50/50

Do you see this car? This is NOT Rachael"s car.
Can you say "rental car" ? I knew you could!

The yellow writting on the side gives it away- ADAC (German AAA) replacement for my car while it is being repaired at a garage 130 kilometers away. The beast, which in three and a half years has not given me a moments trouble, decided to leave me stranded on the autobahn, miles from home, Sunday evening at 5pm.
It simply had no power. I knew that something was wrong on Saturday as it lost power a couple of times , but I was almost at the end of a two and a half hour trip and I had an appointment for a new battery and to have the heater looked at on Wednesday (today) anyway , and each time it recovered nicely. I left for home early on Sunday , to try and get home before dark , even if I had to go slow- but I hadn't planned on going THAT slow. At some point it was just no go. I called ADAC , who showed up after half and hour , he messed with the car for another 30 minutes couldn't find anything and called for a tow. The tow guy showed up after another 35 minuts or so , It all went very quickly considering ,but.. I had planned on being home by then and I had to peee..... The tow guy was very kind and stopped at the next McD so that I could use the facilities and then on to the garage where they gave me the abouve pictured Ford Focus and sent me on my way.
Now comes the scary part- they couldn't find anything wrong with the car. They had the same driving experience that I did ,but just couldn't find out why! Tuesday evening they had the answer. The water pump . That's why the heater wasn't working either. The engine wasn't being cooled properly and everytime it got too hot, an emergency program kicked in and choked the engine untill it cooled down- hence- no power. They will have it fixed tomorrow or Friday to the tune of - big bucks- at which point I will be free to drive the 260 klicks to retreve the thing. And then it still needs a new battery and emergency triangle which got left behind, on the A64, 1500 meters before the Sonnenbornerkreuz. If you see it could you grab it for me?

The other 50 % was wonderful - party , party , party. For which I have no picture's because once again, I forgot my camera! Sombody smack me!! Saturday after a brief stop to shop and gather Starbuck's in Munster, I drove on to Masstricht. Yes, I managed to visit Annemarie after forever. For some reason I had forgotten what a darling ,dandelion puff of curly blond hair she has. She will probably hate me for that, but it was soooo nice to see her and have a bit of a chat in person. Jula looked good and Pelle is so cute- he fell asleep on the couch holding on to my finger. One just doesn't realise how much one misses the odd bit of baby love until one gets some. My heart was melting.
But, by 7:45 pm I needed to be back on my way over the border to Germany again.. My friend Joe turned 50 on Sunday and we were celebrating into his birthday. I know I have mentioned before that it is bad luck in Germany to celebrate ahead of time- so at midnight we sang , congrtulated , opened presents etc.. I went to bed at 4:30 in the morning. I must have been insane. I woke up and wandered downstairs , glanced at the clock and it was NOON.
Once again I was off to the races in my not so trusty (at this point ) steed. A quick wash, fresh clothes and a glass of water and away.
Sunday was Leonie's birthday. Leonie is my god daughter and I was late for her birthday. Some serious present action was called for here , but luckly I was prepared. We had a lovely lunch and then coffee and cake. Wilma (Leonie's Mama) had noodles and cake, extra with no wheat, for me. Thank you Wilma -big hugs.
Unfortunatly , I had to leave early in an unsucsessful attempt at avoiding the above described oddesy. I wish I could have stayed longer. Next time :-)