"Vores vaskemaskin er gået i stykker"

The last weeks have us back in the routine after our vacation. Anya has started a baby singing class that meets on Fridays through November. She enjoys it very much. I ran in the DHL relay on September 4th. Teams of 5 run a total distance of 25km through a park near our apartment. This was my second time participating in the race which was followed by a good barbecue which negated any health benefits gained from running the 5km distance.

We spent the last week of August on Sjællands Odde, a cape located a 1½ hour drive NW of Copenhagen. We had some good weather, some bad. The area is very nice with water close by in all directions and beautiful farmland for long walks. Brombær were ripe for picking and the house we stayed in had all the comforts of home. Anya did not know that she was free to sleep late, since we were on vacation, but it was a nice change all the same.

The weather was beautiful this past weekend, making us feel a little guilty thinking of our friends in Houston who suffered through hurricane Ike. We're glad we weren't there, but we've been thinking of those who were. Fortunately it wasn't a worst case scenario. Saturday we took advantage of a large street "loppemarked" (flea market) nearby our apartment. We mostly purchased baby clothes and other accessories. There was a very good turnout due to the good weather and the number of sellers. Given the high prices here and the rate that Anya is growing, we'll be keeping our eyes open for others as a good way to keep her in clothes.

Today I got to practice the phrase :"Vores vaskemaskin er gået i stykker" which means our washing machine is broken (literally has gone to pieces). It has periodically (and with greater frequency) been failing to pump the water out after washing. For the unsuspecting victim, this condition can lead to a flood of water across the bathroom floor followed by a few choice expletives uttered when soaking up the consequences with any available towels. We put up with this for a while because we could see when it didn't drain then change the settings or run it through another cycle to get it to pump out. When that approach stopped working, the plumber came to look at it and called in a technician who "fixed" it in less than 15 minutes. It took three loads of laundry to learn it wasn't fixed. So, our patience is running out along with our previously large supply of Danish coins (thanks to the møntvask, i.e. coin wash laundry down the street). Along those lines, I direct you to this link provided by my dad. Here's hoping my next post will herald the arrival of our new washing machine...