San Francisco In The Rainy Season

Angelika Since it seems that the rainy season has just started in San Francisco (so much for "it never rains here") and we can hardly venture outside, I thought I'd update you all with the latest news from here. So, grab your reading glasses, get cozy in the corner of the sofa, turn off the TV, and enjoy:

First of all, let me tell you about our Christmas celebration. Our Christmas tree was, of course, the most beautiful ever. Buying the tree went off without a hitch. Michael did grimace painfully when he had to shell out $45 for the tree, but he was in a good mood again right away because, for an extra $10, the tree was delivered to our apartment. This meant he didn't have to carry the tree over two hills or, worse, take it on the streetcar, which would surely have been newsworthy here. Once the tree was finally in our apartment, we realized it was quite large for our place, even though we had bought one of the smallest (Americans do love everything a bit oversized). As a result, we first had to rearrange our apartment. I tried not to groan or complain, otherwise, Michael would surely have commented, "You were the one who insisted on having a tree!" Despite these minor difficulties, the tree shone and glowed in American colors on Christmas Eve, and the fire department didn't have to be called, even with the real candles. My overly cautious electrical engineer, who tinkers with high-voltage lines without fear, had placed a bucket of water in our bathroom just in case. Everything went wonderfully. Initially, we were a bit worried that we might feel a bit lonely under our tree, but then we received so much lovely mail, calls, and packages that we didn't feel so far away anymore. To everyone who thought of us and didn't shy away from the horrendous postage and astronomical phone charges, we say a special "Thank you!" We truly appreciate it. On Christmas Eve, we had fondue, as per old tradition, and on Christmas Day, we couldn't resist getting real Nuremberg sausages and sauerkraut from the German store "Speckmanns" around the corner, even though we hardly ever ate them in Munich. But that's how it is when you spend Christmas "abroad" (sniff!). By the way, the store is also very popular with Americans, and the absolute hit is German "Negerküsse" (unfortunately, I don't know the new politically correct term for this treat).