Another delightful Deutsche day

Isaac's getting big. He's catching up to Grace very quickly.Though here they're both moving pretty slow. Do you like our German double bed? It is straight out of a 1960s sitcom - two singles pushed together. Grace worked herself into the crack.Katie using her computer time.It was a rainy day until the late afternoon. This is the view from one of our apartment windows.When it came time to get dressed, Katie was all aflutter because her favorite "big" dress was in the hamper and hadn't been washed yet. I finally convinced her to put on the other dress we had purchased. It's not her favorite because the skirt doesn't twirl very much when she turns, but once I brought out the camera to take her picture, she warmed right up to it.Sam is eagerly counting the days until his birthday.Ah, Grace's smile is back. She looks tough though - her nose has been through the ringer, and the rash around her right eye is tenacious. But her spunky, happy personality is shining through again.We have been here long enough to see the flowering plants go through a cycle. The stuff that was in bloom when we arrived is now kaput, and new plants are showing off. This funky, fringey plant is in front of our building.Once the rain stopped, we headed to the Uni to meet Dave for a cup of hot chocolate. Sam put on his rain boots so he could stomp in every puddle along the way. This is an interesting vent on the side of the building. Usually there is person perched in the bottom circle, smoking a cigarette (not always the same person). In general, outside every doorway to the university, there are people clustered and smoking. You have to hold your breath as you walk in.Katie chose not to put on her rainboots, yet she still managed to walk through every puddle.In the cafeteria, carefully sipping. The drinks are all served in real cups (no styrofoam or plastic cups.) When you are done, you can just walk away with your porcelain mug, or you can insert it into a little machine in the hallway and get a receipt for 25 cents (Euro) to spend at the cafe. It's a nice recycling system, and good incentive to have you bus your own dishes.Just hanging out with the coeds.Cheers.Katie's reaction to dripping some hot (now warm) chocolate down her shirt.Dave was talking about the Duke of Detmold.After the hot chocolate, it looked like the rain would hold off long enough for us to go to the market. On the way home, Katie spotted some "marshmallows" growing by the duck pond, and wanted her picture taken with them. The pathway between the two tunnels we take. I'm not a fan of graffiti, but this stretch always catches my eye, with the beautiful rows of roses growing above the colorful graffiti.
Sam can't get enough of twirling bars these days. These handrails are in the tunnel underneath Voltmannstrasse.Again with the smile. Grace was working her way through a little cookie the whole walk home. When we stopped to look at the ducks by the pond, one of the mallards very nearly nipped her hand off going for that cookie. Grace was unperturbed, but I scooted her out of there and gave that duck a stern look. I'm sure the duck is feeling abashed now.Two more views of the university building. Dave thinks it is incredibly ugly, but it's really growing on me.Sam is asking if he can just drop his lollipop stick on the ground. Um, no!This is my favorite lady at our apartment building. She comes by for an hour every other Tuesday night to exchange linens. Her table is right outside our door. I just fold up all our used towels, washcloths, kitchen linens, sheets, and duvet covers, and hand them over to her. She counts them and magically hands me back a clean stack of the same. I love this system.Grace scooted herself right out our door to join the conversation with the linen lady. (I haven't learned her name yet - bad manners on my part.) She likes to carry around letters with her and "read" them. Grace's renditions of Uncle Bob's letters are the best.