(Treasury) Notes - Because, why not.

Mark Glancy - Pexels

Jimmy Fallon "The Tonight Show", I don't even know these people anymore. 

&&, the pup is a cutie. 

Well, we are almost hibernating, with the exception of social appointments since Friday. Hoping to get back on schedule Monday am. 

And, Happy Lunar New Year. 

It's gettin' hot in here ~ no really, exhausted. NOTES

Pixabay - AdinaVoicu

Nelly Music Video

A war in Ukraine and millions of refugees seeking refuge in European countries. Corona numbers highest ever. Severity of Corona is lessening, though, as many people are boosted. Hoping we survive the Pandemic physically and mentally. It's tough being home all the time. Too risky to venture out. Long Covid would not be fun. Missing my Land. How are my fans doing? Text me or visit if you can. 

Notes. Well, we are slogging through the imminent end of lockdown.

Stats still show us at 60. Lockdown starts again at 100. Last week we had a stat of 25. City opened shops and outdoor seating for restaurants, and that stat jumped to 60.  hmm. We enjoyed a meal with outdoor seating, first meal at a restaurant for 16 months. Our last meal out was ironically at a Chinese restaurant in January 2020; and some McDs and BK to carry us through. My approach is cautious. I will continue with the mask till at least 2022.  Preventing Corona and the common cold/flu.  No travelling anytime soon.  Just stay home till the stats are more promising for stable immunity.  Sending luck to our family and friends, and readers for safety during these critical months of vaccinations and hoping for herd immunity. Praying for those countries with lesser means to be able to catch up and be vaccinated. Praying for world peace.

Notes from lockdown

Well, lockdown extended again. Surprisingly, they will reopen florist shops and garden stores. Not sure why they would have some special priority over restaurants and hotels and for that matter ice cream shoppes. If everyone is social distancing and wearing masks, why not reopen businesses so people can work again and have some semblance of normality. We are social distancing and wearing masks and still the numbers are not changing that much. But people are unemployed and need to feed their families, pay their housing and government subsidies are not quite enough. hmm. 

At least hairstyling salons are reopening for what they say are hygiene measures.

Well, hoping for a lovely October, vaccinations and light travel again. And back to work !!

Notes of January 2021

Not exactly at the top of my game today, but no complaints. Walking 40 minutes 3-4 days a week or more. Nicht schlecht for having had a knee surgery. Healing is about 97%. Still working on walking down stairs, and for support I use the railing. But no real pain. 

Busyness everyday. Reading a lot. Some TV. Radio. Our corona curfew includes a 15km limit. Everything closed so far till January 31.  

Waiting patiently for the call for a vaccine. As we are not yet 65 we must wait.  

The pup is a lil more sleepy these days. Walking is not her thing in Winter. And as all non-essential shops are closed, she resembles a sheep, although we are styling her some at home.  

We are thankful to still be healthy. Never has our home been more clean, as preventive measure.

Been cooking a lot. And as a result, the scale is not my friend. Hoping for some promising numbers by Summer. 

Praying for peace and security. Cheers to a healthy new year !!

Notes - Lovin' the Weather here

Video - Ein Bett im Kornfeld by Jürgen Drews, re: Bellamy Brothers

Missing everyone back home. Really missing everyone. But the weather here is so comfy.
Been 70s for weeks now, with intermittent showers. Garden is dancing disco. Everything lives.

Enjoy the German version of "Let Your Love Flow".

Love from "Chelsea". 

Notes - Time for Healing

One month home from REHA Klinik. Definitely feeling much better. More mobility which is key. Been in Physiotherapy which is going remarkably well. My husband an angel who has taken care of all house-related stuff in my absence. He's healing too from a minor issue, but we are almost good as new. No photo today. Doesn't seem to be uploading at Blogger.

The surgery and reha experience one for the books. Thus far I have lost 6kg, about 13 pounds which gives you some idea of the stress level, and also a new dieting program.

Looking forward to our 23rd wedding anniversary. We're in for the long haul, old age dilemmas and all.

We wear our masks everywhere and are very careful of social distancing during the pandemic. Thankful to all healthcare staff involved with my healing care post-operation.

Believe it or not, looking forward to the holidays and hopefully a vaccine.

Alles liebe.

Notes - Lessons of Life - The eagle has landed

theloadstar.co.uk

When I first moved to Germany with my husband, January 1, 2001 from Chicago, with our son, I was in for a few lessons of life outside of the grand 'ole United States. What probably bothered me most personally and on a level that hit the knuckles was the music. There was almost no American or British pop music on the radio. And for a stay-at-home mom, that nearly pummeled me; instead classics of German oldies and some German pop music. And of course, TV was not better; just CNN in English, and no other English channels on cable TV.  I was miserable. Radio and TV, my only source of entertainment and comfort in a situation whereby I felt deep loneliness for creature comforts, my family, my friends and my country. Fast forward almost 19 years, we have several popular radio stations in Germany and from Austria on regular FM, that play American and British favorites, as well as a possibility for internet radio including worldwide music. And surprisingly radio stations in Italy, for example, and even South Africa are playing top American and British hits -- no longer pining for music. And with a satellite we get enough TV choices to satisfy our curiosity. And 19 years later we are still here and practically own the place with happiness and love that we moved here. Lesson: Invest in Tech Stocks.

Notes

Fasching/www.dreamstime.com

We reached 60°F/15.6°C at noon today, but then the weather changed and we are hovering at a cold and misty 48°F/8.9°C. Starting the 1-hour power walks again, but not without arthritic pain in both knees. The joys of turning 50. Sent a box to NYC today. A box that was actually sent in August, was sitting in the mailroom and was not deliverable due to a wrong address; box got returned in February, re-boxed and sent again to the right address.  But crossing the pond twice (plus a return) costs a meager 24 Euros, plus a nominal fee for tracking. Not too bad, eh ? We are in the midst of Fasching in Germany, also known as Karneval. Mostly celebrated in Cologne and Düsseldorf, Germany, with wildly dressed Menschen, candy tossing Frauen, and parade floats, plus light humor at gathering halls in the evening, with lots of beer. Rosenmontag followed by Faschings Dienstag, and then the effervescent Aschermittwoch, (Ash Wednesday) of political events in many cities, with serious political speeches & Demokratie and again lots of beer, fish, and cheese and lox sandwiches, starting at 8am.

We enjoyed a busy weekend which included first-time gel nails for a first meeting of folks for a movie and pizza evening. Back to normal nails with self-care at home.

We are hesitating on any travel as there is an ill member of the family, but still planned for Summer are a 60th birthday party and a wedding in Germany. And in order to fit into the Brussels dress, I must lose weight, not less than 5kg. So I am out walking and dieting, including fasting.

Happy for Spring rain, and lil flowers sprouting from our earth. And ecstatic about March sunshine and warm weather.  Prayers for our soul family in America who are still freezing. Just a couple more weeks. There's hope.

Greetings from under our umbrella. More sunny days ahead.   

Notes

Susi Homemaker up at 5:30am enjoying the morning quietude, sipping espresso coffee with milk, sparkling water, catching the weather on tv, and baking homemade blueberry muffins. A beautiful Sunday morning. Will be 9°C/48°F today. A perfect day to walk the pup. Been very busy with housekeeping and offering charity, including volunteering. Lawn has almost melted. We are getting our bearings from the cold of Winter. We are not yet done with remodeling but just about. A mini-project in Summer will complete our work for now. And following a wonderful 17 years with our car, we decided on a new one. Such memories of our journeys and with our son Francis who would have been 20 on Thursday. We wait patiently for Brexit to be over and see what will transpire for England's future. A bummer for our British friends who live in Germany. Red tape and bureaucracy, uff. 

Notes

Photo Credit: Dunkin' Donuts

Photo 
It has been a whirlwind couple of weeks since my last 'Notes' posting. Suddenly January's brain fog vanished, replaced by renewed energy for language study, book reading, and blogging. Friends and family are beginning their travels already, early Spring, but I'm staying put for awhile to work on savings and language studies. I read a series of books by Jeffrey J. Fox, motivating but rather simplistic. Good reminders though, especially for our youth starting out in business. Still reading a Bavarian author, and will be venturing into another book. Both foreign language books. I can't say I'm completely fluent, but I definitely can say there is a good amount of comprehension, and there's always going to be new words to learn, if my bilingual dictionaries are 1200 pages each. German radio has been very entertaining. Such a nice mix of music. Occasionally tune-in to internet radio. Making some preliminary plans for my 50th birthday rolling in next year. I plan on a celebration in Germany. Can't say when I'll be back to the States. German politics has suddenly gotten rather quiet, since Aschermittwoch and instead the political focus has been rather Holland's election of the House of Representatives and in April, France's election of President. Still some lengthy discussions about Turkey, which spin round and round; same topics as when I was teaching at University with no resolve, predominantly, "Turkey and the EU". Spring flowers are sprouting in the garden, snowdrops included, and seems as though the weather in Germany will stay Spring with temps in the 50s. Hope everyone is enjoying warmer weather in North America, as I hear Central America seems to have a balmy 80s - everyday.