Surreal Georgia: Current Affairs

Tormorrow it's Christmas Eve. Time to lean back and think all over.

2011 was the year of horror for us. It started with thunderstorm in New Year's night. It went on with a lot of things that got busted in January. Then my mother died. It was a very hard time for all of us. It hurts a lot if you have to bury your mother. - Misfortune went further on with things that got broken, again and again until fall and it still has no end - there was no week without anything broken: The car, the waterpipes, TV antenna, mixer and other kitchen devices, roller shutters, an accident ( a woman scratched the entire side of my car with a trolley), a nearly fire in the fuse box of the house and a lot crap like this more.

2011 was the year of decisions and of a start into a new life, because we decided not to sell my great grandfather's house, but to renovate it for our taste. It was a decision with view on my retirement once, a decision that meant a totally new start in my life and in my daughter's life, too.

2011 was the year of the hardest work and the biggest projects in my life. We evacuated about 6 tons of old furniture from my grandparents, parents and great grandparents, we dumped another 6 tons of trash, so the old house of my great grandfather was nearly empty. We did all this in only 6 weekends. I closed 2 doors and opened 3 doors, which were hidden behind walls, installed a completely new door with a door lintel, removed the wooden covering in three rooms and covered the hallway -both stories- with gypsum, so we did with the ceilings in 10 rooms. We finished the Blue Parlor, the dining room, the kitchen, my study to be and both stories of the hallway and Anna's study is half done. And we moved into the house on September 11 (without any furniture, they are still in our other house until it will be sold).

Anna quitted from her apartment in Kassel. Today I gave the keys back. Thank goodness, another worry that is gone! Anna is now driving to Kassel every day and has got a new car therefore.

2011 was the year of endless force and energy which erupted out of me, an amount of energy I hadn't believed in. My wrists, knuckles, knees and shoulder joints are swollen and aching of all the hard work, but I feel better than the years before. My back is getting better from day to day and after being not able to walk more than 100 meters for the last 8 years I am now able to walk longer and longer distances and the pain is much less. Sometimes there is no pain at all. Having no pain - I didn't know how this feels for years!

Today was the first free day. I needn't go to work - holildays! We celebrated the day by going to our favorite cafe and relished the atmosphere. This was our start into Christmas. I am looking forward to the next days with no hard work, tasty food and a lot of time together with my daughter.

Let's hope that 2012 will be a better year for us, the first one of a lot of good years after such a long period of time life was very hard for the two of us.

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Our last project, the hallway!

Upstairs: