Thanks for all the Welcome backs. everyone!
It's good to be home.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Backstage_Gal 
2. Oh, the joys of highspeed 
[quote BBN]
2. HEY! Quit rubbing it in
[/quote]
You know, I actually thought this morning before I logged in that I should have added a (NObbn!) to that line.
So Sorry, NOBBN!! (and my condolescences).
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, NAB! What a sweet note from Hannah!
PJ, Congrats!! 
I am off work till Monday, YAY!!
WARNING, LONG BORING POST AHEAD, FEEL FREE TO SKIP!
So, for my mini TR:
Not a lot to report, really. This trip was all about visiting Mom.
She has aged a lot since I last visited 2 years ago. I guess breaking a hip, getting a heart stent, and being 94 will do that to a person. She has trouble getting around, sometimes using one of those carts to hold onto. And she was sleeping a LOT, just sitting at the kitchen table or in the living room. She has someone come in the morning to get her dressed (except for blouses), someone to bring her lunch, and someone to help her get ready for bed and help her to bed, cause she can't swing her legs up to the mattress. Except that she cancelled the night person for during my stay, so that was my job. Plus getting her things she needed, buttoning buttons, making her something for dinner, make and bring her coffee help her generally. I really tried to be good and did anything she wanted.
Just call me senior nurse, LOL! (as opposed to BBN, but not much difference at times)
On the plus side, she was not as critical of me as I had feared. Actually, she was pretty good.
I pretty much spent my time watching cheesy TV court shows in the afternoons. I mean, they have the accused and the witnesses yelling at each other in the court room! This would never happen in real life. My outings consisted of going to the Baker every day for fresh crusty rolls, YUMM! (maybe 200 yards away, and the grocery store (about 400 yards away). One day mom's friend drove me to the cemetery to visit my dad.
Except for one day. I had to go to the next town by train to get a copy of my birth certicificate, so my DD can get her German passport. Why does she want one, you ask??? Because she can, since she is born of a German mother, and she wants one, so THERE!
But first that morning, I went to the local city hall to get a copy of my marriage certificate (same reason). So I got 2 copies, and paid 14 euros. OK, fine. So then to the train station. They have machines that dispense tickets, and I wasnt sure how to operate them. So some young woman pushed some buttons for me, I threw in my money, and got my ticket. So off I went. Got slightly lost in town, but finally found where I needed to go. I got my copies, and paid 10.50 euros. I asked why? The lady asked some questions, and it turns out I was overcharged for the other ones. She was very nice, and subtracted the difference from what I owed. So back to the train I went. Mind you, it's a quick ride, 5 or 6 minutes on a high speed train. So 2 minutes into the ride, a ticket controller comes in. I proudly held out my ticket, which I had been careful not to lose. She looked at it, looks at me, and says "do you have another one?" I said no, why? She said it was a one-way ticket!
I was so embarrassed! I said really, I didn't know, I'm from america, see?? Holding out my US residency card. She proceeded to write something up!! I could have sunk into the floor, I felt like a cheater who was caught. There were 2 other women sitting with me. Anyway, I paid what I owed and that was that. 2 minutes later I was at my destination, and the only one getting out of my car. Well, I couldn't get the frigging doors open. They had these wheely things you had to turn. I banged on the window at a man passing by, but he didnt hear me. I was sure I was going to have to ride to the next stop. At the last minute, the ticket lady let me out, WHEW!. So that was my excitement for the trip.
Mom would go to bed early,8pm like mostly. But then she would get up 2 or 3 times a night. Usually thinking it was morning, and proceed to get dressed in her alway very chic blouses and sweaters. So I had to persuade her to go back to bed. One day a friend of mom's was going to take us out for coffee and cake, and mom was really looking forward to it. So she got all dolled up at 11 pm!!! Took some persuading to get her back to bed. Anyway, sometimes she would wake up confused, and asked if she had to go to work
I said, Nein, Mutti, you dont have to go to work. Mind you, she hasn't had a job where she had to go to work since she was a young girl, since my parents had their own business, and mom did the bookkeeping from the house mostly, most recently even still somefor my brother until she was 90. Mind you, it was for her benefit cause she wanted to, it was all checked or re-done by someone else. Anyway, that day was having a bad day, sleeping most of the time and having trouble walking. She tried taking a step down the stairs (nasty, winding staircase) and couldnt even make 1 step down. Still, we were going to try till the last minute. Mom was all dressed up in her nice clothes. (She has a lot of them, my SIL is one of those women who always finds great things, and has impeccable taste. Her house looks like it belongs in a magazine, with fabulous knick knacks and furniture. Anyway, SIL buys mom nice things.
Anyway, at 2 pm the doorbell rings and the friend is there to pick us up. She bounds up the stairs (in her 60's), the same stairs that I have to drag myself up by the handrail by! Anyway, mom could hardly get out of her chair. So I said, it's useless, mom can't make it. So the friend says to me, ok then let us go (meaning her and me). I said no way, I am NOT leaving without MOM, we can get something and have coffee and cake here. But she said she was busy anyway and had to wash her cellar, and left. OK fine. So I went to the nearby bakery to get something. Now this bakery is great for bread, not so great for pastries. Anyway, I got some fruit pastries and made some coffee at home.
Pointless aside, but it made me mad! So this friend is a really nice lady, who looks in on mom twice a day mostly. She buys mom groceries and gets reimbursed by my SIL. So said friend says to me: Anything you buy for yourself, just get a receipt, and SIL will pay it back. I said NO WAY, I have my own money, I won't have them pay for my stuff. OK fine, after I told her that twice, she finally shut up. BUT THEN, Mom said to me one day "Erika said I should give you 500 euros when you leave". SAY WHAT???????????? Mom is being supported by my BIL. and she should give me 500 euros?????? FOR WHAT? Does she think I am impoverished or what??? It really upset me, but I let it go......
Now, my brother and SIL went on vacation to Spain while I was there. It saved them 2000 euros to have me there so mom wouldnt have to go to a short term home while they were gone. As I said before, my brother fixed up the laptop for me before he left, but he couldnt get his highspeed flat-rate to work, but luckily he still had the AOL account. After sending my one post as BSGAL, it wouldnt let me get past the last page I had posted on. And at the top where it says you are logged in as whatever, and gives the option to log out, it was blank! Cant log out! So I finally got IE to let me log out and set up a new ID, which let me read at least, but still no option to log out. Blank as blank can be! Very frustrating. And on IE I finally figured out that I had to erase my history to be able to read current page,or it would get me stuck me on the last post too.
Anyway, I drank lots of beer, good, golden, foamy german beer while there. About 43 bottle, to be exact, LOL. Well, I didnt have much else to do. One of mom's few critismns(sp) came when mom found 4 bottle cooling in the fridge. "OH no, what will people say?" I.E, the friend who buys her food and puts it away (Gossip!). I said, MOM, it has to get cold, and that was that. I tried to hide it behind stuff after that, at least 2 bottles, and replaced one empty one with 1 new one to get cold.
I asked about the bracelet/necklace mom is supposed to have to call for help if she needs it (Help, I have fallen and can't get up!). Brother said they ordered it a while ago, but didnt know what happened. He will get on the case when he gets back. He didnt know mom tends to get up in the middle of the night, and needs lots of help getting redressed sometimes. He said this might be the last time I saw mom
Anyway, when I left, mom said, "you were always there, I wont be mad when I die now!
Travel was very long and tiring. I waved to Sandy, and MOO (I saw Lansing on the airplane monitor) and NAB, we flew near Toronto.
Sorry for the long post! Now I have to scroll back and watch baby Isaac toddle!
Maybe you could post a pic of the matchy matchy littles "somewhere" too?!
As if there was ever any doubt.
A Rob sighting? Long time no see! Is ball season over?
Plus it'll be a relief to get the political threads off of the CB.
Sinus headache maybe? Have you tried accupressure?
Anyway, the poles are open 6am til 6pm here! 
) 
Home Mariita...tell us all about your trip to the homeland. Glag your home safe and sound...Im surre your worn out from jetlag.
German beer. 
BUT no drama, she just worked - she had been working on it for 2 weeks - this weekend she put in 8 hours - so it wasnt so much as a last minute - but she had the teacher look it over Tues at school 
Anne Murray "we'll walk in the sunshine, we'll sing everyday..." 
(this is code for work!) 
I'm sure you did have so many emotions going thru - glad you went, and I chuckled at your train story!! 
You'd think his mother would remind him 
