Floh-Markt und Kleiderschraenke

I went to a flea market (floh-markt) in Ramstein-Miesenbach this morning. The wife of one of Jon's co-workers invited me, along with a friend of hers. It was nice to get out sans toddler, and I actually made it there without getting lost. There are floh-markt signs all over this area. It seems to be a big thing to do here. The best and biggest in the area is in Homburg, which is a bit farther away from us. Lori is a flea market queen...she knows exactly what she likes and is looking for, and is very focused as she's looking. Her friend and I just chatted and looked around more casually. I saw some things I kind of liked, but at the moment we have nowhere to put anything.

Did I mention that most houses in Germany are built with no closets whatsoever? None. It comes from the way they used to tax houses, by room. And a room was anything with a door, including a closet. No closets, lower tax. So if you live here, you have to get a "kleiderschrank" or wardrobe for your hanging clothes. A room that looks pretty big can get small quick once you put in a few schranks (to Americanize the word a bit). On the other hand...hey! an excuse to go to Ikea and buy stuff! That's where Jon is now. We would not have been able to fit big items in the car with Katrina in the backseat, so he took off when I got back from the flea market. I guess tomorrow's project will be putting together the schranks, the bookcases, the nighttable we're getting for Katrina's room, and anything else he picks up along the way. Katrina will have a ball trying to "help" us...she's fascinated with tools and putting things together (or taking them apart).

While I was at the flea market, Jon had planned to take Katrina to the playground. But she saw Jon's X-box box and said "I want to play games on TV." Mind you, we don't have any kiddie games for the X-box, so it's not like she's done much other than see Jon play. They played "Midtown Madness," a driving game. When I got home and asked Katrina what she did with Papa, she said, "We play game. Papa don't drive very well. He hits lights." I asked if she drove well. "No, I hit lights, too."