Friday, September 6, 2013

Was it not months ago that we packed up & left USA...?  The millions of things that have happened since then make it feel like a year has gone by. Crazy & surreal🙃

Today we did some more hoop-jumping and experienced some frustrating phone calls, visits to banks & government offices as well as trying to follow some really vague directions to find a store that would take a credit card!  Alas, I did not find said store... but using the ATM to it's maximum kept us in food & wine & other supplies, at least for the weekend!  Oh, and the rain came....

We had planned to thank all the wonderful neighbors & new friends, as well as my extended family (my nephew & his Dutch wife live here with their three adorable babies!) for all of their help in getting us settled with a little wine & cheese party on our rooftop.  Our apartment is cozy so we really wanted to take advantage of the weather & host a get-together up there where we have more space.  Cue the rain.  Like, duh!  Of course!

Well the day was as hot as it has been & I was sweating it out while riding my bike (with the very necessary basket on the front) to the grocery store for grapes & raspberries & cheese & crackers & little frozen pizzas for the kiddles (come home, empty overfilled & heavy unstable bike basket...) and then to the flower stand & the wine store (come home, empty basket...) and then to the wine store again (lather, rinse, repeat.  you get it)  When it was time to get the kids at school it was still blazing hot so of course (for the last time EVER) I left the house with the rooftop door open.  Now this door is not a door, it is a skylight that you walk up the stairs & open before you hit your noggin on it.  It is like a trap door bubble that you climb out of to get to the roof.  In other words, rain will rain straight down into your house if you leave it open in a storm.  But who I mean WHO would ever do that???

La la la, bike to school... la la la... get kids... sheesh,  isn't it hot out!?  beat.  FREAKING TORRENTIAL RAINSTORM.

I knew the rain would come one day but it was hilarious how out of the clear blue sky (haha) this storm just came upon us.  I still didn't remember the roof.  So I doddled, I took pictures of Sabrina running in out of the rain... when I finally came up the 75 steps and started to see water I was even then still confused!  Do we have a leaky roof?  Hells ya we do, it is a two foot by four foot leak alright (see pic).  Oh and my party starts in 45 minutes! LOL!

Well the rain gods were so sweet to us becuase as soon as I mopped the stairs and the stairs and the stairs & got the frizzies out of my bangs (ish) and got the wine opened up, the rain stopped & everyone came & we enjoyed the freaking roof!  A couple times we moved back down & moved back up but that was part of the fun!  Earn your cheese, people... we are doing exercise at this shindig!

Pictures of the day to help show how amazing it all turned out to be 👍