More Than Service!

Love these reflections everywhere!

Boss gave me a voucher-card for Karstadt for my birthday.
I bought a little lamp from part of it and lost the receipt.
OK, I admit! I threw it away. I didn´t expect a problem with such an easy thing.
Will I ever learn?!

Made in China, even Ingo couldn´t open up the box for the batteries.

So I went straight to the cash-out and explained my problem(s).

The cash out lady really said: "Leave this one here and get a new one, ok? I remeber you buying it the other day."
(I didn´t remember her face, bummer! I have to work on myself, huh?!)

THAT is service, right?
Sadly she had no tools, but gave me her name so I can try another one if this won´t work again.

For some the customer still is a King, huh?
(Or is that a German saying?)

But, here:

Tadaa!

I really could´ve used that in the dark time of the year...

And I found the receipt later in another bag :-)

Take Brolly - No Rain

Forcast was: Rainy.
So I took the brolly.

Hmmm, cloudy, but: signs of spring:

And some just can wear it, no?

As Mum used to say: Take a brolly, there´ll be no rain.
Well, she also said at the red-lights, "orange is dark-green, go!".
She was right:

I came home dry, left the brolly in the bathroom and made a dash to the pharmacy around the corner.
Weee drops of rain and then this:

Mum always knew ;-)

In The Jungle

Saw this old bike in the window of the driving school around the corner.

And then the reflection of Affenfelsen.
When you´re in Braunschweig and you´re looking for the dorm, don´t ask for the dorm, it´s called Affenfelsen, ape-rock.

Shoot. Every working day I have to lurch around wild parking cars beside Affenfelsen cause they fail to finish the construction work there.
Over a year already! Or even longer?

It´s a pity and I really fail to understand why some people think "Germany is so advanced". Not!

I spare you a real pic of the grey, ugly ape rock.
And I wonder why they don´t use color on that thing, too.

As much as I love Braunschweig, this thing is ugly.
And the first I´ll soon see when leaving our quarter!
But at least it will be light soon :-)

Another Short Visit

Went to the city on Saturday cause... ahhh, Spring!
Spring and music!
So beautiful!

Peeps enjoying the sun at and on Ringerbrunnen, despite not really warm ice-cream was consumed in masses!

And the bench of the other day isn´t lonely no more either, at least Saturday!

Ahhh, the colors come back!

I´m so glad we´re through nasty winter!

And soon you won´t be able to see long Henry from here cause the green will be back!

Sadly we´re back to grey. Anyways...

I Go Hungry - Or Not?

Where is the line.
What do you keep for yourself, are there rules?

Bro called (and grumbled I never do) - he called cause it´s Easter - funny, things change when you become a parent, huh?

We chatted for, as Ingo states, over an hour and according to Ingo it´s wasted time.

Which hurt me in the first place.

But I didn´t talk to Bro alone! The big Niece is really good at the phone and invited me to her Mum´s birthday tomorrow even.
(Since lots of traffic is expected, I´ll call via phone, though, but cute, no, that she just did invite me?)

I asked if I can prepare something to eat for Ingo, who is still feeling very bad, for dinner.
Not this, not that, I should feel his pain at least once.

I´d never wish...

I left.

I am human, I can no more. You really wish me your pain?

The induction field beeped like crazy.

I went back.

Ingo´d set it on some mode it won´t work.
I could´ve read the manual, but was too "pissed".

He said if I post why sometimes I can cook and other times not he´ll make it available again.

I WON´T!

Read the darn comments, Ingo!!!

I can no more!

I am hurt.

He put the field to normal, but I threw the egg and mini-slice of bread away and will go to bed hungry cause I am fed up.

I´m no trash-bin.

You hurt, Ingo, real bad, I get it and I´m sorry.
But I don´t deserve this.

Publish?
My blog.
I force no one to read here.

Lonely nights...

Funny enough: I´m really not hungry.

I feel like running away.

(Back To) Summer-Time

Finally we switch to summer-time again and if you asked me we could stay in it all the time!

Astonishingly most Germans want to stay in winter-time.

But what was it with early bird then?

Well, it´s a job I like to do, switching to summer-time.

I spare you all pics, but I get to take care of some 30 clocks.

Which is funny, as as a kid I couldn´t stand the sound of the ticking.

And we had some clocks at home with both parents having been watch-makers.

Well. All I need now is sun and warmth.
Both not available.
Oh, a healthy Ingo would be fine, too...

No Title Available

Ingo asked me to take a pic of this and show it.
To prove I arranged the meal "loveless".

I admit, I did.

This is my "diary", it´s not all love and puppies in my life and if you expect that, stop reading now, here is a real person and life kicks me in the butt from time to time, too.

To make it short.
Ingo has severe health-issues since 2008 that were kinda solved and since 2014 are back, different cause, we´re still "on the hunt" to find the problem.

It´s frustrating.

For both of us.

It´s no life.
Yah, I know. All the refugees coming here have it way worse, I agree.
But you live with what you have, my 2 cents.

Why the pic, huh?

In my and Ingo´s family (both, really!) it´s the men doing the cooking.

I was banned from the kitchen even after I screamed bloody murder when the pieces (!!) of ale my Grandma had in the pan jumped out and danced like crazy on the kitchen floor.

Now.
Ingo asked for scissors... long story short, I didn´t get what he was out about, there was a misunderstanding and he left, screaming he wants his dinner ready at 06:00 pm and "cooking should be fun".

I cannot cook, I´m afraid of burning myself and I went for it anyways.

I "managed" to get it ready to the point.
I made mushed potatoes with hot milk and nutmeg, having no idea how much to use - cause: nah: I´m not interested, I never watch, I plain simply hate cooking!!!

Meanwhile I fried the fish-fingers in butter, not knowing actually how hot.
Yes.
I am 44 years old.
And I´ve never done it before.

I was so angry, so hurt.. I dashed it on the plate like that.

No "thank you" from Ingo´s side.
I asked if it tastes ok - yah - but I didn´t make it with love.

HOW???

Being sick must be hard, I do understand this.
Being with someone who is sick all the time is hard also.

Sometimes I think I can no more.

There, Ingo.
I admit.
I put it on your plate loveless and said the two chunks of mashed potatoes that fell aside were "eyes".

I´m not superwoman.

I need love, too...
A thank you, a kiss, a hug. Not possible when you´re sick, I know.
The one who can scream has enough power, though.
2 cents, huh.

"Young" Old-Fashioned Peeps

Dunno. When I passed the town hall (where we surprisingly had to pay nothing for getting our Aussie marriage-certificates acknowledged in Germany) I saw this "young" man dropping a bag full of crown caps on the stairs.

Because one of his friends´d turned 30 and is not married.
He has to take a broom and get rid of the mess as "punishment".

Even my parents were over 30 when they married (and only cause I was on the way).

So let´s say this "tradition" is long overdue, no?

I mean... 12-13 years of school, then likely at least 8 semesters of study, maybe a time-out before getting the first job, maybe you didn´t get a university place right after school anyways...
People just take longer to get a steady life these days, right?

So I wonder why so many 20- and 30-somethings still keep doing this?

Common in your place, too?
Was or still is?

I think it's crazy like a flying elephant...

Spring, Where Are Thou?

Since I agreed to deliver some bills at the company for my teamleader I had to go to the city on Monday.
By myself, Ingo felt too weak again.

Not a guest outside, I wonder why they put tables and chairs outside anyways, just cause the calendar says "Spring"?

It was drizzling.
Shoot, I mean, if the weather isn´t good... can´t it get real bad so I can finally wear my rain-clothes?
I bought the stuff in November!!!

Later the drizzling stopped and I had to carry the brolly.

I didn´t chop off my hand, but had to put it in the jacket, cause.... COLD!

Really, what is it with the weather?
And no, no global warming.
I remember we once built a snow-Easter-bunny in the 70´s.

It´s not that bad, but this bench will be a lonely one for a little longer, I suppose...

Hope your weather is more fun.
Long weekend ahead, yay!

Cooked With Love

Sunday evening Ingo made roulades with yummiest red cabbage with cinnamon (and potatoes).

The spoon always reminds me of our wonderful holiday in Italy after which we had to spend 8 hours in Nürnberg and bought it.

Hmmm...

OK, I should´ve picked smaller plates, this looks ridiculous ;-)

Ridiculous, btw...

On the way to river Oker on Sunday:

No really. Sadly some of the places around the allotments look really shabby.
Nothing to be proud of...

The more I needed a meal cooked with love and being really yummy, right?

This Is Braunschweig

After we "made it out" of the so-called Magic-House on Sunday we went on away from home cause Ingo didn´t want to walk Hamburger Street but by river Oker.

And there we made this crazy find!

Very likely you really can rent this car!
Or can you?
I mean... an accident with this one ... uh-oh!

Anyhows...

I think we really could´ve hopped in!

See title, this is Braunschweig, people trust each other, just see this:

Brand new. It´s still lying there, I checked yesterday on my way to the city.

The ring area, huh?
Trustworthy.

Sadly with bad neighbours.

Ingo sees the kid from above is still in the stroller and gets carried upstairs.
And then JUMPS LIKE CRAZY THROUGH THE APARTMENT!
(Not the kid´s fault, I know, still! Drives me nuts!)

I was never allowed to do that, despite it was my parent´s house and no one living underneath.

OK.
Apart from those darn neighbours this place is just great :-)

So Un-German

I´d told Ingo I was kinda sad I missed out on visiting the Magic House.

He looked it up: The fair is open till March 20th, from 01:00 pm on.

We left home after the Sunday-fairy tale, at 01:30, let´s say it took us twenty minutes and that´s what we found!

Ok, the weather was bad, some stands were open, others, like the Magic House, not, gah!

Very disappointed we left...
Really, huh?

But then I heard noise again!
So back we went, and yay, they very un-German were only late!

€4 pP was a bit much, but I wanted some magic, right?

It reminded me of the exhibition of Cyclone Tracy in 1995 - I was sick of fear!
You enter a completedly dark room and hear original audios of Tracy - horrible!!
If Ingo hadn´t been with me in that tiny room... u-ahhhh!

Here we started in a dark "lift" that rushed down uncontrollable.

It wasn´t a "Magic House", it was a "Horror House"!
Way, way too dark!

The last bit really gave me the creeps: That was also at the place where I lost my milk-tooth in Vienna!

Magic... so.not.

Ingo said I took near to no pics.
Yah. It wasn´t a fun place for me (and don´t argue I watch Supernatural - I´m comfortably on my Emil (IKEA-chair from long ago)).
My right arm hurt a bit cause I was grabbing Ingo so tight.
Such a dark place!!

And not open in time, I should´ve seen that sign, no? ;-)