In a nutshell...

Friday, June 17, 2005:

I went to IKEA. Among the things I bought was a houseplant and stainless steel pot. I bought a similar sized houseplant and pot at a local Swiss nursery a couple of weeks ago, and it cost 200 CHF. The plant and pot combo from IKEA was...80 CHF. Go Sweden (...sorry, dad!)!!!

I bought pet supplies at Qualipet. Included in my haul was a netting system that will hopefully prevent King from plummeting to his death from our fifth-floor (fourth-floor in Europe) balcony.

I didn't feel like working out, but I still went to the gym. I listened to Rammstein and System of a Down on my...I mean, our...iPod. Three hours later, I walked out of the gym with incredibly bloated biceps. Ahhhhh, the power of heavy metal!

We're worried about King (our cat). He hasn't been eating properly, and he looks kind of skinny. So, I made an appointment for him to see Dr. Buser on Monday. King must have overhead me talking to Dr. Buser on the phone, he proceeds to eat us out of house and home over the weekend.

Friday evening, Mrs. TBF and I went to John and Rammy's house for supper and to break in their new Weber patio fireplace. Something I ate gave me incredible gas, and after a couple of beers I had fun asking people to pull my finger in order to help me release some of the aforementioned gas (Mrs. TBF: does that count as something I shouldn't write because your co-workers read my blog? Just checking.). Fire...good!


Saturday, June 18, 2004:

Mrs. TBF went for a manicure/pedicure, and then we met at the Swisscom store. After nearly five years of being cell phone free, TBF is finally strong-armed into getting a cell phone so that Mrs. TBF can keep in touch with him while he is in Finland next week. Mrs. TBF - happy. TBF - not happy. Technology has changed in five years. TBF does not totally understand how phone works. Mrs. TBF will have to show him. PIN code???? What's that???

Seeing that TBF was not happy, Mrs. TBF suggested going home and preparing some veal kidneys for lunch (isn't Europe great?). TBF eats kidneys on balcony while worrying about King plummeting to his death. The netting will have to go up soon. Veal kidneys - good. Cell phone - still evil!

On Saturday evening, we went to Jarl and Sharon's house for a going away party. They're moving back to the U.K. It was an excellent, catered soirée (figured out how to type French letters on Mac. Wendy: thanks for the tip, but the keystrokes you sent me are for a PC, not a Mac. Thanks anyway.). I worked some German language "schtick" with the ladies who were BBQing. They told me that my German was good, and they piled extra meat on my plate. Swiss catering ladies - good! Cell phone - still bad, and sitting at home on dining room table not being used! Highlight of the evening??? When we commented on Henry's new sunglasses, and he decided to put them on while holding a glass of champagne...spilling entire glass of champagne onto his right shoulder leaving a big wet mark. Henry...funny!


Sunday, June 19, 2005:

TBF called his dad to wish him a happy Father's Day, and found out that his Uncle Leo in Finland died. The funeral will be on the Friday when TBF is in Kauhava with his father. TBF no longer owns a suit. A navy blue jacket and Dijon mustard colored pants will have to do for funeral clothing. TBF hopes Finnish relatives understand.

Mrs. TBF and TBF sit on rooftop garden and enjoy sunny, 30º weather. TBF puts SPF 6 sunscreen on his head, neck, and shoulders. The rest of his body ends up slightly sunburned.

On Sunday evening, TBF and Mrs. TBF went to Kirk and Gretchen's house for a BBQ. Bill and Sabrina were there also. TBF met Kirk and Gretchen through his/their blog. Bill and TBF met at the gym. Bill works with Kirk. Kirk and Gretchen live right by John and Rammy. Small world! The BBQ was a lot of fun, and I just finished eating leftover lemon-poppy seed cake this morning with coffee. It's all good!


Monday, June 20, 2005:

TBF brings King to see Dr. Buser. Dr. Buser seems to feel that King is just getting old (he's 17) and losing muscle tone and doesn't require as much food because he's not as active as before. Dr. Buser also advised TBF that King will have to return tomorrow for a precautionary blood test after fasting for twelve hours. A healthy King is good. King who has fasted for twelve hours and is forced into his car crate for a ride to the vet for a blood test.....VERY BAD!!!


Oh. oh... This nutshell has become very large. It's time to stop.