Decluttering the Kellar

The thing I miss most about the US right now is having a garden. This was a bit sublimated when we had the roof terrace, but now that we have been here in our 3rd (4th) floor apartment for over a year, the cellar is a bit crowded with all the pots and garden things that used to be in active use and no longer are. One of the things that we did this year was till an area at the kita because they wanted to start a garden. We also gave them a few of our pots for the back area and I enjoy seeing them put to use.
There are actually "Kleingarten Kolonies" here in Berlin, but they aren't the community gardens that I am used to in the States, leased at a nominal fee and actually used for gardening. The ones here seem to be permanent temporary summer residences, usually with a building taking up much of the square footage and where Germans sleep and grill and live during summers (electricity, water and satellite dishes seen on the roofs). They range from 6,000€ to 34,000€ and really are not possible if all one wants is to raise some tomatoes. If we actually stay in Berlin long-term and don't get a small place back in the US for summers, we will probably start looking at one of these.

(crosspost to other blog)

The unblogged period...

I've started several posts in varying stages of completion, but if I don't actually finish one, I think I could just stay there, in the never ending search for completion and perfection while life continues.

It's been busy.

1. We came back.
2. My younger daughter went back to kita and my older was allowed back, but I spent a bit of independent time with her.
3. We went to the Olympic Stadium swim baths twice, the first time with both girls meeting a friend and her daughter, and the second time T2 was at kita while T1 and two of her friends came with me. That was an intricate juggling act, dropping 1 off, using a spare car seat and running 3 girls to the bathrooms and back. It was great and the weather has been absolutely amazing. The view in that link is from the diving platform and adult pool but there are two children's pools out of shot that are great, one shallower than the other. I had been a bit chaotic that morning, throwing everythig together and I wound up leaving my beloved spray on sunscreen at the kita after spraying T2. that lead to me obsessively slathering all three girls with cream sun block, but forgetting my own back: my first sunburn in 20 years and I get it in Berlin, land of perpetual grey. Amazing. We stayed for about 4.5 hours and it was great and exhausting.
4. I had to purchase the 27 specifically (to the brand of the oil crayons and the color of the schnellheftes) required items for T1's schulranzen and find her uniform in local stores.
   
5. T1 had her einschuling, followed by her first day and week of school, including her first trip to a sportshall.
6. We are continuing our ballete and swimming lessons start next week, twice a week.
7. We are also attempting to survive having to get up over 1 hour earlier. Poor T2 needs to be woken by me every morning and they are at school 1 hour plus earlier while I pick them up an average 1 hour later every day. T2 has been falling asleep i the car on the way back. On the plus side, although still a bit annoying in the evenings (crany from being over tired) she's going to sleep better and not annoying T1 with wanting to play after lights out.
8. I had a bookclub (The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon). It was fun to get out, but exhausting. The book came late, and I really enjoyed it, but it was long!
   
9. I started another German class, this time at my local VHS. I took the placement test and we talked out whether I should go A1.2 or A2.1. I know quite a bit of grammar, but after a year without really speaking German or taking classes, it's clear that I am missing a real ground in my articles. So I started the same day as T1 in my new school:). Although I know the grammar already, I am being pounded with using it correctly, and with the proper grammar following from the correct articles, which is just what I need now. (although now the teacher is discussing whether I should move up to A2.1. It would be more challenging, but A1.2 is moving too slowly.)
   
10. The German has been gone 9 of the last 11 days and I am not too happy with it.
    
11. T1 had an allergic reaction to one of the school uniforms and we had to change some fabrics.

Maybe if I publish this, I will overcome my inertia enough to start posting regularly again...

Tuesday's with Dorie: Not this summer. And what's up.

I'm taking the opportunity offered to take the summer off. I just can't seem to get ahead of myself with the German out of town what is working out to be 5 days out of 7. Particularly with all retail shops closed on Sunday, this makes doing things a bit crazy.

This past weekend we went on a family religious retreat. Although it was fun and refreshing, it didn't make coming back to a very busy week without another set of adult hands any easier.

This week is Thing1's birthday party at kita (and the last week of kita), a good-bye "party" for Thing2's class, as some children leave for Israel and other places and as they move up to another group, and on the weekend Thing1's "real" birthday party.

This is the first time I have attempted a birthday party here in Berlin and I am finding it a little daunting, primarily because of the kosher issue (as, I can't cook anything here because my stove is not kosher, etc.). A friend is bringing a cake and I am not certain what else I will be doing- I'll tell you next week:). Then there is the "theme" issue: party novelties in Germany are poorly made, extremely expensive, and back-ordered. Yes, I should have brought more with me from the US and I really should have pinned T1 down to her desired theme earlier so that I could trans-ship novelties (send them to a friend in the US, have them shipped here). But I didn't. So I mixed (Disney) Princess themes and I'll do the best I can with that. But I can't bake a cake myself, which is really disappointing. I hope the weather remains good and then we can take an hour in a spielplatz around the corner.

Now I'm off to draft a dunning notice for the 2/3 of parents in T2'sclass who haven't paid their dues: really- was 3 Euros a month too much for them? Won't catch us being class parents again.

This is a small world... and car buying advice...

The bus for the girls' kita starts tomorrow (and although I will really miss dropping them off and picking them up, I won't miss the 150 minutes I spent every day doing so).

We hadn't heard from the company director as to whether we would have the same driver or start time, so we decided that we would aim to be ready at 8 am and then call Herr F.

We just got the call from Herr F, and he was waving at us from his window. I knew that he lived across the street, but I didn't realize he was directly across and 1 floor down! (His building is 1 storey lower). Sort of funny, but also sort of freaky (the German just closed the curtains).

By the way, any one know about buying cars here? Should I try to bring one from the States (for personal use, on a short term contract, not for re=sale?). Or should I use a re-importer from Greece or elsewhere in the EU? I can't quite stomach paying 3x the US price for a crappy used station wagon or minivan, and I think we will be needing one this year.