Does This Toothpaste Taste Like Anise and Other Misadventures

• · When we arrived at our new apartment we were thrilled by all it had to offer. The patio, the heated floors, furniture. As we unloaded our landlord informed us he needed to connect a part before we used the washer-dryer. Take your time, we have a washer-dryer. After spending considerable time translating each mode on its dial, we decided it was time to use it. The first load was a little confusing. The top of the load dried, but the bottom half was still extremely wet. Hmm. We must be doing something wrong. We read some more, procrastinated some more, tried a few more loads, and asked our landlord if it was spinning. He started the machine and quickly we heard the wrr of the spin cycle, so he assured us it was. We washed a few loads by hand, and tried a few more with the machine, thinking we must be misreading or doing something wrong. But the suspicion remained that something was amiss. In order to get each item wet, we turned the drum manually halfway through the cycle; maybe some extra pumping, spinning and drying cycles would help. All that ended up is a couple burn marks and some sour smelling pajamas. After 5 weeks of living in Germany, we opened the side compartment. Zero experience fixing machines (we’ve been looking for new hobbies anyway, and are soliciting recommendations) and an inability to read directions would not affect our drive for clean underpants. Looking inside there seemed to be something missing, what looked like a place for a belt that would spin the drum was empty. Turning on the spin cycle displayed the piece below the drum spinning feverishly but not connected. Upon showing the landlord, he was taken aback that there was no belt. He apologized profusely for not knowing, and promised to call the neighbor whose business is fixing these cloths cleaning contraptions. After informing him on the Sunday, the landlord and the neighbor had placed a belt on by Wednesday, completing a load that night and a couple the next day, we will have clean smelling clothes by Christmas. It’s a Festivus miracle!
• · We had planned it out well. Not only did we bring an adapter and a convertor, I also made a spur of the moment purchase of a travel power strip. I had read a New York Times travel blog about gadgets under $50. Having plans to purchase 2 of the 10 (a pocket Leatherman which I like a lot and a money clip/thumb drive which is no longer made) I bought the power strip because Amazon said that others who purchased the Leatherman would look at this item. I think it will be helpful, and in any case it looks cool. Before I began my job I decided to shave my beard, have a clean start. After I plugged the trimmers in to the power strip, the power strip into the 3-prong-to-2-prong converter, the 3-to-2 converter into the electric converter, the electric converter into the adapter, and the adapter into the wall outlet, I flipped on the switch. It sounded like a lawn mower was in our bathroom. And I am pretty sure it could be used as such. I did end up shaving; the beard was just short enough to make it through without a trim. This may lead to no haircuts, and necessitate either a long beard or shaving often enough not to rely on the trimmers. We’ll see.
• · As seasonal fans of eggnog, we spotted an interesting item in the grocery store. Sahnepunsch, literally “cream punch,” seemed like not merely our only option but also a fairly hopeful one. It even said it had egg flavor and would be good with cinnamon. Warming some on the stove, we were excited and in the spirit of the season. The sour, almost fruity, flavor, which we maybe should have guessed from the word “punch,” takes a little bit to get used to. The 9% alcohol helps. This won’t be purchased again. Instead, we tested our luck for round 2, investing in another bottle from the liquor aisle. This one being called “egg liquor,” we figured the company was at least emphasizing the right flavor this time. We weren’t buying punch, at the least. Plus the label advertised tasting good over ice cream, pudding or warm apple strudel. We could imagine eggnog working with these treats, too. Well, we opened it up Christmas day after waiting in the wind and ice for half an hour for the bus that wasn’t running. We inspected the label for heating instructions, but only learned that we should shake it. We opted for the quick microwave, and learned just as quickly that this bottle did indeed contain egg. Egg cooks quite well in the microwave. Ah, nothing like drinking egg chunks. A spoon was the best instrument to consume this “beverage” and we dumped half of our glasses down the sink. When room temperature, the treat is slightly more palatable, but it is difficult to remove the chunks from our memories. If we are to have eggnog this holiday, it seems we will have to make our own. And make it we did, shunning the fear of salmonella we gobbled this raw egg, sugar, milk, cream, and of course rum concoction pleasing our taste buds. Now this is eggnog. As of the next morning, no ill side effects.
• · On an excursion to neighboring Wulferdingsen, we stopped into a small crafty store with candles, woodwork, fabric items, wreaths and a greenhouse with plants and a bird area. As it was a few weeks before Christmas, we made plans to buy a few candles to make our own wreath. By the candles we were perusing, we saw an assortment of poinsettias. We decided to spruce up our apartment by purchasing one of the festive plants. There sizes varied from very large, to very small, we bought the smallest in a pot less than 2 inches in diameter, acknowledging we had neither another pot, nor extra soil to transplant it. Hoping for the best, we placed our Christmas plant in a teacup on our table. We watered it, tried to place it where it would get adequate sun. I tried to do little, since I have a way of “helping” a plant more than it needs. But one by one the leaves curled and either fell or were plucked off. Alas, by the 25^th only a few red petals and one or two crumpled leaves remained.