Wrapping up Summer: An Update

Well, we are wrapping up summer here in Western Germany.  The leaves are starting to turn.  Actually, they started doing that quite some time ago, and many have already fallen.  We had a very hot, dry summer here, and it really stressed the trees out a lot.  But, the sunny days and hot weather made for great fun for us. Here’s a link to some of my summer fun and observations here in Germany. I will really miss the summer days.

A.1 Language Exam Results and Our Visas

We finally received our A.1 Language Exam results last month.  It took more than seven weeks for us to receive them!  Cheyenne and I both passed.  So, today we went to the Immigration office to get our visas.  It was a quick visit, and they extended our visas for another 3 months.  In that time, we should receive a message to come back to the office to get our 1 year visas  (After they have been approved.  They were just waiting on our passing test scores to complete the process.)  It’s a lot of hurry up and wait, but everyone has been very helpful and friendly.  The process is world’s different than the process Dirk and I went through to get his American Green Card.  That is going to be a post all on it’s own someday!

Today was also the first day we have left Jack the Dog alone in the apartment. Dirk’s Mom and Dad usually dog sit for us if we have an appointment.  Unfortunately, Dirk’s mom was already dog sitting today and was unable to watch him for the 1.5 hours that we needed to be away.  We weren’t too worried, he is a very well behaved dog.  But, he doesn’t like to be alone.  He gets very anxious if he can’t see one of us.  Jack follows me around the house all day as I do my cleaning, cooking and writing.  He is my sweet little shadow.

As I mentioned, we were only gone for 1.5 hours.  We came home to this..

New the Cat was quick to point out that this was NOT his fault, the dog did it, of course.

It could have been much worse.  He only destroyed a glasses holder, a make-up sponge and he shredded up some papers.  For some reason he only chewed up Cheyenne’s things, so he much have thought this was all her fault.

I wasn’t angry.  He was scared because he had never been alone.  Now he has no worries, he is currently sleeping in my favorite chair.  Not a care in the world because his people are home.

Cheyenne Update

Cheyenne has started her official vocational training.  She is super stressed out, very nervous since she now has to go to class once a week.  Not a big deal you say?  Once a week?  Well, it is all in German and she is just beyond A level German (B1 is the minimum requirement for most jobs, higher is preferred).  So, she is actually a rock star taking these classes.  Wish her luck!  She is also a little happy that the official training has begun, because that also means she starts to get paid.  Yes, here in Germany you get paid to complete your training.  So, unlike her Mama, she will complete her schooling debt free.  Even better, she will make money while doing it!

Balcony Gardening

The balcony garden was not a great success.  It was just SO hot and dry.  I did mange to grow several cherry tomatoes and a few Romas.  The green beans were a bit of a flop, and the zucchini dried up like dust.  The herbs did quite well though.  I will give it another try next year.  For now, I have all of my lovely houseplants to make me smile.

Autumn Adventures

Now we are gearing up for the fall and we have a few things planned already.

Dirk ordered my Dirndl and his Lederhosen. We are ready for the Oktoberfest Celebrations.  We plan to celebrate close to home. We might make a trip in a few years to Munich, but for now we will celebrate locally.

The new Dirndl, I will be sure to add a picture of Dirk as soon as he tries on his Lederhosen!

In October we will be taking our first vacation since moving to Germany.  We are going to St. Moritz with Dirk’s Hockey Club.  Dirk will be playing hockey with his team, and I will be lounging around the indoor pool.  I will be sure to share pictures of the town and hotel as it all looks so lovely online.

So, there you have it.  That’s what we have been up to this summer.  Time to put away the swim suits and shorts and break out the sweaters and jeans.  Maybe now that the weather is turning cooler, I can get back into my writing.  I have high hopes to have my book completed by the first of the year, and I will need a few Beta readers to give me some much needed feed back.

Are you ready for Autumn? Was your summer amazing like ours?  What are your plans for fall?