Worth the effort

As it turns out my MIL's painful foot isn't all that much better but it was good enough for her to avoid going to the doctor (because let's be real - what are they going to say about it anyway that she doesn't already know?). This meant no driving for me but more tidying up for the arrival of my afternoon coffee and cake guest.

I really wasn't looking forward to it. Like I said yesterday, the lady visiting us is quite nice but I don't really know her well. She came over once before to get B to help her set up her email with Microsoft Outlook and she's sent us a couple ecards for Easter and the like and we've spoken to her on the phone a few times. It's my MIL who knows her better - they met while dog walking (Angelika, the lady in question, lives in the building next door) and they've visited one another a few times.

Let me stop here and say that I never chat with other dog walkers. While my MIL loves it, I detest talking to strangers. All that meaningless small talk about our respective dogs. It would be different if I were in America but I don't like chatting up strangers in Germany. They don't know that my knowledge of German can really let me down sometimes and in my nervousness I completely forget key words for the conversation. Like the word for dog.

Anyway I was dreading this visit because, again, I was afraid that it would be one of those slow moving visits where I can't keep up with the conversation, I get muddled up when trying to speak and I spend the entire time fighting off jaw popping yawns. I was even sort of grouchy feeling about it but resigned myself to just get it over with. Maybe even dull conversation and tea would be better than sorting throught kitchen crap and no tea.

I was very wrong. Angelika was even more pleasant and friendly than I remembered her being. She came along with her little Yorkie who stayed at her feet in a little carry-along dog bed. I normally have no opinion of Yorkies but this one cracked me up. She's got a sassy look on her face and whenever Bonnie would get near her little bed she'd growl and yip at Bonnie as if to say "I'll tolerate you, ya fuzzy faced mutt, but don't be getting too near. I may be in your home but this is my little piece of turf.". The conversation never lagged, I didn't yawn and Angelika is actually a pretty clear speaker and so I didn't have trouble understanding the conversation. By the time it was over I was inviting her to visit again after the new kitchen is finished.

And I found out that she's a magician. She entertains as a magician at all sorts of parties - for kids and adults both. How could I go wrong making friends with a magician?