one week in...

well, i've been here for just over a week now. we arrived on my 32nd birthday. mara flew with us on the plane, boney and rena traveled below in cargo. both arrived fine, however boney arrived covered in her own feces, which was a truly heartbreaking sight. thanks to germans and their love of dogs, i was able to take her right in the ladies bathroom and clean her up as much as possible for the ride home. we had a friend meet us and help us with luggage and crates, and he was kind enough to bring some wurst for the girls to welcome them to their new (old) home.

not much has changed here (okay, maybe i have). i've been sleeping on an air mattress for a week now, which now sits in an empty house that i'll begin painting tomorrow. i'm actually looking forward to beginning, i need something to keep me busy until i get furniture and can get this place in order. entertainment has been provided by my computer and downloaded episodes of heroes that for some reason i've put off watching for a year - i LOVE it.

it's been wonderful seeing old friends. people i've missed, people i am so happy to have in my life again.

i'm concerned that our house's location will be a problem. we're on a steep (seriously - STEEP) hill, and I don't want it to become an issue for the girls or in the winter if it becomes icy. i hope this place proves me wrong, i'm very concerned that we have made a mistake. that i made a mistake saying go ahead and take the place, after refusing it at first sight.

why does it take 2 hours and 30 minutes to run the dishwasher, and around 2 hours to wash (yes, just wash) a load of laundry (and a TINY one at that). this is the country that has produced some of the fastest, best cars in the world, yet it takes hours to do a load of wash, and i can't fit more than a few towels in the washer at once. we had a german washer and dryer in the us that was amazing, yet i've never seen anything like it here. do the germans have any idea what they are missing out on? is it a space issue? does smaller have to mean slower? am i saving the environment because i'm going slllooooowwwww?

i think i'm having a harder time adjusting the second time around than the first. to everything. don't get me wrong, i love this place. it's just different this time.

i did 195kph on the autobahn the other day. but i really just want my bicycle.