Odds and Ends...and a Teary Goodbye

For anyone wondering how my search for the perfect parasol is going- the search has come to an end....I FOUND ONE! I just love it. I use it without fail. Carl made fun of me because the first day I got it, it was a very overcast day, but I didn't care- I still used it. We were walking around town and it was just me and this little old lady using our parasols. Who knew that some fabric edged with lace in an umbrella shape could bring me such joy? The simple pleasures...

Another update from way back. We've been living in our little place for almost 5 months now, and we were promised a new fridge before we moved in. That was an empty promise though because until a few days ago, we were stuck with an ancient and dirty fridge (despite my best efforts to scrub away the weird markings on the outside). Here's how we ended up with a new one...

So one morning, I open the fridge and I notice that the fridge doesn't seem very cold and there's condensation around the seal. I call Mike and tell him that I think the fridge has finally died. So he calls the maintenance guys and they come over to take a look. After inspecting it, they tell me that the condensation was caused by this bowl of marinating chicken I had at the bottom of the fridge--it was a big bowl and it prevented the fridge from completely closing. Although they were probably right, it was too embarassing to admit, so I adamently told them that I made sure the fridge was closed and that couldn't possibly be the cause of the problem. After discussing the issue in Japanese, the only solution they could come up with was, "You want new fridge?"

And that's how our new fridge came to be. Now Mike and I are discussing ways to accidentally on purpose break our stove and dishwasher....just kidding (sort of).

Now for the teary goodbye- Carl left us for Hawaii! I'm completely depressed that he's gone, happy he gets to experience Hawaii, and slightly jealous that I can't go too. While Carl was here, it was like having a piece of home for a while. Even on the days when it was too hot out to do anything but have a movie marathon on the sofa, it was so nice because it was just like old times. His leaving has left me despondent. When we had to say our final goodbyes at the airport, I waited until he was just a tiny dot before turning around to leave, and that's when my breakdown began. Mike was left to console me with promises of puppies and ice cream. I truly hope Carl enjoys Hawaii, but oh, how he will be missed...