Photos at last

Here are the neighbors welcoming us to the new house!

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Some photos from the bed and breakfast (note the proximity of sleeping cat and sleeping baby)

More photos will actually follow now that I have camera and connecting cable.

Quick update

So the last post was pretty impersonal. Here is what is going on with us right now. The baby is having fun in her exersaucer, I'm blogging, and the cat is sleeping. But in a more general way, our belongings arrived last Thursday. We spent Friday in Germany at Spangdahlem AFB getting Eric's eyes checked and running errands. The weekend we cranked through the kitchen, office and master bedroom. Last night I finished the last box that was in the living room (though we still have some book boxes somewhere). We are a little shy of the half-way mark in unpacking -- but with only the laundry/mud room, garage, and bonus room over the garage hosting the things to be unpacked, the house has become almost livable.

In answer to questions that usually arrive with the movers:

1) yes, there was some damage, looks like we might get a new buffet and get my two cherry bookcases fixed.

2) we are missing a shelf from one of the book cases (maybe it was packed in a picture pack?)

3) we have a box that was actually packed for non temp storage that showed up here (I will unpack it and repack into a crate that we have)

4) we have at least one box that I titled: OOOPS I packed it again.... filled with things that we did not intend to send to the Netherlands (like two hairdryers, curling iron, curlers...), or having tried them out, realized that they won't work (like the living room drapes), or the things are extraneous (like the silverware organizer).

So, we can actually host visitors at this point. In reality, we would like another two weeks to finish unpacking, though...unless you are the type of guest who will play with the baby so that I can have my hands free.

You Know if You are an American IF.....

Since this is supposedly a form of flattery for Jeff Foxworthy, let me just say it. The cultural differences between Europe and America offer an opportunity to think about things from the perspective of "You know you're an American if..."

Here are some of the universals:
No matter how many signs and hinges and other symptoms exist, you seem to need to push at doors when you are inside a building heading to outside. (I feel like I am in the Gary Larson comic for the school for the gifted).

You keep looking for a yellow line in the middle of the road.

You expect a refill on the beverages -- at no charge.

You expect beer/wine to be more expensive than a glass of water.

You think that bicycle helmets might be a good idea, even if you are not wearing racing gear; and you think that they might even be a good idea for children.

You might want to eat outside even if you aren't smoking.

You find it an invasion of privacy to have your photo taken while driving, but not to be told whether to wear seatbelts.

You find it surprising that smoking is clearly a right, but GMO produce might be dangerous.

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I'll continue working on this...since this is clearly not a large list, and I keep seeing more signs that I am an American at every point.

For example, they aren't using side slings right now, so my sling marks me as an American (though my stroller and the baby bjorn do not!!!!).

Of course, I don't speak many languages, and that smacks of being an American.