A bit blustery.

I was going to say something about “A big wind”,  but for anyone who actually knows me,  the assumption could be made that I was referring to a trip to the bathroom.  That’s an entirely different subject,  and really not fit for print.
No,  I’m just saying,  yesterday afternoon some time,  the wind started to pick up, and it really hasn’t let up much at all for the last 16 hours or so. 

With the exception of taking down the umbrella,  bringing in a couple deck chairs and closing all the windows,  there wasn’t too much else that needed my attention,  but at one point there was a great thud from the roof, and I just figured one of our neighbour’s many,  many plants had been knocked over.
Like this.

Oh,  and I should say,  these people have a lot of stuff up there.  I feel a little creepy taking pictures of their “yard”,  and only snapped that one for demonstration purposes,  so you’ll have to take my word for it.
Our side is,  well,  empty by comparison,  with the exception of one solitary patio table,  which I discovered had been the thing that made the thud.

I’m not making this up,  I swear that’s the way I found it.  How does that even happen?  It didn’t break,  and only the little plastic insert covering the hole in the middle of the table where you stick an umbrella was slightly scratched.   I tucked it into one of the corners against the back of our storage area in the hopes that it will still be there this morning. 

I have this “thing” about putting stuff away,  so the four chairs that go with it are hanging up in the storage room.   There’s absolutely no room for the table,  and I’m not lugging it down stairs.




In other “news”,  I’d like to touch on the subject of going to the drug store when you’re in Europe.  It’s nothing like you’d ever experience anywhere in North America.   Not even Puerto Rico.  No,  here we have the equivalent of an “Apothecary”.   We know that as an older English word that’s no longer in use.  We prefer the term “Drug Store”,  which can confuse the heck out of a person strolling down the Champs Elysees in Paris and you happen to see, “Le Drug Store”. 
Tough to come up with a link for that one,  since it’s all in French.  When I was there in ‘78,  it was only a restaurant,  but now it seems it’s morphed into some sort of “happening”  place,  with a bakery,  book store,  cigar store.  There’s a whole list.  You can see it here if you want to try out your grade 12 French.


No,  in Europe you need to look for a “Pharmacie”  if you’re in a French speaking location,  or for any of the areas favouring a language from the Teutonic group,  you need to look for an “Apotheke”,  i.e., and Apothecary.

That would be the one.

And as you can see,  most of them are not too flippin’ big.  Now,  I normally have to go to the Kaiserkrone Apotheke that’s just around the corner from us,  but that place is always mobbed,  so I only go there for items that require a prescription.  For most anything else,  I’ll truck it down Mariahilfer and go to this little place.   No maddening crowds.

However.
Here’s the ever so slightly annoying thing about going to any of these places.  Whereas I can get headache pills or lip balm by strolling down the isle of a Shoppers Drug Mart,  Boots or for those south of the 49th parallel,  a Walgreens. 
Here we have to belly up to the counter and ask for every single thing.   So,  if you’re having some issues with your ‘roids’?  Guess what?  Every one is going to know.

How do I know this?  Don’t ask.  But I’ll just say it was the first time I came to Europe.  I’m a little more careful with my diet at this point in my life.  We’re not going there.


So fine,  you have to belly up to the counter to ask for whatever it is you think you might possibly need,  but that’s the problem.
So does everybody else. 
This is why I head for the little hole in the wall type of place.   Of course, that can mean a second problem, since they might not actually have what you need,  and have to have it brought in.  I’m willing to take my chances with that,  since not having the proper product on hand has happened at the big place too,  it's just that it takes all that much longer to finally get that sad news, having had to work your way through the mosh pit and all.






So what does this all mean? 
Well,  it means three trips to this one drug store. 
Sorry…apothecary.  
First they had to order it,  then it didn’t arrive when it was supposed to,  and then I went back this morning to find out they had only ordered one box and not two. Oh man!!
Now, I realise that German is not my first language and that I’m not only going blind but getting a little deaf to boot,  but I know DAMNED well that I asked the dizzy…person to order two.    Son of a….


So fine,  there’s no point getting upset since well, why bother?  There was an offer to place another order,  but then that would just mean another trip back,  and I may as well just wait until Travelling Companion starts to run out of these little blood sugar monitoring strips thingies and go through the whole thing all over again.



And this,  Ladies and Gentlemen,  is how I piss away my time.




.