Ankleversary

Today (well, yesterday by the time you read this) is my ankleversary. It's been one year since I broke myself by falling down a mine shaft.

Ok, I didn't fall down a mine shaft. That would have been a way cooler story, though. Instead, I just forgot about a sunken living room in the middle of the night. You can read the original story here.

Here are some refresher photos for you:

Both sides broken, plus I managed to dislocate my ankle as well. How you dislocate a broken ankle, I'll never know. I still remember the double "snap" though. Eeeesh.

And, technically I didn't have my surgery for another two weeks or so, but here are the post-surgery pics:

9 screws and a plate. Sounds like a dirty diner special, eh?

And, here's the surgery site a few weeks later (and it's gross....the blood doesn't really gross me out, but the long leg hair does).

Ew. Amirite? That's like Amish-level leg hair.

Well, it's been a year now. My ankle still hurts every day. Not bad. Most of the time I manage to just forget about the slight ache. But for looong days of walking, it sucks. And loooong days of climbing up and down stairs (the down hurts more than the up), it sucks.

But, I do have a super cool scar.

Here's where I should clue you in on a fun fact about our cat, Rufus. He LOVES LOVES LOVES feet. As soon as Josh or I hold our foot out for him, he comes running. He loves to rub all over our feet, and then he'll lay down, and expect us to rub him all over, while he's laying on his side. It's the cutest thing ever.

Today was no exception. I was sitting on the floor doing some recycling stuff, when Josh came over to take pictures of my scar for the ankleversary. I take my sock off, stick my foot out, and sure enough, Rufus comes running over to get a little foot action.

There are only two good shots of the scar in this set of photos, but I had to put in the Rufus shots. Enjoy.

This last picture is the best. It's like he's in kitty heaven.

Here's hoping I can go the rest of my life without breaking anything else. At least, the rest of our time in Germany. Although our house here is 3 stories, so I'm not going to hold my breath.

Casa de Aycock

I've been ignoring numerous requests for pictures of the inside of our palace. Not because I didn't want people to see it, but because we still had unpacking to do. But, we had people over this weekend, and what better way to get your rear in gear and finish setting up house? So, here is our house. Complete with narration:

(FYI, you can click on the pictures to make them bigger)

Here's the main (2nd floor) entrance to our house:

Bathroom's on the left:

Yes, that is a urinal. (Don't worry, there is also a toilet to the left)

Kitchen's to the right of the entrance:

There is a mini-fridge in the kitchen, but we also have a huge pantry with a full-size fridge in there.

From the kitchen, we go to the dining room:

From the dining room, you can go out onto the terrace:

And the lovely view:
(it really is a great view - photos don't do it justice)

From the dining room, you can also go to the living room:

From the living room, we go to the stairwell:

1st Floor (we also call it the basement, but it's not really below ground)

From the stairs, you have the bathroom on the right, the oil room straight ahead, and the other rooms to the left:

The 1st floor bathroom:
There is also a shower on the left side.

Here's what will eventually be Josh's pool room:

On the left side of the pool room, thru the door, is what will be our "game room". Eventually, we're going to get a couch (a pull-out, so we'll have an extra bedroom) and some chairs for the game room.

Then, on the right side of the pool room is the 1st floor entrance, and beyond that, the laundry room, deep freezer, and storage room:

The view from our downstairs porch. Up on that hill is a biergarten. Tragic, isn't it?

Ok, back to the stairs. Now we're going up to the 3rd floor:

3rd floor hallway. From here, the bathroom is on the right, the guest room is straight ahead, the master bedroom is next to that, another storage room is next to the master, and then our dressing room is on the left.

Yes, ladies, we have a dressing room. Two wardrobes on the right side, and one wardrobe and one dresser on the left side. (remember - no closets in Germany)

Unfortunately for us, the bathroom is a horrible pepto-pink color:

This is the guest bedroom/office. As soon as I find the perfect desk, I'll be able to unpack the very last box (which is why the far side of the room has crap stacked up).

And, finally, the master bedroom. Eventually, we're going to buy a chaise lounge, and make a little reading nook in the corner.

Yes, that's Sasha under the bed.

We still need to get a lot of artwork, and trinkets (not to mention several pieces of furniture) - we have a lot of bare walls and shelves. But, we have a ton of room, so we need to start having houseguests!! Maybe I should run my own bed & breakfast....

Also, did you notice how many pictures Sasha and Rufus were in? I can't do a bloomin' thing without both of them following me, wherever I go.