finds

I am quite determined to post some apartment photos soon.... I've waited thinking it would be far more fun to take photos when we actually had things IN our apartment (empty rooms kind of just feel like real estate ads) but maybe I'll just have to go ahead - seeing that our things don't seem to be coming anytime soon...

In the meantime, a few photos from our world. The stained glass is actually from a grave marker, the bronze keys from the front door of a church, and in the last photo, look at the clock tower and know that our apartment is right next to it. We can literally lay in our bed, look at the roof window and see the tower. Kind of feels like we could reach out the window and touch it - or like maybe some action movie hero could leap from church roof right through our open window ...

Our apartment is pretty quirky but we love it. I think we'll love it even more as we personalize it a bit and make it a home. It's really right in the middle of town. That clock tower has bells in it that faithfully ring every 15 minutes: once at the quarter hour, twice at the half, 3 times at 45 and then 4 on the hour plus a different chime to count down the hours. Sometimes the bells just go crazy and ring for awhile - we haven't quite figured out what that's for yet except when it happens on Sunday mornings before church starts. Yes, they are loud but not the least bothersome to us. I actually really love the sound.

We've picked up some second-hand furniture that I got paint for today. Maybe those will make the blog first... We have a few things for preparing and eating food, a bed to sleep in, and a few other miscellaneous things for cleaning and living life. Minimal. Kind of like camping at home. And yet we've adjusted to it and are starting to wonder if when we get our other household belongings they will feel unnecessary. We were so excited when we got a washer and dryer (used from a couple moving back to the US) that we kept randomly saying to each other, "we have a washer and dryer!" for a couple of weeks. Mostly we've figured we'll feel just as thankful when it will be things like, "We have living room furniture!" or "I have a spatula to turn pancakes with!", but I also think we'll be struck by what we managed without.

We could have borrowed any number of things from people and have chosen not to (mostly expecting things to arrive anytime). Yet I wonder at what the Lord is cultivating in us - contentment, gratitude, dependence, insight. Its good stuff. I might feel a twinge of remorse when our shipment comes - remorse for losing a certain amount of raw teach-ability because I'm not figuring out how to cook dinner with a leatherman knife, a pot and a pan. We have two plates, two bowls, two coffee cups and a few glasses, two forks, four spoons, two butter knives, a Nalgene bottle and a rubbermaid spatula - and we've been able to have friends join us for small meals or tea... pretty amazing how little we need, pretty amazing how the Lord provides, pretty amazing to think what it takes for us to notice things sometimes.

juxtaposed

About 30 minutes drive from us is Basel, Switzerland - a pretty old city. At least it seems to be from my limited knowledge and American perspective. Anyway, every fall they have this big festival (essentially a harvest festival) at the end of October/beginning of November. This year's was the 540th annual Herbst Messe. (yep - 540 years) We're guessing they didn't have Ferris Wheels and Eddie Murphy pictures in the early years.



So look at this contrast - old city and cathedral with this huge Ferris wheel. I don't think it bothers anyone around here, but somehow it was just really striking to me to stand in these beautiful old city squares and be surrounded by State Fair rides, music and lights.


All this to say, that I think we are feeling the constrasts of our own worlds, trying to fit pieces together in a new place. We'll figure it out eventually - or at least enough to be at home.


(the Rhine river and part of old city Basel)

And John just looked over my shoulder and asked what the salad had to do with anything... pretty much nothing. :) It's just a local seasonal favorite that we'd never had before - Feldsalat (field salad). We highly recommend it.

FYI, our shipment comes from the US this week - Tuesday or Wednesday. Woohoo! If we can figure out how to get it all up the narrow little stairwell to our apartment, we'll actually have something besides us IN the apartment!