Hairmageddon Strikes Königstein

I thought I would try muesli for breakfast. I grabbed one that has berries, thinking that would be an extra healthy choice. I sent at least 2 messages to the family WhatsApp chat saying how amazingly delicious this cereal is, even used the word “love” to describe it. Look at me, being all healthy and stuff. And then I took a closer look at the box. I hadn’t noticed the words weißer shokolade, which translates to white chocolate. No WONDER it tasted so dang good.

Guess who has curtains!!! I love how handy Jay is. I was nervous about drilling into the concrete walls. He wasn’t. No more full moons for the neighbors! You’ll also notice in the picture if you look closely that we have sort of adopted using 2 blankets on the bed. The Germans do not use top sheets, only the fitted sheet and the duvet. I have a small duvet on my side, plus the big one. I don’t even notice when Jay steals the big blanket. Kind of a fan.

This is fun. Our neighbors had a furniture delivery. Instead of hauling it up the stairs, they delivered directly to their second floor using this nifty little elevator.

It was time for Jay and Ty to get their first German haircuts. We stopped by a salon on a walk one evening and Jay talked, in English, to a guy and made an appointment for 4:00 the next day. Jay had to go into the office and I had meetings, so Ty had to go alone. Mistake #1. He got off the bus at 4:05 and ran to the salon. He told the stylist to only cut off 1 cm of hair – he has been growing out his luscious locks for months. The stylist did NOT speak English, so another lady translated for him. Ty came home with his hood up and went straight upstairs. He said it was terrible and he didn’t want me to see it. Enter full meltdown mode. I stood outside the bathroom for 15 minutes waiting for him to let me in, and then I hugged my baby. There was more to those tears than the missing hair. The past few weeks/months have been overwhelming and it all caught up with him. On a positive note, his hair does not look bad, it is just not at all what he was expecting. No, he will not let me take a picture. It’s just hair, it will grow back. Especially when he chugs pink milk thinking there is a direct line between the glass bottle and his hair growth cells. :) Also promising is that Jay went there the next day for his haircut, and his appointment was with the english speaking lady that had translated for Ty. She knew he had cut it too short but by the time she saw what was happening it was too late. Ty will go to her next time.

I did a thing that I am not necessarily proud of, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I paid $60 EUR for 30 rolls of Charmin toilet paper. #happybums For anyone hopping on a plane to Germany, feel free to throw in a couple rolls. #savethebums

Also fun. Check out our little snow plow! It’s the perfect size for our cobblestone courtyard and parking lot. The salt sprayer on the back is great. Speaking of snow, yes, the kids did not have to go to school on Wednesday. However, they did have online classes, which they felt robbed them of the joys of an actual snow day. We did not get quite the accumulation that they were forecasting because it turned from snow into more of a freezing rain. Back to campus on Thursday (again, it was like the world was coming to an end). The good news is that our internet held up pretty well to having all 4 of us online at the same time.

I found a lovely Polish lady to help keep the house clean. She speaks Polish and a little German. I speak English and a little German. We did a lot of charades and google translate, but we were able to communicate what needed to be said. She will be coming every week (glorious). She made do with the limited supplies and rental equipment, but she requested a new mop and a better vacuum. Whatever you need, Antonia, as long as it keeps you happy and coming back! Jay and I walked by a shop around the corner and saw that they had the kind of vacuum she recommended. So convenient!

We went inside a little bookstore across the street. I had been thinking for a while that it would be awesome to have a book that has English on one side and German on the other. I asked if the shop had anything like that – and they did!! The first page was a little more advanced than my DuoLingo lessons, but I’m going to take it slow. I love reading, and I like the little stories on DuoLingo, so I think I will enjoy these.