Bug on a webcam to the world

Ryan and I were commenting this morning (over our established ritual of coffee, newspapers, and computing in the living room) on a dragonfly that’s been plastered on our Lindau, Germany webcam.


I setup iGoogle a few months ago and we added a few webcams from places we visited in Germany...Munchen, Freising, Oberammergau, Triberg, Berlin, and Lindau. In Austin, we’ve had a ton of dragonflies doing their mating thing and I suppose it’s happening elsewhere.


Our apartmenthaus in Lindau

Reminds me of how, when pressured, Ryan and I can be adventurous to the extreme...some people do that with sport, we like to do it with the direction of our lives I suppose. This house thing has been a surprise, a stress, and a whole lot of fun. We went to the house last night, had a few beers, cranked our favorite songs, and sat on the empty floor and talked about everything and nothing. Lovely.

Although we’re all common dragonflies, I think I agree with our friend in Lindau -- we all have to sit down and rest sometime...why not plop down in a place with a nice view?

Tschüss!

1/2 Way There...

We closed on the new house! The final 24 hours were a bit stressful, as there were misinterpretations to the contract, a pretty shoddy job by their realtor (whose name is plastered over all sorts of high-end publications and multi-million dollar homes...come to find out her mama owns the agency), and a lot of things still waiting to be fixed.

But, due in large part by our fantastic realtor, we made it through, made a fair deal, and signed the papers. Ahhh...that evening we went to the house, cracked a beer, and started dreaming on the walls.

In the meantime, work has been incredibly stressful -- lots of projects to work on, more clients than I can count coming through our training classes, a million associates begging for training, and everyone in the company trying to find out how we do what we do...which is flattering in a way but...it’s like when my parents took me to the Kellogg factory in Battle Creek, Michigan, and you could see the operations...but some things were secret and you had to promise that you wouldn’t tell anyone anything about what you saw.

And armed with a box of Corn Flakes after the tour, I knew that *I* would not tell Post how they did things...so I just need to figure out what stays behind the magic curtain.

Grete is a SUPERSTAR -- she’s now the featured patient on our vet’s website. I took the picture during the last visit and they both look stunning.

IsaacBird is my hero -- he is so patient with the house showings. He knows that when I pull out his travelcage that it’s time for a ride and he doesn’t complain a bit -- he just gets in, holds on, and has a nice time.

Another open house this weekend -- time to start busting my ass to clean this place.

Tschüss!

How much more can one clean?

I swear, I clean this place every day from top-to-bottom. Not knowing when you might get a showing makes you totally paranoid. We’ve streamlined the house already and packed non-essential items (they’re in the garage), left out “staging” items...but it’s just a ton of work.

Doesn’t help when Grete likes to tear up newspaper (better than the drapes), Isaac shakes food off his beak instead of wiping it (carrot + wall = frowny face), and I can’t complete a project to save my life.

Ryan is out of town this weekend and I miss him -- went home to Utah for a wedding and now he and his parents plus sisters are on a road trip to Vegas. Fun for them! I am enjoying the peace and quiet...went yesterday to Cheapo Discs, a used CD and DVD store in Austin that’s so funky and fun, and spent too much...bought a David Bowie CD (awesome), a funky French music CD, and then three DVDs: Hackers, The English Patient, and The Crying Game. I watched Hackers while going through the Sock pile (and threw away holey socks, left socks with no pair, bleached socks).

Last night went to my second cousin’s house for their annual summer bash. You have to sing for your supper so I dressed up as Elton John (a drunk and drugged up one) and sang to “Bennie and the Jets.” Afterwards we all jumped in the pool -- it was a balmy, sultry Texas night...loved it!

Back to cleaning, prepping, and selling. We close on the new place this Thursday. Agggh!!!!!!

Tschüss!