If I Had $1,000,000...

...I'd be rich. On Sunday, I got up before the birds, which is really early since the sun starts to slowly think about rising before 5 here. The girls and I were off on a road trip to Tongeren, Belgium for the outdoor antiques market that takes place there every Sunday (Chris and I visited when he was here in January). We met at Kim's house at 5:30 and took her husband's big-ass truck so we could fill it with treasures. I was on the hunt for a dining table, some end tables, and pretty much anything super cool that told me it couldn't live without me.

Around 8:30, we barreled into Tongeren and scored on our first path of choice. Kim wanted another "bread boat" and we found some right away. She got one the size of a small canoe, I got a smaller one, and she bought another even smaller one for her friend who couldn't find one the last time she was there. We each grabbed a handle and off we went back to the truck.

Me, Melissa, Naymar, and Kim carrying the 3 bread boats back to the truck. Kim, Naymar, and I look happy. Melissa was probably realizing at this point that coming along meant manual labor ...and this was only within the first 30 minutes.

We had a breakfast of Belgian waffles, then we were off again. We hit sort of a lull when we lapped all the stands and Kim was getting nervous that we wouldn't be able to justify bringing Brian's truck. Kim and I hadn't found our furniture--no big pieces--and had only found a few cool buckets. On lap number whatever it was I found something that I had seen on the first lap and decided I liked it. Everything I showed interest in, Kim threatened me that if I didn't buy it, she would. This bodes well for me now, since I'm the one who has the room, but they're hoping to move soon into a bigger place and if this happens in the future, there could be blood.


We went back to the car with my interesting wood storage thing. We happened to have parked the car where Kim parked last time, 1.) because she still had it programmed into her GPS and 2.) because the area was big enough that we could get out and not hit anyone. Kim had mentioned when we got there that the buildings surrounding the lot had tons of furniture in them, which all belonged to the shop facing the road, but they weren't open when we got there. When we returned to the truck thinking we were done, an older woman was standing near it and made a comment about the weather. Kim asked if the buildings were open and she welcomed us to take a look around. So we did.

The girls had been on the lookout for a table for me and Naymar spotted one as soon as we walked in. It was covered with a tarp, but it was really pretty and in good shape. We asked how much and after having to make a call to her husband who, I presume, was in the house, told me it was 75 euro. I had to ask her twice, because that was way, way low. She assured me it was 75 and with that, Naymar stared at me with the look of death and said, "you're going to buy this table." It was such a good deal that we felt like we needed to get it in the truck and out of town as quickly as possible, for fear that they'd made a mistake.

We looked around some more and Kim found something she liked. Then, the human game of Tetris began. We got it all to fit and quite well, I might add. Our reward was lunch before we headed back. We were pretty loopy from the success and more likely from getting up so early.

My house is really starting to come together. I was worried that it had been a mistake that I had gotten rid of a lot my furniture before I moved. I'm not now. My living room is especially cozy and even had some friends comment yesterday how nice it is.

You Deserve Flowers

So a lot has happened since Mom's visit--some of which I've captured with photos and some I haven't.

A few weeks ago I met one of my German professors from Miami here in Germany. Dr. John Jeep, I knew, usually brings a group of Miami students of German to Heidelberg, Jena, and Berlin for a couple months after the spring semester ends. When I realized this, I sent him an email and before I knew it, we had plans to meet in Mannheim one Saturday. I hadn't seen him in probably 5 or 6 years when he was in Baltimore for a conference. It was so nice to see him. We walked around, caught up, had a beer, and chatted about everything from politics to German women in tight pants. We had dinner and then went our separate ways, likely to meet up again next summer when he returns again to Germany.

Last weekend, I went to visit my former host family for Grandpa's 80th birthday. There were about 40 people there, to include a lot of people I already knew from their village. I also got to meet his relatives from the former East Germany, from where he originally lived. He, his wife, and Gaby, my host mother, left the DDR 6 days before the Berlin Wall went up. That in and of itself is amazing. Also, Grandpa Gerenz's cousin from New Jersey was there. He did some genealogy research and was able to trace and find many of his relatives still living in Germany.

Kurt Gerenz. It says, "we would like to welcome you to 80."

Grandpa, my former exchange student Markus and his brother Thorsten
giving their gift of 2 tickets to a professional soccer game in Munich.My host mother, Gaby (2nd from the left), Thorsten, Markus, his wife Yvonne gettin' down.

Markus and his wife Yvonne

The party, the food, the drink, and getting to experience something like this was amazing. I feel very honored that they invited me and that they treat me as part of the family.

This weekend, a five minute walk from my house, there was the Wilhelmstrasse Festival going on. So Thursday, which was a religious holiday here, I met a bunch of people after work for a beer and a brat. Saturday, I went down with a friend and enjoyed a few beers, some food, and watching people. There was a girls dance troupe performing on one of the stages. This particular group was probably comprised of 7 year-old girls and they were doing a hip-hop routine to the Black Eyed Peas My Humps. I kid you not!! The only obvious explanation is that the Germans have no idea what that song is about--just that is has a good beat. That's what we were going with anyway.

Today I found an antique market to go to. I didn't have high hopes--I thought it'd mostly be like a flea market with a bunch of junk people were trying to sell. I walked into the parking garage where it was being held and I knew this was good stuff, so I called my friend Kim, who LOVES antiques. She and her son, Jack, came by and as soon as Kim walked in, she found an awesome table she wanted to buy. Lucky for me (sorry Kim), she doesn't have any room in her current place, so I hemmed and hawed over it, but decided to buy it. My friend told me, when I first learned that I really to understand and like antiques, that you'll know you've found a piece you should buy because it almost screams your name. You just know. The table is worn and not in any way perfect, which makes it, well, absolutely perfect. I love it!

The woman said she got it from an old farm. It looks like it's homemade--the farmer probably just needed a table and built one. Whether or not it's really as old as she guessed it could be (from the early 1800's), it's old, because I can tell by the nails. They're the mishapen ones that were probably handmade themselves. Then again, did they use nails then or still use the wooden pegs? It has those too--the table top is removable and is secured by four pegs. They even delivered it for me today for FREE!!

When they brought it over, I was uncertain if I wanted to use it as a dining table or something for my t.v. in my living room. Kim and I moved it to hold the tv and try it out. Right now, I think I'm going to stick with this option, which means I need to find a dining table ;) And it goes quite well with the antique buckets (to the left of the table) that I found in Tongeren, Belgium with Chris.

I've got the bug and I need the furniture, so I'm actively seeking more stuff. Stay tuned!