Thursday Night

I probably shouldn't be posting when I am not feeling well. Tomorrow I am sure I will be better! I think there's a whole heap of things going on inside me and to wrap it all up, I think I am "just plain missing my kids!!"

I've had a good week. Been busy (as always) and I think I keep making the mistake of not having a day at home to just catch up with little things that need to be done.

Monday we did the 2.5hr hike with the Basel Centrepoint hiking group. At least it wasn't an early start as we didn't get home from Church (went to ICF in Basel) until 10.30pm. It was a great walk, but we still didn't get home until 2.30pm.
I sort of went downhill from there.

Monday evening I spent with a friend here in Schopfheim. Tuesday I wrote letters all morning (have heaps of Birthdays coming up in July); in the afternoon I went into Basel and spent some time sharing SHAPE (personality study) with a friend. Didn't actually get home until 6.30pm.

Cancelled my Deutsch conversation (boo hoo) as I was feeling totally overwhelmed! I help with the folding of "Horizon", the Centrepoint monthly newsletter, and that had to be done Wednesday afternoon (and they were desperate for helpers). By the time I got home I was feeling rather distraught and unwell. Tried to relax and unwind a bit. Watched some tennis from Wimbleton and also some athletics, which was good. Went to bed early, but didn't get to sleep till 10.30pm. Oh, by the way, we are looking after Woffie (miniature Dachshund) this week and that has been lots of fun. His holiday will finish tomorrow afternoon!

This morning I was out the door at 8.50am to meet a German friend Renate in Schopfheim for a coffee and chat. AND afterwards I went to see if my favourite shoes had been reduced, and they had, SO I bought them. Have taken a photo of them and will see if I can get it up here. Shoes are just lovely here, though a little too expensive for my liking.

Roger has just gone off to Deutsch (5 more lessons to go till end of year) and I made a rather hot Chilli Con Carne for dinner.





Who likes my taste in shoes?!!

MY FRIDAY

Here we are - Angela and Gaynor at Centrepoint. A photo especially for Jocelyn. Now do you remember who Angela is? You can also barely see the red hair!! Yep, I took the big plunge last night whilst Roger was out at his Deutsch class. I can get up to all sorts of mischief when he's not in the house! What am I going to do when the course finishes in a couple of weeks?!!

I left home in the pouring rain and I even changed what I was wearing, but I needn't have bothered. By the time I got to Basel the sun was shining and it was rather warm! The Centrepoint morning tea was lovely and I had a good chat to Katherine, a lady from China who will be leaving to go to Newport, US next month, and also to Theresa who is from Basel and wants to improve her English. We had a lovely chat about Perth because she has been there.

Had a look around the shops for shoes (thanks for offering to come with me Pat!! - sorry it didn't work out) but nothing jumped out at me and said "buy me, buy me!!". Lucky me really.

Roger and I had a lovely walk around Schopfheim, up the hill, past the stables, etc. I just never want to take this beautiful place where we live for granted. We walked back through the town and did some window shopping and bumped in to the lovely Carla, who was on her bike going home.

Roger then cooked a very yummy dinner. Salmon in a delicious sauce (secret recipe - in other words straight out of his head!) with potato wedges and carrot. Am I spoilt?

REPORTING IN !

Just thought I'd better let you all know that I am alive and well. The sun is shining and it is very windy! I had a lovely lunch and chat with Angela and have sent her on her way back to Basel on the train. She wanted to do a little shopping in Germany as it's cheaper here!

I received a lovely letter from Cheryl today. She's writing to me regularly and I just love it. Cheryl loves writing letters, but I don't think she has been doing it that much in the past little while. I always feel very special when I get a letter.

Will probably go into Centrepoint tomorrow morning for the morning tea. Angela said it would be good to catch up again.

Want to go a little 'red' tomorrow, but will have to wake up early to do it! Maybe I could go 'red' tonight instead.

I think I've found some shoes I like in Basel. Might buy them tomorrow. Anyone want to come shopping with me. I don't like going on my own. Where's all my girlfriends when I need them?

Just as well you're retiring soon Pat!! Anybody else retiring that I need to know about?

IT'S RAINING CATS AND DOGS ! ! !

Thursday has dawned and it is bucketing down outside. What a week it has been. We've never heard such thunder so constantly in all our lives. So much so that it has kept us awake at night and left us feeling rather tired and ragged. It has been hot and humid, but today is a nice 21C degrees.

Roger has just braved the storm to go and visit our lovely youth pastor Dave. We need to get another letter from the church for our visa, which expires at the end of July.

I need to brave the rain and go shopping for a few things. I have a friend Angela coming to lunch. She is coming from Basel and hasn't been out this way before. I'm going to make a vegetable Thai Fried Rice that my darling Jocelyn introduced me to a couple of years ago. It's very yummy, but I haven't made it since I've been here.

Oh dear, the thunder and lighting. Do I really have to venture outside?!! If you don't hear from me again, you'll know I've been struck by lighting! Oh........that's no joke.

ADVENTUROUS MONDAY

It was suppose to be raining all day today! But it didn't, though we had lighting, thunder, hail stones the size of peas very briefly and then pounding rain in the afternoon.

We set off at 8.35am to join the hiking group. When we arrived at Basel Bad we both needed to use the loo! I was VERY quick, but my husband was not!! I arrived at the tram just in time BUT had to wait for Rog, so we missed it! I was not very impressed BUT a guy has to do what a guy has to do (I always thought they were quicker than us ladies)! (I can just hear my kids saying "tooooooooooo much information Mum"!!!).

We pressed on hoping we would catch the group at the appointed place, but we didn't, so we set off hoping we would know where we should go. It was actually a beautiful walk, but it was very warm and humid, so hard walking really. At one point I thought I glimpsed the group but then we lost them again. We walked for about 1 hour and decided to head back towards the tram. On the way we picked up 1 kg cherries - yum, yum, yum! Did we wait to wash them, you ask? No, we didn't! I think we ate 1/3 of them! So, we arrived home at 12.20pm and I've been a busy bee writing letters, shopping, making a yummy slice, dinner, ironing, mending! My goodness, what a Monday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOCELYN

To my most precious daughter Jocelyn,Today is your Birthday and you are thousands of kilometres from your parents. We trust you've had a very special day with family and friends. We look forward to hearing all about it soon. Thank you for the lovely chat we had on the phone on Friday. It was very special to affirm you and the many gifts God has given you to use for His glory. May you have a wonderful year and rise to all the joys, challenges and new learning experiences you will have. You are very special to me, but remember you are even more special to our Heavenly Father. He will never leave you or forsake you. Please don't ever forget this (I'm sure you won't). We'll talk soon.

Your loving Mum xo xo xo xo xo

(this photo of Jocelyn was taken at our front door at Christmas time - pretty COOL eh?)

Sunday 3 June

Yes, here we are in our glad rags!! Wirt and Linda took the Pastor and his wife out to lunch after Roger preached his message "Living Life on the Edge" yesterday. We went to the cutest little Gasthaus and had heaps of fun - the 11 of us!

This is Anja. Audrey Hepburn eat your heart out. Anja will be 4 in July!!

And this is the view from the verandah. It was a little hazy yesterday, but that didn't stop us enjoying the view. A wonderful day with friends that we just wanted to keep on going!! We came back to our place for coffee afterwards (just 7 of us).

FOR GEORGE IN PERTH ! ! !

I wonder why I thought about my darling brother in law George as soon as we arrived in Constanz? Could it be because he is always teasing me about going to the beach and swimming in the clear pure beaches of City Beach and Cottesloe? (He knows jolly well Germany is land locked (well, where we are anyway!!).
So, I dedicate this post to George.

EAT YOUR HEART OUT GEORGE

Roger and Annette walking out to the end of the jetty in Constanz, or is it Fremantle, Perth, Australia????? (Roger's new LOLLYPOP GREEN shirt!)