On a Sunday evening in a small German town.....

We popped open a bottle of wine...

...I cooked...

...and Indy made mischief.

Life is good :)

Love, 

Rachel

One Year

Friday marked one year since Matt and I stepped off the plane and began our German adventure.  It's pretty hard to believe that this year has gone by so fast. Here's a quick update of things that have been going on:

1. Matt and I have been serving at the Saturday evening masses on base. He's serving as a lector and I've been singin' it out in the choir.

2. Indy is getting  SO big. He looks more like a dog now, and less like a polar bear cub.

3. It's been crazy hot here. And by crazy hot, I mean about 90 degrees. I know, I know, all you folks in Texas are laughing at me right now. And I'll be the first to admit that I'm a total wuss when it comes to the heat. But when you don't have AC, 90 degrees feels pretty toasty. We've actually been sleeping in our guest room because it stays so much cooler than our master bedroom. Indy, on the other hand, loves the weather and has started migrating through the house during the day, following the sunny patches on the floors and basking in them.

4. Matt and I are planning a trip to Rothenburg ob der Tauber in a few weeks. Those of you on Pinterest have probably seen this photo a time or two:

I am so excited to finally see this town, which Rick Steves describes as the "King of Medieval German Cuteness". Gotta love that description. You can read more here.

5. School starts again on August 27th. I have to go back on August 22nd. Let's just say I'm optimistic, but not thrilled about this upcoming school year. Summer has been too short.

6. Matt's been busy with work and writing his masters thesis. I've been busy with Indy and a whole lotta nothing much else besides Pinterest projects and crocheting and trying to clean out our spare room which, until a few days ago, was looking like a scene from hoarders.

So that's pretty much what's up around here.

And now, Rachel Reilly presents.... "Our First Year as a Married Couple: A Look Back"
(Click photos to view larger)

Our Wedding

On Our Way!

 

New Car

Trifels Castle

Matt Is In Awe : Burg Rheinstein

Autumn in Germany

Frankfurt Christmas Market

Celebrating Christmas in Germany

I Just Love Our Little Haus :)

Starbucks of the World

Oui! Paris!

I Like Swiss Cheese 

Families Visit

Indiana Reilly: Canine of Doom

 

"Prost!"

Love, 

Rachel

The Roller Coaster

Well, it's stopped snowing since my last post. Been a while, hasn't it? Matt and I have kept ourselves pretty busy in the last few months. Things have felt like a roller coaster lately with lots of ups and downs. Here's a bit of an update:

1.  Roller coaster going up...

The Reilly's came to visit us in May! We had a blast on our adventures through Heidelberg, Paris, Berne, down the Rhine River, and in and around our little village.

 Our Rhine River Cruise

Could Paris be more beautiful?! No. The answer is no. It's pretty much perfect.

No visit to Germany is complete without a wine tasting. Come visit us, and we'll make sure you experience one!

Our collection of Starbucks mugs is growing!

2. Up, up, up...

We got a puppy!!! Indiana Reilly, Canine of Doom. Or just Indy. Whichever you prefer.

3. Down. Waaaay down.

Within 24 hours of bringing our sweet little fluffy bundle of joy home, we realized that something was very wrong. Indy refused to eat. And the few times he did eat, he was unable to keep anything down. We took him to the vet, where he was diagnosed with coccidia, an intestinal parasite that is common in puppies. However, our doctor made it very clear that in this case, Indy sickness was due to the negligence of the breeder. He said that Indy was extremely underweight and could not have lost that amount of weight in the short time we had him (less than 2 days, at this point).  In other words, he was already malnourished (yep, malnourished) when we purchased him. His extreme puppy fluffiness made his low body weight very easy to disguise from unsuspecting puppy buyers such as ourselves.

Every day for a week I sat with Indy at the vet for a number of hours while he received fluids and glucose through an IV.

On the second day I brought Indy in, I was told that another dog who could possibly be Indy's litter mate was also receiving care from our vet for the exact same condition. I confirmed with the puppy's mother that they were indeed litter mates: they had the same birth dates and were purchased on the same day from the same breeder at the same address.

Meanwhile, we struggled to get Indy to eat. He didn't want rice or chicken or cottage cheese. Nothing the vet suggested whetted Indy's appetite. Matt and I were faced with the possibility that Indy might not survive. He was so thin. He hadn't held down food in three days. The situation was pretty dire. We were forced to resort to a nutrition paste for critically ill animals. In order to feed it to Indy, we had to put a small dollop of the paste on our finger and slather it on Indy's gums so that he had no other choice but to lick it off, thereby absorbing its nutrition. He didn't like it, but he kept it down. We gave him a dallop of this meaty-smelling goo every hour on the hour. It was heartbreaking to watch suck a little helpless animal struggle so much.

Then I had a thought. I remembered back to the days when my dog Percy was getting pretty old and often couldn't eat his regular dog food. Mom would make him scrambled eggs, and Percy would gobble it up. I couldn't believe it had taken me so long to think of eggs, but as soon as I did I broke out the eggs and the pan and got crackin'. Ten minutes later I held out a tiny bite of warm egg to Indy, which he immediately ate with gusto. An hour later, another small bite. We alternated between the egg and the gel for the rest of the day, sometimes giving him both. By the end of the day, when he had still kept everything down, Matt and I felt a glimmer of hope. 

The next day at the vet, Indy's sugar was not anywhere near as low as it had been during the previous days. And he wasn't nearly as dehydrated. He still needed some fluids, though, so the tech got him hooked up and settled down, and I once again sat down beside Indy. A few minute later, the tech came back in the room carrying a small pouch and a bowl. She explained that it was cat food for sensitive stomachs and that dogs who are having difficulty eating often prefer cat food because it's wetter and tastier than the dog food. She emptied a small amount of food into the bowl and put it in front of Indy. Let me tell you, I have never seen a dog--healthy or otherwise--eat with this much excitement. He licked the bowl clean and began sniffing around for more. I knew at that moment that he was going to be OK. 

Indy's health has done nothing but improve since then. He's had a few set backs, including a diagnosis of Parvo and Corona virus. But the vet said that he had had these viruses all along, and that although he was tested for them, they could not be detected because there was such a small amount of the viruses in his system. But the vet also said that Parvovirus does not exist any longer in Germany. And although Indy had been vaccinated against it, he still must have come into contact with it at some point while in the care of the breeders. Which means that someone is likely importing dogs from Eastern Europe.

And a couple of weeks ago, Indy came down with another small setback in the form of a case of worms. But this, thankfully, was an extremely easy fix; one pill and they were gone. I don't want to go into the details of that. It's was pretty gross. But Indy's doing just fine. 

Matt and I have been working with a lawyer to get to our medical bills reimbursed by these awful breeders. We have been learning more and more about these people and the horrible operation they're running. The more I learn the more disgusted I am. Indy's sister did not make it, and I can't help but wonder how many more dogs like her suffered because of these people.

4. Going back up....

Matt and I are so grateful that Indy is healthy now. Matt told me that when he brought him to the vet last week to get him dewormed, no one recognized him because he's doing so well! Which is saying a lot because we've spent SO much time there! 

This little puppy has brought so much joy to an already joyful home, and we couldn't be happier with him.

Indy, while he was still on the IV. That's his catheter, under the green bandage.

Indy now: happy, healthy, and causing mischief.

5. Up and up!

Once Indy was better, it was time for the Walz family to visit!

We saw the sights of the Mosel valley, Paris, Heidelberg, Idar-Oberstein, and Kaiserslautern. 

All of this time with family has been a blessing. Now Matt and I will be spending a relaxing summer with our puppy. And you can be sure it won't be another 5 months before my next blog entry. But let's just hope that the roller coaster doesn't start heading down again!

Things a Southern Girl Has Learned About Snow

Having grown up in such a warm climate, I never knew the delights that a nice snowfall can bring...until now! Here are a Southern girl's realizations about the magical--and not so magical--aspects of snow as she experiences the first legitimately cold winter of her life.


1. Few things are as satisfying as the crunch and feel of snow under your shoes. 
Freshly fallen powder really does make a delightful sound. On that note...

2. Some snow really can be described as "powdery". 
I had heard this word used to describe snow a few times before and always failed to understand how cold, frozen, rain could be "powdery". It can. Powdery snow is fantastic.


3. Once it snows, your floors will never be clean again (until the Spring, that is). 
I've given up trying to clean them. No matter how much you try to wipe you feet, you're going to track in snow. It's a grim reality to face for a neat freak like me.


4. Snow looks really awesome when it blows across the road. 
I don't really know how to describe this, but the best I can do is this: when fresh snow blows across the road you're driving on, especially if its a higher-speed road, like the autobahn or a highway, the snow look almost like smoke or water. It's kind of a bizarre thing to see. The first time I saw it, I didn't realize what it was. I had no idea snow could look like that.


5. The racket my car makes while driving in the snow is just the sound of the snow beneath the tires.
I thought my car was about to break down or my wheels were going to fall off. Nope. That's just what driving in snow sounds like.


6. Snowflakes really do look like that
Remember when you were little and you learned how to make paper snowflakes? I thought that was a design people made up, the same way the the symbol for a heart looks nothing like an actual human heart. I thought snowflakes were like hail, only softer. They're definitely not. I closely examined a single snowflake that had stuck to our window the other day. It was practically perfect and it really did look like those paper snowflakes I made as a kid.


7. Dirty snow is gross.
It's slushy, it's brown (or sometimes yellow....ewww), and just plain unpleasant. Especially when you've just cleaned the floors.....


8. .....But new snow is lovely and sparkly:

Snow Makes Everything Prettier

...Especially our backyard!

German Windows

It's currently about 35 degrees outside. I'm sitting in the living room, dressed with three layers on bottom, three layers on top, two pairs of socks, and my massive, fluffy hot-pink robe on over it all. Meanwhile, my German neighbors across the street have every window open like its a lovely summer day. I don't know who's crazier, them or me.

Now, I could give them the benefit of a doubt: since houses here don't have central a.c. or heat, it's a pretty standard rule that you should air out your house by opening windows for at least 10 minutes every day to prevent mold growth, even in the dead of winter. But their windows have been open all day. All. Day. It hasn't gotten above 40 degrees today. And it definitely hasn't been sunny. Having grown up in Louisiana and spent the last five years of my life in Texas, this is just beyond me. I am so cold!

But despite the fact that just the thought of airing out the house when it's 35 degrees outside makes me shiver, I love German windows.

I think that they're just about the most ingenious thing ever. They're called Rolladen, and there are a few different ways to use them.....

Here's one of our closed windows. The handle on the right is pointed down. But if you turn it 90 degrees to the left...

...it opens like this. If you shut the window again, and then turn the handle an additional 90 degrees so that its pointed up...

...it vents open at the top. This way, you can keep your windows open even when its raining and your house won't get all wet. This is also great for getting just the right amount of ventilation without swinging all your windows wide open and letting all the bugs and birds and things into your house (yes, birds. The other day I came out of the bedroom too fast and scared a pigeon that was perched on the sill. I'm pretty sure he was trying to get inside where it was warm. Thank goodness the window was only opened at the top.).
Now check out the pully-thing to the right of the window:

If you pull it, the shades on the outside of the window will go up or down.

I love that at nighttime we can pull the shutters completely closed. It's like a security blanket for the house.
The Germans like to decorate their window sills, too. They put dolls and silk flowers and Snow White dwarf figurines and gnomes. I'm not really a fan of dolls or gnomes, so this is what I did...

So those are our windows. I love them! This is the one in our bedroom:

Its like a skylight that actually opens. Its a pretty rural area where we are, so you can see some pretty amazing stars at night. When it's not cloudy or raining, of course.
Any way, that's pretty much that. On a completely different note, I've really been getting my crafty on lately. My sewing machine has been put to good use....

I made this cover for the top of our dresser, 

...a new cover for the piano bench (this one's not completely finished yet, but I just have to add some trim to hide the raw edges),

...and a curtain for our entertainment center. I also made this wreath for spring:

Up next on the agenda: crocheting a blanket. I taught myself how to crochet this week (SO excited about this!), so now I'm determined to make a blanket. I've got tons of leftover red, white, and blue yarn (from another wreath that I just made), so I thought a 4th of July blanket would be nice.

Matt and I are going to cook dinner now. He's making risotto with spinach, mushrooms, and italian sausage. Yum!!

Rach

P.S. Forgot to mention that the doors do it too!