark, Lassie!
I got him some insurance. I didn't know that one must have insurance for one's pooch in case he damages somebody's property or chews their leg off. It's compulsory here. This information came from the lady at the boarding kennel where Kenai stayed for the Christmas holidays...."Bring with you when you come: blanket, contact information, proof of shots and insurance." I wonder if we can get him replaced if he runs away or gets stolen. Today I was trying to get an appointment for him at the groomer and made several calls. The first place said it would be June before they could take him, and another said a month. The third and the fourth places hung up because I couldn't speak Danish.....or they couldn't speak English...whichever is more important. I will try again tomorrow.
So far, and this is likely to remain the case, there have been no Danish lessons. The Danes take this "Danish" thing way too seriously. And not just the language. Being Danish is a "thing" not just a language. I've absorbed enough to get by so I think I'll leave it at that and the book learning to the people who are going to be here permanently. Officially, thirteen months to go for me. It seems whenever I attempt to say something in Danish, I'm immediately recognized as non-Danish and the speaker reverts to English anyway. And most infuriating is the fact that most people will pretend they haven't got a freaking clue what you're trying to say even though you "know" you're saying it right. I "know" because when they repeat it back to me, it sounds just the same! Honest!!
Over the course of the year I've found places to shop for groceries that don't close at six. It isn't that big a deal to drive 40 kilometers to get there when you really have to have some yogurt at 7PM. If only John was home from work with the car by then. Now that the time's changed, his biological clock or whatever it is that regulates these things, hasn't twigged to the fact that he has to come home in the daylight. He might be catching on a little bit now that we're in the second week of daylight savings time. He turned up last night at dusk.
I meant to post this picture a very long time ago. I stealthily captured this image during the busy Saturday afternoon shopping crush at Fotex, one of our grocery stores. I really hoped no one saw me do this because acting weird and unusual is very un-Danish. But I had to get this one....I wasn't sure how much pork a cute little boy holding his 4-H project in his arms would sell back in Canada....
I translated the caption. It says....."Happy pigs have curly tails." Doesn't particularly make me want to by any sausages.
I was a little nervous when the notice came to read the meter....being that we had been feeding the pool all summer. It turns out we doubled consumption. All summer long Lars babbled about why it might be happening but he always came back to evaporation. Okay, fella...let me go get the "Pictou County Water Resources Evaluation Study"....I know it's over 30 years old, and I know it's out of print (though you can get it still online)...BUT!! That's my name on there! Right below the title. So, I do know a little bit about evaporation, or did.....so don't give me any chatter about the sun stealing my H2O.
At least the evaporation idea was less wearing on John's nerves than the "John must have vacuumed the drain plug out" theory.
We will know in a few weeks because he has consulted the pool guy who will come in "April or May" to investigate the problem. Luckily the rate of water loss increased sufficiently that we recognized the futility of keeping up. We turned off the pump in early October and let the thing drain. It reached a level of about 2 feet from bottom and stopped. Apparently is drains out into the ground and not into a pipe because Lars thinks that it met the level of the water table and stopped.
That pool was a beautiful thing last summer. Very relaxing.
It might be a big concrete hole this year. I suppose we could store things in it or make it into a vegetable garden.
When I last wrote anything significant, I was just starting to get unpacked and settled....the movers never did come that day. We had to wait another few weeks before our things were released...because the company paid the Baku office of the movers, but no one communicated this to the Danish branch....who just didn't believe anyone had been paid. It seems like a long time ago now. Despite a less than confident beginning, not one thing was broken or missing from the move. That was a first! I can only conclude that the roads are very smooth in Belarus and Ukraine. We did get settled, bought some more stuff at IKEA and now we're all nice and cozy in the little Danish whorehouse.
We had a few more visitors, the last one about six months ago at 2:30 in the morning. I was still up when I heard a soft tapping at the front door....so soft I had to point at the dog and tell him to bark. I got John out of bed. He went to the door and spoke with a gentleman who appeared to be drinking, but well dressed in a nice suit and tie. John said he looked like he was in his thirties.....never got one dirty old man, ever. Knock on wood, but it seems like the word of our closure has filtered through the ranks, and folks are going elsewhere for their fun.
Getting Kenai into the country was easy in the end. I did all of the things I was supposed to do to make him legal and EU ready, and when the big moment of truth came at Danish Customs, there was no one to be found. There was supposed to be a vet there to check his papers and his microchip....but no...they were renovating the customs area and one of the carpenters had to search for a border agent. It all sounded so serious on the web site. It just didn't seem right that we went through this long separation for nothing.....to think that I could just follow the green arrow on the baggage hall floor, and be out into the fresh air and freedom.
No way! I wanted something official. When a customs guy finally showed up he asked where we were traveling from, he handed me the microchip reader, I scanned Kenai's chip, and handed it back to him. He said okay.....I backed up two paces, turned right and that was it. Welcome to Denmark, Lassie!
I got him some insurance. I didn't know that one must have insurance for one's pooch in case he damages somebody's property or chews their leg off. It's compulsory here. This information came from the lady at the boarding kennel where Kenai stayed for the Christmas holidays...."Bring with you when you come: blanket, contact information, proof of shots and insurance." I wonder if we can get him replaced if he runs away or gets stolen. Today I was trying to get an appointment for him at the groomer and made several calls. The first place said it would be June before they could take him, and another said a month. The third and the fourth places hung up because I couldn't speak Danish.....or they couldn't speak English...whichever is more important. I will try again tomorrow.
So far, and this is likely to remain the case, there have been no Danish lessons. The Danes take this "Danish" thing way too seriously. And not just the language. Being Danish is a "thing" not just a language. I've absorbed enough to get by so I think I'll leave it at that and the book learning to the people who are going to be here permanently. Officially, thirteen months to go for me. It seems whenever I attempt to say something in Danish, I'm immediately recognized as non-Danish and the speaker reverts to English anyway. And most infuriating is the fact that most people will pretend they haven't got a freaking clue what you're trying to say even though you "know" you're saying it right. I "know" because when they repeat it back to me, it sounds just the same! Honest!!
Over the course of the year I've found places to shop for groceries that don't close at six. It isn't that big a deal to drive 40 kilometers to get there when you really have to have some yogurt at 7PM. If only John was home from work with the car by then. Now that the time's changed, his biological clock or whatever it is that regulates these things, hasn't twigged to the fact that he has to come home in the daylight. He might be catching on a little bit now that we're in the second week of daylight savings time. He turned up last night at dusk.
I meant to post this picture a very long time ago. I stealthily captured this image during the busy Saturday afternoon shopping crush at Fotex, one of our grocery stores. I really hoped no one saw me do this because acting weird and unusual is very un-Danish. But I had to get this one....I wasn't sure how much pork a cute little boy holding his 4-H project in his arms would sell back in Canada....
I translated the caption. It says....."Happy pigs have curly tails." Doesn't particularly make me want to by any sausages.
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