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...really loud. We already heard the noise during the daily TV crime thriller, but thought that our neighbour did celebrate with family and deceased father- son had taken the urn to his property and pours beer over the place he has buried it at each feast he throws. At ten it was quiet in neighbours garden, but the ruckus carried on, with neighbour's son, barely six but equipped with a voice that could shatter glass, howling from a street farther away. I went to bed at eleven- noise still on. I woke at one- still children out and about. Finally, at three in the morning, I had enough and got up. The noisy children were in bed then, but Beyoncee was still awake and roaring. I think it was a street party gone out of control. Drunk people were singing, so I poured me a glass of wine and watched the moon. Strange, but I cannot take no needle-sharp photos anymore with my mobile. Had been able to do so, but some setup must have (been) changed. No shooting stars to be seen, again too much light. At least the music got turned out at four in the morning, and after someone had smashed a lot of glasses the party was finally over. Needless to say that hubby and I slept a tad longer. Almost too long, because when hubby had a look at his mobile after breakfast, he realised that a friend had sent him a ticket for today's Mozart matinee at eleven. He was off in a hurry and I was back to bed, reading a bit and trying to find that reel which showed how to do a two-coloured ribbon. Had melon and ham for lunch and spent my time between darning in and swimming. The second sleeve of the cardigan is still not sewn on, but the summer sweater is finished- finally.
Weather was far from hot with too many clouds for my liking. I closed the outdoor curtains against the annoying wind- I am very good at feeling cold despite 28 degrees!
Hubby came back at seven, swiftly hurrying to the TV- he had almost missed the local news. Since then he is trying to organise the programme for the next days. Wants to bring Oscar and Xaver in for swimming (both hate it), Wednesday he will take them to the amusement park together with number four- I am off with daughter this day. Thursday family three will arrive. Early shift transport for me on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Don't like it! At the moment hubby is discussing menue plans- both boys and family number thtee are very picky concerning food. My guess is chicken thighs and palatschinken and chicken again...

Going to bed early to catch up on sleep meant that I was out of bed earlier than usual. Weather was fine but too cool for breakfast on the terrace. I finally got acquainted with hubby's plans for this week: get Oscar and Xaver for pool fun on Tuesday, pick number four up from the train station the same day, next day fun park (without me), Thursday fun with family number one sans Konrad and his mum, number three and family arriving in the evening. Friday is a church holiday here, so no big plans, because all shops will be closed and most attractions overrun with tourists. Besides, number three and spouse will dine outside while we will have to watch their offspring. Saturday DiL 3 and I will tour the shops for Elsa's school cone, since son has not yet decided upon which one his daughter might like. I am heavily tempted to book a holiday on a Greek island, beginning with tomorrow.
I was cleaning and darning in and cleaning again all morning. Daughter's godmother called and told me if she'd be allowed to come for a coffee and a talk. Of course, she is- I have seen her only twice the last weeks, talking to her when I passed by her house in the car, Cassian and Flavius on the back seat. We did not have much of a conversation, besides, I had probably run out of patience for that day, and godmother is a talker, beware! Only then hubby remembered that he was supposed to tell me that she had not been well, had been in hospital even for eye surgery. That was when I had been in London. What the hell- oh, that man! What he does not write up will be out of his brain in the blink of an eye! Godmother and I had a nice time with coffee and cake, talked a lot, and now I know all the gossip I missed, like that neighbour´s next cat got killed by a car and that her Australian shepherd had to be put down at the age of eight. Those overbred breeds cost a lot but are so very prone to cancer, had to experience it firsthand with our hovawart, who lived exactly ten years and not a day longer.
By early evening I accompanied hubby to number three´s house. First, we were chasing the cats in to feed them, take some pictures of them for Cassian and Flavius then lock them up. Second, we were harvesting elderberries and blackberries. More stewed elderberries, more jam. The pool did not get used much today- no cooling down needed when it´s 26 degrees only. Besides, the wind was so strong that the weight hubby attached to the outdoor curtain almost broke my teeth when it took off. Now the day is almost over and I am severely tempted to go to bed early again- there´s no better sleep than the one before midnight! I even missed hubby winding down the shutters, which is loud, very loud indeed!

...for star gazing: I woke at four thirty and went down onto the terrace. Temperatures were acceptable- down to 17, we almost always make it under 20 here, no matter how hot the day is. Alas, it was already too light. Typical, now that all clouds were gone and the moon down. I think I will set an alarm for three thirty this night. I sat for a while then gave up and went inside for a tour de loo, where I had some traumatic experience. I thought I'd see something black on tje left, no, surely must have erred. Black back, off again. So I watched more intently- it was a spider wandering on the loo roll as if it were a hamster wheel. Spider did not survive the excursion. There's too many of those I found lately! Hate that!
I overslept a bit, got up at eight straight and took the breakfast hubby had prepared out onto the terrace. Saturday breakfasts on the terrace are the best: less traffic on the streets, but what´s most important- no idiot neighbours wreaking havoc, they are bracing their energy for tomorro, when most people will want to sleep in. Not much got done during morning. Hubby and I left after showering in search of a school cone for Elsa. Found none she would have liked. Took some photos we sent to number three. Until now no reaction, so the school cone must no be that important!
This day was also a nice day for making good use of the pool- 32 degrees, not a single cloud, enough wind to not even feel the so-called heatwave. I had an enounter with a dragonfly, which followed me around for a while. Dragonflies seem to love me! We had cold tuna noodles for lunch, which was once a favourite dish of our offspring. Back to simple food, just as we had when working, not those elaborate recipes husband mine is searching for! I took my knitting out and finished both sleeves, even attached one to the body. Two third of the darning in is done now. Tomorrow, when hubby is off, I will hopefully finish the cardigan. It did not turn out as pretty as I had wanted, but it cannot be helped. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are left for darning in the sweater and do last-minut preparations for the oncoming family invasion. When cleaning the kitchen my fingers hurt, I must have overdone it with knitting. Happens more often now that I am getting old. Really old. Another thing I hate...

...that if I´d change my sleeping pattern by going to bed the moment I felt tired, getting up early would not involve being tired and lazy all day long. Only that I did not get tired in front of the TV last evening and went to bed at ten, as usual, knowing that I'd have to be out of bed at three. Once in bed I noticed that the roof of our house served as a dance floor for cats or martens again. The ruckus did not take long, and I fell asleep until one in the morning, when the noise started anew. I met daughter outside her room- it was even worse in there, sounded as if those creatures were trying to get into the house by digging through the roof. At two thirty I finally gave up and got out of bed- the newspaper deliverer had just shot a flower pot on the table outside the kitchen window. Hubby will complain on Monday, he said. But he did inspect the attic in the morning- blessedly no signs that the critters had made in into the house.
The rest of the day was uneventful. The house was clean, needed only a bit of vacuuming. Kitchen will get a cleansing tomorrow, today I did a tour to DM for shower gel and hand cream- it´s cheapest there, and their own brand has best reviews. Meanwhile hubby let the robot run another tour in the pool then took his bike and was off to the bakery for bread. No cooking, there were still burger patties left in the fridge. After a short after-lunch nap I took Elsa's cardigan to the terrace and continued darning the threads in. Oh dear, that work will never end! And that's only the cardigan, but there's also a summer top to darn in! Apropos summer: we were up to 32 degrees today- I was ecstatic, even made use of the pool. Into the water, to the other end and back out. 22 is not enough to be inviting. For a bladder infection, maybe, but who would want one of those!
Hubby did not bring out the sunbed, it's still in the attic of the garage, and I definitely did not intend to climb up the ladder to get it. I stacked the chairs and dragged off the outdoor table to make room for the sofa- another attempt at watching shooting stars. And marvel at the full moon, which will most likely outshine the shooting stars. And a glass of wine (or two) to get back into summer feeling, short as it will be. First time I will gaze through the glass paneels of the canopy, no spiders dangling up and down from the balcony above- they seem to hate the glass but are found almost everywhere now, a sure sign that autumn is on its way!

...Inspector Lewis. The series, of course. It´s on TV every Wednesday at the moment. Yesterday evening I put pretzelsticks and my daily vitamin cocktail on the coffee table, searched for my cosy blanket (it´s too cool inside the house, hopefully not for long) and started watching. I woke exactly ten minutes before the episode ended. Blimey! Of course, sleep did elude me when I went to bed. But I woke at six thirty once again. Five weeks of having to get up at that time have definitely conditioned me. Blimey again!
The pool got readied for use by husband this morning. Even the robot did his job. What´s lacking is the candidate who wants to risk a pissed bladder. At the moment the water is 20 degrees- on the surface. Deeper down it´s even colder. So we waited, and hoped, and waited some more, but temperatures outside went up very slowly, reaching 22 degrees at midday only. After we had had burgers for lunch, both hubby and I decided to do a nap. But at two exactly two of the neighbours packed out their lawn mower. Five minutes later hubby joined them. Now the smell of freshly cut grass is nice, but a nap would have been even nicer. Not a chance with all that noise!
Later in the afternoon our mobiles started buzzing- husband's darn sibling group I joined an aeon ago and have not left yet. Who will bring what for the meeting they wanted to know. Hubby will be off to meet his siblings and their wifes and husbands on Sunday. I won´t join him, those Jehova´s Witnesses have overstepped their mark, when they showed up at my mum´s house regularly to make her join their religious community- and I mean those relatives of hubby in person, not other emissaries! Mum did tell me too late, or I would have given them a piece of my mind earlier. So Sunday might be a perfect day for me- warm weather, pool useable, no cooking... now let´s see who feels the need for coming for a visit! There aren´t many candidates left! Oh, I forgot about family number one not going to South Tyrol for holiday- DiL1 cancelled, she thinks Konrad is too young for the altitude, the pediatrician told her so. First- it was she who did chose the vacation spot, second- the pediatricion knows nothing of it, so son says. If the family sans mum and Konrad will show up on Sunday it won't be a big affair. Son number one is uncomplicated, the boys placid. Then there´s number five. She hasn´t sent me the complete list of her early shifts yet. But that girl is fun and very useful- I can put her in front of the jigsaw of horror and she will find pieces, while I haven´t found any for days now.
She´ll be here this evening and tell me what´s up the next days. Maybe I will put the sunbed up on the terrace or sit on the couch, and we can watch shooting stars- usually we are up earlier than needed...

While husband mine was puttering around all day long, doing this for some minutes, doing that, being a pain in the rear to me, because that man cannot even dust without making loud noises, I was contemplating why I seem to fall out of the bed at exactly six thirty each day (grandma, the sun is up?). All that while husband mine not so softly snores until eight (that alone can keep all with sane hearing from sleeping) then wonders why his wife is tired later in the morning. I was not completely unproductive, but there should be more activities happening on my side. At least I stripped the guestbed in the studio and cleaned the bed drawer, turned the washing machine on and even hung the washing. Brr, it was cool outside! We already have that strange pale yellow sunlight which comes with early autumn. Now that family number three will come next week and number four, too, I thought this week completely free of familiar trouble. Far from it! I did not forget about sis´s birthday, congratulated her at six thirty in the morning. That must have been a sign that I was recuperated already, and she called. And called again. And again. I mean, who sells a shoe cabinet on her own birthday, and even less, when it´s not yet disassembled! Hubby told her which gadgets to use but otherwise put her off, because he had a date with number one´s second oldest- that boy is seven and can´t cycle. Oh dear! To avoid the Oscar scenario (our oldest grandson had to take on hubby to get cycling lessons at the age of nine, to accomplish the cycling exam) hubby will bring Xaver to the playground and do daily exercising with the lad. At least he will be away from his mum for a while!
After cooking lunch- pork with coconut-mango sauce- I finally managed to fend off a former student´s attempt at getting into our house. She agreed to try for it next week. I so love her! After a short rest I went down and knitted. I have been searching for the sleeve´s length I need, to no avail first. I needed the inner length, and when I finally found a useful size chart the sleeve seemed too big in my opinion. That´s why I will seam up the cardigan first then decide how to procede. The good news is that the wool will be enough for finishing. Thank God that I haven´t ordered more, but only because of the long wait for delivery.
Another good thing: bamboo is almost gone, the outer parts at least. From tomorrow on I can start with killing the beast for good and all. There´s a collection of toxins and acid I intend to use on the rootstock. Some of it not legal, but I do not give a ...., that darn bamboo has to go, before the first neighbours will complain. No stolons, my ....! And with most of the bamboo gone I found a yew growing amidst the mess! Where did this one come from! One of the neighbours has one, maybe birds did spread it the way birds do! I think I will cut it to shape as a replacement for the privacy shield the bamboo provided us with...

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: my tiny studio
Current Music: Maria Stuarda

First thing after breakfast was stripping all beds. Cassian and Flavius were working hard to help me, even dragged the bedding down to the washing machine in the basement. Hubby showed them how to turn it on- blessedly the two won´t have a chance to try it out on their own. I helped Flavius colour a birthday cake for his mum as a belated present. Cassian had done his drawing yesterday, without fuss, which surprised me. At ten thirty this morning the siege ended after five long weeks, when the boys stormed into the living room to kiss me goodbye. Cassian shed a few tears, because he had wanted to stay the last night at our house, without his renitent brother, of course. I told him that Samsung, his beloved cat, surely would want to spend this one night in bed with him, before the boy was off again. Phew- crisis averted!

Hubby brought the boys to their father then returned. He worked like a robot all day long- sorted Lego and all the toys the boys had played with into boxes, put away all the bungee cords (dozens of them, spread all over the garden, perfect for building spider nets to catch thieves), removed the carefully picked out stones that served for building mountains for the Schleich animals. It was as if he felt sorry for the boys being with their parent again. No noise is strange, indeed. I even turned the TV on, or the house would have felt eerily quiet. All the ruckus of the last weeks must have caused an upset stomach with me. I skipped lunch, had an early dinner instead consisting of chicken soup with vegetables. Good for stomach ache and helping with a cold. I have both, so...
It was 16 degrees today. This week summer will come back- but for a few warm days only. I have given up anyway. The pool water is icy. At least it´s not green, as it has been last time. But...we got a call from number three at five in the afternoon. He wants to come on Friday. For bathing. Ha! Hubby told him that poolwater is down to 17 degrees. He'll inform them how fast water temperatures will go up. The family will also come for my birthday. I am delighted. One family off, the next in. At the same time number one informed me that he thinks he will come next week. I am doomed, really doomed. It's indeed Hotel Mama what we've been turned into! Mama does all the cooking, and papa works as the hotel's chamberboy, while offsprings are holidaying in and around the house...
BTW:There are days when I hate LJ. Today I was replying to comments, when I noticed that LJ did not work the way it was supposed to. I hate it when this happens!
PS: that's what I found in the boys' beds!

Flashlights! But five of them?

Mood
exhausted
Music
Now we are free/ Gladiator
Location
my studio

Second to last day of the siege! Tomorrow morning the boys will get returned to their dad! Hubby will pack them and what's left of their belongings into his car, drive to the supermarket where son number two does his last grocery shopping before the trip to Romania then bring all three to their home. Now I can tidy our house (yuck!!!) then feel normal again. That is if nothing significant will happen which will stall the procedure. I have decided to stay calm whatever will happen. No use to get into a fuss when the ordeal is practically over. Poor hubby, now he has to concentrate solely on biking and shopping, no more cuddling the grandsons! He will take Oscar to the Cartworld on Tuesday, to lessen the feeling of being neglected, so this will be a safe day for me to come down. Imagine, no more tumbling over toys or settling disputes! And, if we are lucky, weather will turn to moderate summer again. It´s about time, the 15th of August marks the beginning of autumn here, when the sun is off behind the hills early. Another summer gone by without sea, save for the glimpses down from the plane on our way back from London, before clouds obscured the sight:(
This morning we woke to freezing 17 degrees in the bedroom, even though the window was only left ajar a tiny bit. One more day with the heating turned on in the morning. The boys helped me do banana muffins- I did the muffins, they ate the chocolate. So much of it that we used up two bars. It´s okay for me, they did not have much sweets during their stay, only a few HP fruit gums, so that those weren´t made to die in the drawer. Hubby made grilled chicken and garlic bread for lunch, with salad (do we ever have a meal without green stuff?) and corn. Meanwhile I was off to the tiny studio, apologising to Ashmael for ignoring him so long and nursing my cold. I tried to give the boys a wide berth to keep the sneezing to myself. No cuddling, no excessive playing- it did not work the way I wanted, because both seem to be tied to my apron´s strings when inside. Not that DiL will complain about sick children spoiling the vacation she needs so much. After all she has had to work for a full month! But if she thinks she can pull that stunt again she better prepare herself for a heavy dressing-down. Even told so number two, when he came for lunch. And I did the next thing DiL hates very much (second only to sweets): I turned the TV on and let them watch a Disney movie. Poor hubby, all that singing!
Flavius had a very short after-lunch nap. When he woke the sun was out, and we were up to 16 degrees. Hubby let the boys run free, they needed to spend up their energy. Otherwise it´s hard to survive the time between six and eight, which the two of them think the best time for fighting each other. More than once I felt hard-pressed to pour me a glass of wine and go against the rule No wine before nine. A rule easily to stick to, since I managed to regularly fall asleep in front of the TV, before we had even reached that time. I think it won´t be different today, since the boys made me get up at six thirty. I had promised them scrambled eggs, and hubby never does them right...

I got up with hubby and the boys- no use to stay in bed, when hell is let loose in the living room. At least I slept well until three in the morning. Back in bed at four thirty I had the strangest dreams. The first was about a trip in the bus to the moon, where I had to tidy something akin to a giant gym, full of outdated furniture, old clothing and broken toys. I remember a burning deep fryer and people panicking. Went back home to earth with an antique commode and pretty old standard lamps. The second dream was about my car, which tried to tell me to go to a repair shop. It brought me to a huge parking space in front of a shopping centre then died on me. And all that during a snow storm. When I woke I noticed that I had thrown off my duvet and that it was freezing cold in the bedroom... Anyway, I did the daily chores, prepared lunch then went upstairs for some resting- hubby was off with the boys for grocery shopping, so the house was quiet. But not for long, because hubby came back with the boys and number one in tow, and Oscar and Xaver, of course. Those two got Palatschinken for lunch, but only after Cassian and Flavius had eaten their rice with meat. Only then all four had dessert in form of Palatschinken with jam. Number one is frustrated- his wife suffers from anxiety disorder, since Konrad came into being. She is in therapy, but no results until now. All she sees is bacteria and viruses and toxins all around. No fun for the rest of the family and herself, neither!
When family number one left hubby sent Flavius to the guestroom for a nap, and I went upstairs to watch Youtube. Only that I fell asleep, until Flavius entered the bedroom, boisterous as always- I had been out for two hours! We spent an hour (!!!) in the garden, playing football and building a zoo for the Schleich animals. before rainfall set in anew. Weather forecast tells that weather might get better soon. I do not believe it anymore. It's the same weather forecast which tells us that July has not been too cold. It has not been too warm, either. It has been on the average, like the summers we had once. Honestly, I wonder where those people get their readings from- I cannot remember that we ever had to turn the heating on in July!

That night has definitely been a cold one with eight degrees at six in the morning, but at least the sun was to be seen, so happy faces at breakfast. I dressed Cassian for our trip beyond the German border and left Flavius with his grandpa. The two would do grocery shopping, too. First stop: Aldi.

wiseheart, did you know that they sell blueberries from Hungary for less than six euro a kilo? I'd like to know for how much those get sold in Hungary! We also got raspberries, pineapple, honeydew melon and the pyjama Cassian had seen in the leaflet. Afterwards we went to my favourite shopping centre for toiletries and more fruits like mangos and papayas. And wool. Not the one I need for Elsa's cardigan but for crocheting another throw. 18 balls are still in the box but I'll need 22. Wool was available, which is good- the same articles that were not to be found on the shelves last time I was here were still missing. Mangos and papyas we'll need for the meal Cassian wants to do for dinner tomorrow, when aunt Lil will join us again. I woke this morning at six twenty five to the sound of small feet running. At least the boys waited until their clock told them Safe to wake the grandparents, sun is up, before they marched in, cookbook in hand. They had already found what they want for dinner: salad with mango, oranges and shrimps, and roasted chicken with mushrooms, honey and rum. I think I will skip the rum (most of it), but I love Jamaican cooking.
The cat is out of the bag: number four will not be able to take care of the boys this week, they will stay with us until next Monday. Day and night, no pause for recovery. That's a bummer, but number two has to work all week plus the weekend, since mummy needs two whole weeks of vacation, with two days to get to the Black Sea, after she has picked the family up at Bucharest. But dad's break only lasts two weeks straight, and not one day more, if he does not do additional shifts. He has used up three weeks already when holidaying in Tunisia... Well, we have come so far, we will survive the rest of the ordeal. If only the weather would be nice and summerly! Today temperatures went up to sizzling hot 22 degrees, before they went down to 17 with the next strong winds, which brought more rain...

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That was loud...

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