Fun and Games!!

I woke rather early this morning as the lady upstairs clomped around at 6.15am. As I am sleeping rather lightly (with my darling away) I woke and couldn't get back to sleep. I had a beautiful chat to Roger for a very long time. He gets back from the US on Thursday and I can't wait. In the meantime our boxes have arrived safely from Australia so I have been busy unpacking and enjoying all the contents (and sometimes thinking "why on earth did I pack this!!"). The place is a mess, but hopefully I am making headway with it all. Six boxes are empty so that must mean something.

A friend came and kept me company at lunchtime. She works locally so was able to come in her lunch-hour. It went all too quickly and we had a great chat together. Friendships are very special, and of course I realize this yet again as I am far away from all my friends in Australia. Still, I am beginning to make friends here in Germany/Basel and it is a very special time for me. I know I am going to have a lot of fun in the coming months.

I'm being watched

Wouldn't you know it. I slipped out to do a small shop this afternoon and it started to rain. Not heavy but enough for me to get annoyed that I had not taken the washing off the line. I was also airing the doona's!! I ran....and walked.....home! The lady across the road was at my door. She wanted to tell me that it was raining and I had the washing on the line. I did have to have a bit of a laugh to myself. She asked me where 'mein mann' was. What does that tell you? I said in America and he would be back on Donnerstag. Now she will think we are American (not that I have anything against Americans, but after all, we are Australian). And I am missing mein mann.

Our boxes arrived safely from Australia this morning so I will have plenty to do over the next few days. It's very exciting opening the boxes to discover what is inside. You should see our little home! Well, you shouldn't actually. It is a complete mess. You know, a work in progress! And yes, I am thinking, why did we bring this, why did we bring that.

The day was made complete with a lovely phone conversation with my darling daughter Jocelyn. I think she was wanting to have a good chat to me, but it was the other way around and she was a good listener too.

I am one happy lady!

Happy 30th Wedding Anniversary to us!

Yesterday we celebrated a wonderfully relaxing day of 30 years married. It's quite amazing. Where have those 30 years gone? We have been totally blessed with a happy marriage. Mind you, we've had our moments and I'm sure at times we both would have loved to walk away from the responsibilities we had. We have 3 beautiful children Tim, married to Amy; Jocelyn and Glenda, married to Tom. They all live in Melbourne.
We went by train to Zell, just a few stops from our home in Schopfheim. We found the most delightful garden restaurant and had a delicious lunch together. We walked around Zell for a bit then caught the train home and had a relaxing rest of the day.

How do you survive 30 years of marriage, you may well ask? I can only speak personally for myself, but I always try and remember why I married Roger in the first place. As a Christian I know God led us together and we have always tried to put God first in our lives and looked to him for our daily guidance. We have tried to pray regularly together (you can't pray and argue at the same time!) and we have tried to talk about the different stages in our lives - no children, small children, teenagers, etc. We have tried to adjust our lifestyle and thinking around these stages. Now we are going through the 'empty nest' period which is probably the most difficult for me as I just love being a mother - fussing, talking, spoiling, etc. You know how it is!

My beautiful niece Heidi has just sent us an email to congratulate us and has encouraged us to read "Make Love Stay". When someone has the courage to recommend reading to an old married couple, I think I must sit up and take notice. Thank you Heidi for caring enough to say that even after 30 years, marriage can be even better.

Now Roger has deserted me!! Not really. He has flown to the US for 2 Conferences and will be back in 9 days. I miss him already, but I think the break will do us both the world of good. 

Walking for fun

Roger and I went walking with our walking group on Monday. We woke up early in the morning and it was raining hard - not looking good! We continued on with our plans and as we walked out the door at 8.35am we remembered to reach for the umbrella. We had 1.5hrs to travel - trusty train and 2 trams (we were travelling from Schopfheim, Germany into Basel, Switzerland and then to the end of the line on No.11 tram to Aesch. It turned out to be a great day with no rain whilst we were walking. There were 13 walkers altogether. Great walk, great conversation and great views. The walk was just magnificent and there's nothing like a walk to clear away the cobwebs.

Guess who we saw again

A couple of blogs ago I spoke about 3 Romanian buskers who we had seen in Church last Sunday. I prayed that I would see them again after seeing one of them on the tram last Tuesday. We were on the tram again and 2 of the men got on with their piano accordians. I tell you what. They are a great sound. This time we were ready to give them some money. Thanks God for allowing our paths to cross again. Thank you for answering my prayer. You always do. I love you so much.

My friend Juro

Here I am having the time of my life with my little mate Juro. He is nearly three, a bundle of energy and full of fun. He is German. 

Riding the train

Sorry, but you are going to hear lots of train stories. Life is terribly interesting when you ride the trains. A smile, a helping hand, looking for English literature (!!). Yes, we are enjoying riding on the trains here in Germany/Basel. The other day we were sitting on the train minding our own business when these guys get on at Lörrach. Roger comments, "here come the PUNK inspector's!" I burst into laughter and it got a little out of hand. You see, we regularly have our monthly rail passes checked but we'd only seen one particularly inspector. These guys were something else. Shaved hair, with long bits, denim (not just denim!), earrings. I mean, these guys were something to look at. A fashion statement indeed. Then today, our usual friendly inspector decided to take a good look at my picture and made some comment in Deutsch. I think he would have said "yes, I can see the similarity"! He had a big smile on his face. Aren't people wonderful? Life is wonderful. (I hope the punk inspector's don't read my blog!)

Unsettling

On Sunday Roger and I were up bright and early to catch the 8.45am train into Basel. We were off to Church, no ordinary Church I must say. We had to also catch 2 trams to get to our destination. The Church we wanted to attend is meeting the needs of asylum seekers and refugees who find themselves in Basel. Talk about all nations. I felt just a little out of place as we sat there and also a little uncomfortable. The service was in English but translated into German, French and Arabic (not always quietly). The songs took us back to the 1960's but with good rythm with piano, guitar, bongo drums and trumpet! The service was still going when we left at 12.40pm. (It started at 10am). There were 3 men from Romania also in the service and they went forward for prayer. They busk in Basel. And guess what? When we were travelling into Basel yesterday, one of the guys was playing his piano accordian on the tram! I would have liked to give him some francs but didn't have any change. I am going to ask God to lead us to them again. Well why not. What an adventure life is. Who will I meet tomorrow? Who will you meet tomorrow. Be on the look out won't you?

Listening and smiling!!

A very funny thing happened yesterday morning. Roger and I were waiting in line at the railway station in Schopfheim to renew our monthly rail ticket. The German gentleman in front of us decided to have a conversation and tell us his problem of trying to book a train ticket on-line! He had no idea we were English and could not understand a word he said!! We answered ja and nein and laughed at the appropriate times. He would turn around, wait patiently in line, then speak to us again. We got away with it, but for how long!! And yes, we did miss the train by 15 seconds. Too many people in line. Oh well, the sun is shining here, so all is right with the world!