So, last Saturday it was cold (57) and rainy. I had an idea! There was a shelf that I needed to hang and so I thought this cold and rainy day was the perfect day in which to do so! So, I enlisted the help of Chris and his muscles while the girls were left to fend for themselves.

Walls here in Europe are a strange thing. They are not sheet rock. They are either plaster type stuff and concrete and other building terms I am not familiar with. I thought hanging my shelf would be a walk in the park. It was ... for the first screw we installed. Then the fun began. We had to install 16 screws ... 14 of which we found out after hanging the support piece had to have anchors. Boy, was this fun (can you tell my hints of sarcasm?).

End result was wonderful ... the process was a journey in patience and a test of the strength of our marriage!@#$%^&*()*&^%$# Enough said.

Wanted to give you some random things we've either seen or experienced here of late that are great reminders that yes, we are not, indeed, in Kansas anymore!!

1. It's been rather hot. There is no AC as I've already established in my previous blog. We are 2 blocks away from the Donau river. We are on the side where there are no beaches like on the other side, but it's still pretty. You can frequently find people taking a dip into the river. However, this week, we saw a man riding his 10 speed bike ... in a speedo ... having just come from cooling off in the river. No comment.

2. Not only did we see a speedo on a ten speed, we saw a pregnant woman in a bikini on a bicycle. Again, no comment.

3. Did you know that you take your shoes off whenever you enter a home here in Austria? Most homes have extra slippers for guests to wear when they visit.

4. Bottled drinks are most often never cold. No ice is used in beverages.

5. Dogs are allowed everywhere ... but you will be fined if you let your dog go potty and don't pick it up.

6. Seldom, if ever, do you see people using paper cups or plates. At Libby's school, they have a tray of glass water pitchers and glass cups for the children to drink while playing outside.

7. Drivers love to honk their horns at other drivers, often and loudly.

8. Vienna is a melting pot of cultures. Some of those cultures do not bathe often. Riding public transportation can be quite a stimulus of the senses!

9. The store,Cartridge World, is actually all over the world - there's one right down the street.

10. Ice cream is .90 a scoop ... and fresh ... and yummy ... and stands are everywhere!

God continues to remind me of His goodness: cool temperatures in the middle of July, sweet girls who love to have tea parties, a great daughter who will cook dinner, a sweet husband who will forfeit his plans for mine, and 10 years with my Parker (her birthday is Wednesday). In the middle of life, I want to recognize His fingerprint all over my days!