Lately, Bill and I have started doing jigsaw puzzles together. We’ve completed two that were 300 pieces and we’re now working on one that is 1000 pieces. I used to love doing puzzles when I was a lot younger and more flexible. Unfortunately, now, we lack a good sized table for puzzles. I’ve taken to doing them on a coffee table I bought from Novica.com a few years ago, but it’s just slightly too low. Also, the living room isn’t well lit enough to do the puzzles at night.

We did one of the smaller puzzles on the floor, but that was really hard on my body. We have nice rugs in this house, but we’re still sitting on the hard floor, craned over the puzzle. This puzzle was pretty difficult. It took about seven hours to complete it. The one we’re doing now, we decided to do on the coffee table again. It’s just easier on the body.

As I get older, my body hurts. It’s especially bad in the morning, probably because we really need a new mattress. I get up and my right hip and lower back throb. Sometimes, it’s hard to walk or make basic movements without pain until my muscles warm up. American king sized mattresses in Germany aren’t so easy to acquire. I guess we could order one from AAFES, but then we’d have to get it delivered. It may get to a point at which we’ll do that, if we stay here for much longer. Bill should know what is going to happen with his company’s contract soon.

Anyway, last night my lower back and right shoulder were crying for relief, so I asked Bill to step on my back. He hates to do this, since he’s afraid he’s going to hurt me. Truth be told, it does kind of hurt when he presses on my sore muscles and ligaments. But then when he takes his foot off my back, I get a rush of endorphins and whatever metabolic crap is stuck in my muscles dissipates. It’s like magic.

What’s even more magical, though, is Bill’s ability to find the sore spots on my shoulders. I don’t know how he does this. He says he just gets a feeling when he gets to the right spot, and describes the tissue under the skin as “depressed”. Nine times out of ten, I don’t even have to tell him where to go. Somehow, he just knows. And even though his hands are tired and sore, he willingly works the knots out so I’ll be more comfortable. I’m lucky that he’s so empathetic. I think if he hadn’t been a soldier, he would have been great in any of the nurturing/healing fields. Then I’d have to share him!

Moving on…

Joe and Kendra Duggar have started the bumper crop of baby girls that will be born to the Duggar family this fall/winter. Their daughter, Addison Renee, was born on November 2, 2019. She is just seventeen months younger than her older brother, Garrett David. Lots of people in the Life is Not All Pickles and Hairspray Facebook group have opined on the baby’s name. Personally, I like it. I mean, I wouldn’t name a baby Addison, because it reminds me of Mister Ed. There was a character on that show called “Addison”. Others have said they think of Addison’s Disease when they hear the name Addison, which is apparently a very popular name now. However… I still think it’s a good name, since it’s not something totally ridiculous like Jessa’s eldest son, Spurgeon. Spurgeon is damned lucky he’s so cute.

Joy Anna Forsyth was supposed to be having a baby right about now, but she lost her daughter, Annabell Elise, to a very tragic miscarriage over the summer. Now, we’re waiting for Lauren and Josiah, Josh and Anna, and John David and Abbie to have their girls. Oh… and cousin Amy had her baby boy last month, too. That family is exploding like Josh’s dick when he’s viewing porn. I don’t watch their show anymore, though. It’s just too boring.

And finally…

Yesterday, I inadvertently learned two German words for “pussy”. I didn’t set out to learn them. My German friend taught me the more vulgar one, Möse (pronounced Moo-zeh), because it’s apparently the name of a village in northern Germany. She quipped that it was probably embarrassing for the natives to say they were from there. I commented on Facebook that I’d learned the German word for pussy, and another German friend posted “Muschi“? Muschi also means pussy, but it’s supposedly less vulgar and can also be used for cats– as in “pussycat”.

As I have pointed out in my travel blog, Austria and Germany are rife with town names that are now kind of embarrassing. Austria has both Fucking and Fuckersberg, both places Bill and I visited in 2015. Germany has Kissing and Petting… but they also have Pups (fart), Kothausen (shit house), and Pissdorf. There’s even a map of these bucket list worthy places. I also learned that the word “Kot” is another word for shit, besides Sheisse. It’s hard to believe that people would name their town after shit, but maybe that’s a reflection of the past. I know Germans can be remarkably blunt about some things.

Well, the sun is out, so maybe the dog and I will take a walk. That will make it easier for Arran to get rid of his Kot and me to get rid of my knots.