Chilling at the Halfway House

A halfway house is a place where convicted criminals who have completed their sentence live to begin the process of reintegration with society. As I've anticipated our final days in Nykøbing, the word decompression has often come to mind. But as we arrived, the concept of a halfway house seemed appropriate too. Though I would never compare our summer in Europe to serving a penal sentence, having a place that's not quite visiting and not quite home serves as a refreshing salve to the mental, physical, and social fatigue which I feel.

I realize you don't use salve for fatigue, but I chose to mix my medical metaphors. And use alliteration. I have to start getting back into English-teacher mode.

Today was exactly what I wanted. We slept late. We ate fried eggs and hot ciabatta. I had two big cups of steaming coffee. Cristina washed clothes. I worked on my blog. Bella made pasta for lunch. I didn't take a shower until 5:30 pm.

Speaking of showers, the one here is worth a mention. It's not a complaint, just an observation. I kinda wish I'd taken pictures of all the showers we've used this summer. If I had, this one would be the star. The house here is small, but the bathroom is incredibly compact. Go into your shower right now. Close the door or curtain. Now picture having a toilet and sink in there with you. For those of you with gigantic showers, this exercise in spatial visualization may not be effective, and for that reason, I will now supply photos.

 The bathroom is under the ladder, er, I mean stairs to the upstairs sleeping room.

 Is it a half bath?

Nope, it's a full bath!

See? That's the shower head.

We watched Horton Hears a Who, Meet the Fockers, and Grease. Yeah, it was that kind of day!

While Cristina and I prepared a simple dinner of rice and garbanzos and salad (using some of Trine's tomatoes), we sent the kids to the park to have a little bit of outside time.