The Scottish Saltire

The Scottish Saltire

Friday, December 12, 2008

Funny AND Scottish!

Craig Ferguson hosts The Late Late Show on CBS weeknights after David Letterman. He is by far the funniest comedian I've seen in a long time. His monologue is barely scripted and more often than not is more like a 10 minute stream of consciousness. Since I can't get American TV I've watched a bunch of his stuff on You Tube. Oh, and BTW, he's a Scot! I have to admit that I am a sucker for the accent. But Ferguson is truly funny. Here's a sample. I hope you laugh as much as I do.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Here and There

OK, how weird is this? Nikki is in Tucson and I'm in Ludwigshafen. The kids and I are all meeting up at Ruth and Bill's in Colorado for Christmas but Nikki and Bert are doing a road trip through the Southwest before heading for Colorado. They are in Tucson right now. Nikki wanted to show Bert her old stomping grounds. On their way to Colorado they'll hit Phoenix, Sedona, the Grand Canyon and Arches National Park. Check out her blog for info on their adventures.
I fly from Frankfurt to Denver on the 15th so I'll have almost a week with Ruth and Bill before the kids arrive on the 20th. Then we'll all be there until the 28th.

Lucy will spend the couple of weeks that I'm gone in a very nice kitty hotel here. I always worry a little whenever I leave her. She's just gotten really old in the last year. I just noticed last week how gray she's getting. She's slow and sometimes a little unsteady like an old cat, too. I'm only half joking when I tell her, "Now don't die while I'm gone". And I'm always very relieved when I get back to her and she snuggles her face into my neck, happy to be in my arms again. Everybody who knows me knows how attached Lucy and I are to one another. And anyone who knows Lucy knows what a strange cat she is. She is as affectionate and definitely more needy than any dog I've ever known. And she has been my constant companion for the last 18 years. Through all the ups and downs and all the changes in my life, Lucy has always been there. It's a good thing she's such an easy going cat. I've drug the poor old girl all over the place in the last year. She's never scared of new surroundings or new people. When I open the door of her kennel she just strolls out with an attitude of "OK, where are we now?" Most cats would go and hide for a while until they feel comfortable. Not Lucy. She proceeds to explore every corner in every room and then just makes herself at home.
When I get back after Christmas she and I are moving into our new apt. Two weeks later she'll have to come back to Nikki and Bert while I go to Berlin for a month. I thought about just leaving her here with them rather than moving her for just a couple of weeks and then bringing her back but I can't imagine settling into the new apt. without her. That would just be too weird.
I'll be such a basket case when I lose this silly cat. But who knows, she could hang around for another 3 or 4 years. It's not unheard of for cats to live past twenty. Maybe we'll get lucky.

Friday, December 5, 2008

I Got My Visa!

On Wednesday the German gov't said I can stay. So I am now an official Resident Alien. Hooray! And the little card really is green!

I landed in Germany for the first time 21 years ago today. Who ever would have thought that exactly 21 years later I would be settling in....again. You just never really know where life is going to take you. Dec 5th, 1987 was also the day I met Dave and Nena. Thanks to both of you for 21 years of friendship. I love you bunches. Nikki is so looking forward to seeing you next week and introducing you to her tall handsome German.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Nasty Comments

I started this blog last February. I've had a lot of fun with it and I really enjoy the opportunity to share with my family and friends. But, since almost the very beginning there has been one really nasty and persistent Anonymous commenter. As the blog administrator I get an email alerting me as soon as any new comment is posted so I usually just delete Ms. Nasty as soon as she puts in her childish and hateful 2 cents worth. I figured the best thing to do was to just ignore her and not respond. I really thought that eventually, once she realized that her comments were being deleted as soon as she sent them, she would just get tired of the game and go away. Since this has not happened I can only assume that she doesn't actually care that her comments are immediately deleted. She must derive her pleasure from simply knowing that I have read them. How pathetic is that? Someone needs to refocus and just let go of an old grudge.

I'm not sure exactly what I expect to accomplish by blogging about this. I'm probably just throwing fuel on the fire. I haven't even decided yet whether to continue deleting her nasty comments or leave them for all of you to see and to comment on in return as you see fit. I really don't want to get into a pissing contest. I'd prefer it if she would simply go away and once and for all just leave me the hell alone. What's done is done and life happily goes on. At least mine does.....