We’ve been working very hard on our apartment. I’ve been going there to paint during the day, while Flo works at a real job. This is evidenced by the paint drops all over my legs, which I never quite seem to get completely off in the shower. I realized this is a problem when we went to an event that I had to look good for. I glanced down and saw drips of paint next to my beautiful pink toenails and above my glamorous black mules. Not good.

The said event was Flo’s Absolventenfeier. In English, that means graduation ceremony. (However, in German, I’m wondering what the students are being absolved of. I mean, they were guilty of being ignorant and now they’re edumacated, so they’re absolved? I don’t know about all that.) That’s right folks, he’s finally a real graduate, with a real diploma! He finished school in February, but they only have these ceremonies twice a year, so he had to wait to walk. Well, technically, there was no walking. After a few speeches by random faculty members, they break the school into departments, shove them in little rooms and without much Pomp or Circumstance at all, they hand out diplomas. Flo, God bless him, was hoping for a 1.8 on his diploma thesis (1 being the best and everything else being gradually worse). Well, he surprised himself with a 1.3. Congratulations Flo!

Anyway, back to the apartment. Here are some pics to prove we have been working hard and not just ignoring all of our friends over the internet wavelengths (I apologize to all those people who have sent me emails asking, “Where are you?”).

I know this one doesn’t look like they got very far compared to the first one, but they posed for this second one, so I have to put it up here.

Oh, oh, oh – it doesn’t quite fit. Have to fix it.

Mwa ha ha ha – power tools!

Yes, you do note a conspicuous absence of the female Marcards in these images. Well, Brigitta isn’t really so much of a manual labor kind of person and I, well, I’m taking the pictures of course! Nobody better email me saying that I haven’t been working!

Otherwise, anyone attempting to follow Matze on his trip through the Alps. He and his teammate finished 122nd out of 300 contestants. Yay! Good job guys. On Matze’s birthday, the mayor of the town they were in gave him a gift – an Italian soccer jersey. What was that guy thinking? Giving a German a soccer jersey after we lost to the Italians in the World Cup? I guess it was the thought that should count.

Last, but not least, Sebastian and Lea are not engaged! Why am I so excited about this? Because Sebastian asked Lea if she would marry him and she answered yes, but they’re not calling it an engagement. I have no idea what that means, but it is official folks, they’re getting married. Congratulations to them. We are very happy for them and wish them the best.