* Friday was an absolutely sweltering day (for Northern Germany) and I spent most of it with 100 German feminist social workers in a room with locked windows and a broken air conditioner.  The organizer of the conference did not seem too sympathetic or too interested in finding a solution as we miserably melted and fanned ourselves with brochures.  Needless to say, I did not return on Saturday.

* Yesterday, I was woken up by a YouTube version of the Star Spangled Banner, thanks to mein Schatz.  I proceeded to sing along and we listened to various versions throughout the morning.  That comprised my Independence Day celebration here in Germany.

* Even more exciting, we made a trip to Bauhaus (basically a German version of Home Depot) and bought a sun umbrella for the balcony so we can enjoy ourselves without dying in the direct midday sun.

* I have single handedly already killed two flowering plants in the last two months, but I am so envious of all the flowering balconies in our neighborhood, and I don’t want to be left out.  So yesterday we also invested in some hearty leafy plants.  My theory is that if it doesn’t have flowers, I should be able to keep it alive.  Cross your fingers!

* After going out with friends last night near the Schanzenviertel of Hamburg, we found ourselves in the middle of a little radical leftist rioting.  German adolescents love themselves a good riot, and my upstanding scientist Schatz even reports throwing a few bottles in his day.  We originally just wanted to have a little peek from a distance, but then we found ourselves running from bottles flying through the air.  We got ourselves out of there pretty fast, but there are plenty of photos in the media this morning.

* Okay, now it’s time to go lay in the park.  Catch you later!