24 September 2011

Our Vienna Home

September 24, 2011 4
I am still in the midst of finding a norm and getting into a daily or weekly routine.  I'm still fluttering off here and there to pick up this and that for the house and seeking out "the finds" in the city like graham crackers and peanut butter!  Slowly, but surely we are getting there!  Now if I can just finish hanging that other curtain panel so the one isn't lonely up there!  This is the story of my life right now.  Well, probably has been for some time with all the moving we've done since, oh, the kids were born!!

I've been meaning to get pictures of our home up, but as you can see, from my statement above, we are still putting things together.

So let me give you a little background.  We are living in our very first house as a married couple!  All our 17 years and we have always done apartment living.  Much of that has to do with living in seminary housing or being in Europe!  In moving to Vienna, I was determined to do what I could to find us a yard.  I didn't care if it was a 6 x 6 patch of dirt, I was hopeful in getting the kids some kind of outside space.  As much for me as for them!!

I had seen this house pop up many times in my housing search online, but it said it was only 3 bedrooms.  With Jerry officing at home, we needed 4.  Then I learned from a colleague who was helping us in the housing search, that this house had, what is called, a hobby room in the yard.  She had gone to see it when searching for another one of our team families.

Then I began to think that this might be a perfect fit for us.  I began to study the pictures and became even more drawn to it.  When I traveled to Vienna in April, it was on the top of my list.

I actually got teary eyed when I saw it.  Now, it has it's drawbacks.  Like the washing machine & the dryer we purchased are in the kitchen.  The toilet room (yes, toilets are usually separate from the bathroom, except for newer places) and bathroom are teeny tiny.  But I knew these were things we could live with.

Our first week in our new home I was having some doubts.  "What have I gotten us into!!!"  I think the whole move was a bit overwhelming.  It was freezing cold in August when we arrived and I was missing Spain fiercely.  Now that we are much more settled I feel like a queen in her mansion!!  It's a quaint, small place, but wow, is it oozing with character!!  Oozing, I tell ya!!  Nothing like waking up to see the year 1948 carved in the beam overhead!!  Or seeing different years scratched in the cement of when the house or garden were added on to.  Our biggest, most interesting find, after being here for 2 months, has been the 2 room cellar (or dungeon, as Jerry likes to call it) below our garden shed!  It leaves much to the imagination as to what this little house has seen in it's many years of existence!

I'm sure, as time goes on we'll find more and more interesting things about our little home.
Here are a few pictures of the outside and a little peek into my kitchen!

A rose bush, blooming nicely this summer!  This is located in the front of our house.
 Mint!
 Another rose bush on the side of the house.
 The hobby room.  It's the size of a small bedroom and will possible house Jerry's office (right now his office space is in part of our loft bedroom).
 The kid's rope swing.  This rope was left dangling in the trees.  Karis & Brennan love swinging on it.  It is not Reegan's thing!
 Grape vine coming over from the neighbor's yard.
 The is the homestead looking part of the house.  The door on the far left leads to Brennan's room.  The window directly in front is an entryway into the stairs and the living room.
 Hanging the whites out to dry in the warm sun!
 This is our garden shed.  The whole area on the side there is where the cellar/dungeon is located.
 The rope again.  The window you see are the girl's room.
 And a little peek at my kitchen.  I love the work space!

Hope you've enjoyed this little tour!  Stay tuned for more!

04 September 2011

First Day of School

September 04, 2011 4
We've been excited to start at our new school!!  August 23 was our first day.  They loved it so much and we're sad when the day ended!

 Getting a little skateboarding in before school.



Look at my big kids!


We ride a bus or tram (whichever comes first) for about 6 stops.

Then hop on the u-bahn (metro) for 2 stops.


And walk with the throng of kids and parents to the school.

Our school!!  The bottom left corner square is Karis' classroom.
Downstairs is elementary, upstairs is high school.
Walking with friend's/colleagues kids!
Karis has a locker!

Both the kids have great teachers!!  It's funny, they attend an American Christian school, but neither of their teachers are American.  Brennan & Reegan's teacher is from England and Karis' teacher is from New Zealand!  I love the diversity it brings!  And we've already had some funny conversations about the different things we say.
I'll be sharing lots about the school in the future, I'm sure!  Because it looks like I will be there, a lot!  I'll share more about that soon!!

02 September 2011

Spiderman, Spiderman, Does Whatever a Spider Can...

September 02, 2011 1
After our snack of Churros, Chocolate and Coke, we headed to Plaza Mayor.  The main square of Madrid.  Our first stop?  To visit El Spiderman Gordo de Plaza Mayor (The Fat Spiderman of Plaza Mayor.  Ha!).  Madrid's own Spiderman!  I mentioned the street performers in Madrid awhile back and how Spiderman was one of my favs!  He STILL is!
Our friend Taryn gave us the idea of Brennan wearing his Spiderman suit to visit El Spiderman Gordo.  He is a great, personable guy and speaks English well!  We got some great pictures!  Take a look at these!!






 Getting the girls in on the action!


 Bye Spiderman!  We had SO much fun!

 The girls could not be left out.  They had to visit Minnie.

 She wasn't quite as entertaining, but oh well.

It was a great final visit to the city center! We'll miss you, Madrid!

01 September 2011

Churros & Chocolate

September 01, 2011 2
A couple of weeks before leaving Spain we took one last trip down to the center of Madrid. I wanted to pick up a tiled name plate like we got Jerry's parents for Christmas. And we just wanted to see downtown one last time. We had to include a stop at one of the famous Churro cafes. We chose Chocolaterias Valor.  I love Churros! My favorite way is to sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, but the traditional way is with a pot of chocolate. thicker than hot chocolate, but thinner than chocolate syrup. Still yummy!

Madrid, churros, travel,




Sure!  Why NOT a sugar packet!
First time to order Coke.
Karis took these pictures of us.  She did a pretty good job!

Our little photographer did great on this one!
I loved seeing this draped through the street to help keep it cool!
Trying on some Spanish gear!
Next up, Plaza Mayor!  Stay tuned!!

Deeper

  Deeper - adj. 1. extending or situated relatively far down from a surface: a deep pool. It's been a long time since I've ...