Will Rogers had it Right about Parades!

The entryway soon to be torn up. Fence or hedge to go

with the gate, yet to be determined!

“Parades should be classed as a nuisance and participants should be subject to a term in prison.”

Will RogersUS humorist & showman (1879 - 1935)

…and I thought on Friday that the parade had finally ended. The parade, that is, of workmen tramping through the house. A regular occurrence that began on August 8 and has continued at least two times a week through this now, last full week in September.

Last week drew to a close with a particularly loud and well-turned out parade: the plumber and his sidekick here to fix the radiators, which now that the nights are getting cold we discovered did not work, the painter/floor guy to finish the winter garden sisal carpet and the electrician to connect the ceiling light wiring to switches so that we might actually turn on the lights (finally installed) that we, as renters, were obligated to buy, per German custom.

And, that was just the indoor parade!

For our neighbors’ endless delight and excitement, the outdoor parade begins at 7:30a on Saturdays! Last Saturday, the centerpiece was a duet of jackhammers at 7:45a. (Thank goodness that Sunday morning is "saved" by the German "quiet" tradition that disallows noise on Sunday - from mowing lawns all the way down to not being allowed to put glass into the community recycle bins at all on Sundays. Glass recycling is a noisy chore because the wine and beer bottles fall about 4 feet into the bins and splinter to bits.. )

Back to the jackhammers. Gary and I have owned four different houses over the course of our 20-year marriage. One was almost 100-years old and another was re-built from the studs up on a 120-year old foundation. Never, not once, in all that time did we ever experience the need to have jackhammer work done in or outside a house. In two short months here, we have had jack hammer “repairs” both inside and out!

The landscaping plans show signs of being quite nice once complete. But, when work is confined to Fridays and Saturdays, I’m not so certain they will beat the snow and bad weather!

About my thought that the parade season was drawing to a close: on Tuesday this week the last visit from IKEA is scheduled. You guessed it – more storage. This time for books and Ethan’s room as he has a less spacious wardrobe. So, once the IKEA folks are done, I really thought we’d be done with the stream of workers through the house.

Alas, yesterday afternoon we discovered the downstairs toilet backing up and draining slowly. This is not a job simply for a plunger. Unfortunately, the slow drain thing has the earmarks of the same trouble we just recovered from. I will not print my thoughts and comments, leaving them instead to your imagination.

Just to complete the analogy, I have to share that it is fitting that our landlord owns a company called “Rent-a-Tent.” I believe he must specialize in circus tents. He is proving a quite adept ringmaster in creating this circus of the last two months.

To keep my spirits up, I am focusing on Thursday when I pick up my "new car" - our official leased vehicle for our time here. It is a BMW customized to the specs I picked out. Okay, it's still a station wagon, not an X4 or a Porsche coupe. But, I've been driving a 7-year old mini-van with 160,000+ miles on it so permit me a little excitement nevertheless!

Now, if only German plumbers had the reputation so well-earned by BMW, Porsche and Mercedes....