Debit Card Woes, Yard Work & The Bomb Squad

In my last post I forgot to tell the story of my Debit card. So on Friday night (July 18) Scott and I biked down to the nearest ATM to get some money out of the bank. I put my debit card in and after choosing English, I keyed in my pin. Then it took me to the screen that has predetermined amounts for you to take out. I selected one and waited. Suddenly the screen said that my card had been cancelled. I was somewhat shocked and waited for it to come out. . . it didn't. The printed receipt said the same thing--my card was cancelled. I still am not quite sure why. I didn't get the pin wrong--I've had the same one ever since I got the card. Luckily we are eight hours ahead of Salt Lake, so I could still call the bank that night. They couldn't tell me why either. My closest guess as to why my card was cancelled is that I didn't notify my bank that I was going to be in Denmark on and off for a year--except that I did tell them when I requested a rush on my new card (my old one was set to expire in July). Apparently, they needed some other kind of notification than that. So anyway, on Monday I went in to the bank here and showed my passport and they gave me back my card, letting me know that it was still cancelled. After emailing a note to the bank with a scanned handwritten note questing a reinstatement of my card, I'm still waiting for notification that I can use my card. Luckily, Scott loaned me some money till I can get this cleared up. The other Americans here tell me that it's just Denmark's way of welcoming me. Um, okay.

I also wanted to let Mom and especially Dad know that the Keetches have put me to work helping clean up their yard on Saturday. I know you never thought I had it in me (especially considering the state of the yard at home). We spent pretty much all day trimming, cutting back, hauling and getting rid of blackberry plants. Has anyone ever tried to cut back a blackberry plant? They are vicious. I have all kinds of scratches up and down my arms to prove it. I would've taken a picture but I know there are some tender eyes that might see this. Anyway, I wouldn't ever recommend planting blackberries in any space that you want to keep groomed.

Late Saturday night, the doorbell rang. Scott, Angie and I were all thinking, "Who could that be?" It turns out that it was the police. They told Scott that we should all stay in the house as they had found an unexploded bomb in the garden. Scott looked out the window and there was a special bomb squad truck (we assume it was the bomb squad because none of us are actually proficient in Danish) and everything. About a half hour later, another knock on the door let us know that they were done. They brought a handful of jacket-less softball wadding to Scott as the "bomb." Apparently here in Denmark they have ball shaped fireworks that everyone uses on New Year's. Somebody had seen this ball in our garden and had called the police, thinking that it was one of these large fireworks or a bomb. The funny thing is that the ball was in a part of the yard that was not visible from the street. So, who is wandering around our yard and then calling the police on us? And why aren't they in trouble for making a false accusation and trespassing? Obviously, I'm not in Kansas, Utah, or any of the fifty United States anymore.