My throat was swollen again all day. I don't understand. I never had problems with my throat swelling until 5 or 6 years ago. I got a cold, and when I woke up one morning my throat was so swollen that you couldn't see past my tongue because my uvula was drooping half way down my throat. Ever since then, my throat swells up (though not quite so bad) every time I get a cold. It really sucks. Esther wants to have a friend of theirs, Jorg, take a look at it because he's a doctor. I don't know if there's any infection, I just know that it sucks.

Olaf was home today, so I didn't have to walk Amelie this morning. Not that it's ever a problem, just that it was nice to be able to stay in a little longer and not have to go out into the cold morning air. It's only been 6 degrees here for the past couple of days, so it's definitely getting colder. I didn't really have a whole lot of work to do, either. I vacuumed the floor, which was already pretty clean because Esther vacuumed last night after her piano was delivered from her old apartment in Bielefeld, and I folded the laundry, but there was only one load. After that I was free to relax for the rest of the day. I decorated my room a little more with some Christmas decorations that my mom had sent for me and the kids (thanks, Mom!) and I took a nap.

I also changed my bedsheets. Esther made fun of me this morning because I haven't changed my bedsheets since I got here, but she and Olaf have changed theirs twice, and the kids' at least 4 times. I think it's mostly because I always hated having to wash my bedsheets at home because 1) laundromats are too expensive; 2) I hate making the bed; and 3) it's a pain in the ass to shove all of the bedding into those tiny little washing machines and the dryers that don't dry anything. Anyway, she said she was figuring it must've just really smelled good and that's why I didn't want to change it. Actually, it kinda smelled like Amelie (who, by the way, doesn't stink because she's an indoor dog and we clean her off every time we take her for a walk) because she always puts her chin up on the bed right next to my face to give me kisses. But now I have clean fresh bedsheets, and I can change them whenever I like because Esther says so.

After I took Amelie for a walk this afternoon I picked up the kids a little earlier than usual to have them home by 4. The neighbor Janette and her son Florian (who's 2 weeks younger than Gustav) were coming over to visit, so Esther had to get the table cleared off and prepare the tea while I picked up the kids. Right at the beginning of the visit, Amelie jumped up and smacked this poor kid right in the face with her snout. He had a balloon in his hand, and Amelie loves balloons, so she got excited. Florian ended up with a little red mark right between his eyes, but I think more than anything it scared the crap out of him because he's already afraid of Amelie. His mom has a little rat dog (cute as can be) and that's not exactly the same as a boxer. Everything ended up ok, though. And I got to experience Ostfriesen tea, so that was fun. They put a big crystal of sugar in their black tea and then add a splash of cream, and apparently it's what everybody drinks in that region. Esther is 1/4 Ostfriesen so growing up her family used to drink their tea this way a lot.

Olaf is going to be home again tomorrow, and he's told me that I don't have to walk Amelie in the morning before school. That's good because between putting on my clothes and boots, walking Amelie, wiping off Amelie's feet, and taking a quick shower so I'm not all sweaty, that's an extra hour that I get to sleep when I don't have to walk her. Again, not that it's a problem, just that I know I need all the sleep I can get right now so that I don't stay sick forever.