Time is flying, never to return

Has it really been a whole week since I last updated my blog? How on Earth did that happen?
I wish I could tell you it’s because I’ve been doing so many exciting things that I haven’t had time to sit down at the computer, but the truth is I don’t actually know what I’ve been doing with myself all week. I’ve been at work, obviously, but other than that… no idea. It seems somebody’s been messing with time again. Even today seems to have flown by at the speed of a hurricane. I’m currently in the middle of cooking tea (corned beef hash for those who are interested in such things) but it seems like a matter of mere minutes since I was eating breakfast. Only the rumbling in my stomach and the fact that it’s now dark serve to tell me otherwise.
A glance at my to do list for the weekend tells me that I’ve swept the flat, done some washing, tidied the living room and worked on my dissertation but failed to sort out my bank statements or clean the bathroom sink. Good to know. I also went to Cafe Brenner for coffee and cake with the boyfriend this afternoon (nice cafe, decent coffee, reasonably good cake – although Endle’s is better – but the staff could use some lessons in friendliness!). But can that really have taken up my entire weekend? It seems like so little for two whole days.
Tomorrow is Monday again. The last Monday in February, the final week of my probation period. Soon the moment of truth shall be upon us. As will pay day. Here’s hoping this month’s pay isn’t the last for a while…

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The world’s worst housewife tidies up

On Monday the boyfriend is returning from LA. Actually, he gets back tomorrow but really, really late and by the time he’s in Karlsruhe again it will be the early hours of Monday morning, so he’s going straight home (to his place I mean) and I won’t get to see him until after work on Monday. That’s the day after tomorrow. In roughly 60 hours he will be standing in my living room. So I decided I’d better tidy up a bit. Unfortunately, as we all know, I am the world’s worst housewife. Thus my version of tidying up looks something like this:

– Take the bin bag for things that can be recycled out of the bin. Wander round the flat with it looking for other recycleable rubbish that I’ve left lying around at various times because the bin was just sooo far away. Put on some shoes and head down the stairs (3 whole flights!). Place rubbish bag in the big bin outside. Check mailbox on the way back upstairs only to discover it’s empty. Sulk.

– Arrive back upstairs. Decide I deserve a cup of tea before continuing with the housework. Boil water in a pan (I seriously need to get me a kettle!), pour water over teabag in cup. Remember that I forgot to buy milk yesterday.. and the day before, and the day before that. Check fridge. Disover that old milk is still in date (just!). Use it to make tea.

– Take cup of tea and the remains of random lemon cake into the living room (this is known as “breakfast”). Check e-mails, mess around on facebook, read blogs. Do all of this while eating. Drop cake crumbs all over myself, the floor and the chair I’m sitting on. Yay! More mess to clean up.

– Go to the kitchen. Start running hot water into the sink. Return to the internet while I wait for the water to run. Head back to the kitchen where I manage to wash 2 whole dishes before getting bored and returning to the internet. Repeat every 5 minutes until the dishes are finally done.

– Locate new bin bag for the recycleable waste bin. Discover that the organic waste (ie. food) bin is also full (they take rubbish separation reeally seriously here!) Decide I can’t be bothered to go all the way back downstairs right now. Return to the internet and write this blog post.

– And now that the blog post is written I shall make a start on the floor. If I sweep all the crumbs into little piles now I might even manage to get the dustpan and brush out to remove the piles before I go out for lunch later… Wish me luck people!

Spring cleaning in July

After spending ages trying desperately to ignore it, this afternoon I finally got tired of living in a pigsty and decided to tidy my room. Now with me “tidying my room” doesn’t just mean clearing the desk, putting a couple of things away and hoovering the floor. Oh no, it has to be done properly (which is probably why I don’t do it very often). So out came the cleaning stuff, the broom, the dustpan and brush and I started to tidy. Clothes were folded and put away in the wardrobe. The bag we took to Jan’s parents with us in June(!!) was finally unpacked and put away. The floor was swept and mopped. I even cleaned the radiator! Now I’m hot, exhausted and feel all dusty, but it’s worth it. My room is all sparkly and clean and hopefully I won’t need to do it again for a long, long time.

Other than cleaning I haven’t done much today. Sunday isn’t a day for doing things really, is it? Especially not when it’s raining, as it was today. Jan stayed last night so he was here all morning and most of the afternoon. We ate tomato soup with croutons and watched a programme about a baby who wouldn’t stop crying. After he left I spent ages searching the internet for an easy recipe for cottage pie.Half an hour later I realised that I hadn’t actually looked in any of my recipe books yet, so I went and picked up the student cook book that my Grandma got me and lo and behold… a recipe for cottage pie. In case anyone’s wondering it’s “The Really Useful Ultimate Student Cook Book” by Silvana Franco and it really is very useful.
Having finally found my cottage pie recipe Istarted tidying up, all the while wondering what typically English dessert I can serve to my floor on Wednesday. Trifle is too complicated (and I’m not sure I’ll get all the right ingredients in Germany anyway). Apple crumble is easy but needs to go in the oven, which is where the cottage pie will be. Yorkshire Parkin is yummy but takes too long. Victoria Sponge cake is too boring. At this rate I’m just going to end up serving them jelly and icecream! Unless anyone has a better idea for me. Answers on the back of a postcard… or you could just post them in the comments box below 😉