Die Komisch Elefanten

that is how Emma and Millie were desribed to my niece by her father the other weekend. . My niece is only 4 months old. I highly doubt that she will remember the moment she first met Emma and Millie, but I'd like. If only for the humor in it. Meine Komish Elefanten.

For those who don't speak/read/understand German,  komisch Elefanten means strange Elephants.

It's a fair, fitting description. I have two very strange elephants. Today, let's focus on one of these elephants: Millie. I'd like to give her a moment as top dog.

She certainly deserves it because normally the situation is reversed.  

Let's get  back to Millie ( Emma will get her own post here one day).

We adpoted Millie back in September of 2008.  She was our wedding gift to ourselves.  Okay, we went to the pound to see the cute puppies and ended up leaving with one.  We are weak humans with big hearts.  We do not allow ourselves to visit animal shelters anymore.  If we did we would have a house full of dogs.  David does, on occasion, visit the website for the local animal shelter.  As of yet, he has held strong, but I worry.  The man has such a big heart.

We were drawn to Millie because of her sweet and timid nature.  The poor thing was so frightened of us. She had obviously been abused by a previous owner. We couldn't leave her, so we took her home with us, thinking she would be a calming influence on our wild, stubborn Emma.  We were wrong. Complete. Total. Failure.

Picture taken shortly after Millie was adopted.

Now, Emma is still wild and stubborn, albeit better trained.  Did I mention that it took my dogs almost 18 months to graduate from dog school (it is a 6 month program).  18 months.  Granted, dog school in Germany is intense, almost military like.   But still...

Despite their wild nature, i still love and adore my elephants.


In addition to her latest moniker, Millie has aquired a few other descriptive nicknames in the past 3 years:

Skitz ( My youngest's brother's nickname for her.  He also likes to say that she is short a few screws)
Blondie (David's brother's nickname for her)

Judging  by her nicknames, you might be thinking that Millie is a bit of an airhead. She is actually really smart. She loves life. She is so happy.


No matter how smart my elephant is, she still has her moments of questionable judgement. A particular incident involving an avocado comes immediately to mind. Yes, she ate an entire avocado including the pitt. Did you know that avocado can be toxic to dogs? Yeah...we were lucky.   There was also the time that the lenses from David's glasses disappeared in the middle of the night.  The frames were still there, but the lenses were gone. It was never proved, but 3 years later I am 100% certain that it was Millie who ate the glasses. 100%.

I must share Millie's latest "food"eccentricity with you...rotten apples.

I wish that was a joke.  She discovered this new "treat" about two months ago at David's parent's apple orchard.  Early in October, David and I went to help his mother pick apples for making apple juice.

Yes, my inlaws always have homemade apple juice.
Yes, it is amazing.
No, they don't press the apples themselves.
Yes, making apple juice is really fascinating.

I was fortunate enough to witness this process this year.  I am kicking myself  for not having somekind of camera with me to share the process. Maybe next year.  Back to Millie. We were at the apple orchard and had the dogs tied up to the tree.  The ground was littered with rotten apples that had fallen from the tree.  At first, Millie left the apples alone. She happily hung out with us, excited to be outside.  After about an hour, she got bored. We noticed that she was eating something. Worried that she had decided to feast on some grass, we moved closed to inspect her "treat".  She had found a rotten, slightly alcoholic apple that was hers for the taking. She took it.  Along with a second.  Crazy dog.

The next day. I offered her a piece of my apple after she whined and begged.  She took it in her mouth only to spit it back out moments later.  Apparently, the only apples that are worth eating are ones that humans will not touch. Ha!

This past weekend I found a rotten apple amoungst the apples we have at home.  I decided to give the apple to Millie as a treat. She took all day to eat the apple.  First, she carried it to her bed.  Staring. Admiring.  Lip licking.(Okay she doesn't have lips so she was what, mouth licking?)  Fast forward to 8 pm.  She still hasn't touched the apple.  Finally, I make a move to take the apple and put it in the trash and she goes for it, Taking small bites so she can savory the rotten, alcoholic goodness.

Millie guarding her apple. (Sorry for the bad photo.)

For the curious bunch, apples are totally safe for dogs. As long as the don't swallow the seeds or eat too much.

Unpublish Memoirs, Part I: The Eye of the Beholder

From November 2009:

After living in Germany for six weeks, there is one thing that stands out to me:  How the definition of beauty changes depending on where you are.

In the USA, beauty is thrown at us from every angle. We see it on TV, on the covers of magazines in the checkout line in the grocery store: it is everywhere. If you wear the right clothes or have you hair styled the right way, society will accept you and everything will magically be better and your life will be perfect. In my opinion, the US needs to relax and let life happen.

As I walk around the streets of Germany, on thing strikes me in particular about everyone I see: No one looks perfect! I find that refreshing. You can walk around with your hair a little messed up and you clothes slightly dis coordinated. Not a single person is perfectly coiffed. I love it! Yes, the trendy stuff is still present, but personally shines through here.


November 2011:

I still find Germany to be a place where I am more judged on my inner self than on my outward appearance.  However,  I do feel the pressure to get dressed every day.  I don't mean simply putting on clothes, but actually getting dressing in something other than yoga pants and tshirts.  I love yoga pants.  I live in them on the weekends, but here in Germany I feel extremely uncomfortable doing anything other than lying around the house or going for a walk with my dogs wearing them.  Sometimes I even feel under dressed walking the dogs.   Even going to the grocery store I throw on jeans. Otherwise I get really strange looks.

Two weeks ago David and I had to run into town on a Sunday to drop something off.  We walked through the Schlossgarten which was filled with people, of course.  What did I wear?  My yoga pants.  I felt so uncomfortable.  Everyone around me was wearing jeans and many others were dressed in their "Sunday best".  Okay, the 2011 version of their "Sunday best", but still.  I can only think of maybe 5 times in 2 years when I have seen other people out and about in sweats.  Even my husband, a self-described bum who lives in sweats in the US, wears jeans to go outside and walk the dogs.  I think he has worn athletic pants once( besides for playing soccer) outside of the house and he was doing dirty yard work for his parents. 

I think this discomfort stems from the fact that when I speak, be it English or German,  I  stand out.  Thus, I don't want to stand out too much by dressing like a bum.  I want to blend in.  Be one of the people.  Does anyone else feel this way here? I feel like this is all in my head, but who knows.

Thoughts

I am blessed to have the opportunity to spend my days with many people who give me a new perspective on life.

My Classmates:

These people have shown me that I live a VERY blessed life.  I was not raised amist warfare.  I have no memories in my childhood of fleeing from bombing. I have not come to Germany to make a better, more peaceful life for myself.  I recieved a good education. I am not a single mother.  I have always had good access to healthcare.  I am in Germany to enrich my life instead of trying to find a better job so I can support my family.


The Family I work for:

I am  fortuante to have family near me. I am blessed to have healthy parents.  For showing me that German and American cultures are different, but it could be much worse.


My dogs:

These two creatures have so much unconditional love for me and my husband.  It cease to amaze me.



My husband:

He always shows me that there is more than one way to do things and that BOTH can be right.

Dogs in Deutschland: Millie goes to a World Cup Match

Last Saturday, David and I went to our local beer garden to watch the Germany vs. Argentina game.  We are trying to socialize our dogs, so we decided to take Millie with us.  Emma has no tolerance for loud noises so she was left at home.

The game was very eventful and Germany ended up winning 4:0.  Millie thoroughly enjoyed the game.  She loves to be around people so she was quite happy.  The only thing that really upset her was all the noise whenever Germany scored. Fortunately, she was NOT in the beer garden during 2 of the 4 goals.  She handed 1 of the 2 goals quite well, but got kind of upset after the 3 goal because the crowd got too rowdy.

Millie and I at the start of the game. We stood in the back because we got there late.

Look at all the people!

Mommy!  Pay attention to me please! 

 Under the chair. 

 Crowd shot after Germany scored the second goal.

Nap time on David's foot.

 We even had dog treats that were the color of the Germany flag.

 Beer for the man and Georgia Peach lemonade for me!  

Don't worry Mom, we had a water bowl for Millie, too!

Dogs in Deutschland: How Emma and Millie deal with no AC

Finally figured out how to get the photos off my camera.  I'm not technology incompetent, just lacking proper cables....


For your enjoyment, a few photos of my little dogs trying to deal with the heat wave here. (Read 85+ degrees and no A.C. )

 How Millie used to spend her days.

Now, forget the dog bed...too hot! Hanging out in the crate is way better!

Take me outside or go away!

Did you say "outside"?

Much better!