Last Week of August

The last week of August had a definite "end of summer" feel for me, even though from Wednesday onwards the days were hot again and the nights weren't cool enough to get good sleep.

Monday (26.08.2024) was off to a sunny, but chilly start - only 10C/50F, colder than what it had been in many months. I was glad that the train was on time and I didn't have a long wait on the cold platform in Offenburg.

After work, I went to my Mum's. For her birthday, she had chosen a chest of drawers to fit better in her bedroom than the old one. My sister bought it with her from the big IKEA just outside Ludwigsburg, we shared the cost, and I offered to set it up. 

Maybe I am one of the few people who actually enjoy working through the instructions, starting by unpacking and laying everything out, then counting all the parts to make sure nothing is missing. When I turned 40 (16 1/2 years ago), I bought new bedroom furniture as a present to myself, and set it all up on my own, with the exception of the wardrobe - those parts were simply too big and heavy for me to hold them up while putting the screws in etc., so I needed an extra pair of hands there.

I really enjoyed doing that back then, and have had occasion to put the odd bit of furniture together since. Now I had a chance to get my teeth into another piece!

My Mum's bedroom is on the attic floor of her flat, and it was really, really warm up there - I was literally dripping sweat all over the instruction booklet. But apart from that, everything was fine; no parts were missing, and the instructions were clear and easy to follow.

Still, it took a long time, and shortly before 9:00 pm, I had enough and called it a day, to return on the Friday.

For most of Tuesday (27.08.2024) I worked from home, but mid-afternoon I took a train into Stuttgart to attend a work-related event. Afterwards, I walked from there to Nordbahnhof, repeating the walk I had taken here, only this time the park looked rather different with the spring flowers all gone and the golden light of a late summer early evening instead of an April day.

The day was warmer than Monday but not yet hot (26C/79F).

Wednesday (28.08.2024) was an uneventful day at the office with a wide range of temperature: 15C/59F in the morning and 30C/86F in the afternoon. I didn't feel like an after-work walk; it was too hot for comfortable walking. Also, I had enjoyed the walk on Tuesday and was fine with a walk-less day in between.

It kept getting warmer; by Thursday (29.08.2024), the thermometer showed 18C/64F in the morning and then a high of 32C/89F.

Working from home meant I was able to meet a friend for lunch;both the food and the conversation were very good. 

My Mum had her second cataract operation in the morning; everything went fine and she was back home a few hours later. 

It was too hot for a proper walk, but there was still a bit of daylight left after the main news on TV, and so I went for a stroll around the neighbourhood. It was a good time to meet cats - several were out and about, clearly having spent the hottest part of the day somewhere else. Only one talked to me, though, and allowed me to stroke her.

Friday (30.08.2024) was the hottest day of the week at 33C/91F. I would have liked to finish the chest of drawers at my Mum's in the relative coolness of the morning, but it wasn't possible due to work.

Therefore, once again I spent a sweaty few hours upstairs at my Mum's and was really glad to put the finishing touches at the chest of drawers, followed by passing the hoover round. (Before I started, I had coffee with my Mum and her friend who had come up from her ground floor flat for a chat, and to look after her after the eye operation.)

Sunset that day, as seen from my Third Room

O.K. and I spent the weekend separately; on the Saturday (31.08.2024), he was busy playing with the village band at a wedding of two band members, and I went on a trip down memory lane with two friends from Librarian School.

It was a lovely day, albeit a bit hot for all the walking that we did; especially the steep uphill bits took their toll at 30C/86F. Good job we wore sun hats, stuck to the shade as much as possible, walked no faster than what felt comfortable, and made sure to drink plenty of water.

We started with a sumptuous breakfast at 10:30 in Hirsau, where we used to go for coffee & cake many times. A short walk along the river took us into the town of Calw, where we went to Librarian School and lived at the hospital's dorm for nurses from 1986 to 1988.

Bridge across the river Nagold in Hirsau

Café in Hirsau (formerly Café Essig, now Gugelhupf)

Of course we revisited all our old places - the dorm, our school, the shops and cafés we remembered. A lot in Calw is still familiar, but the town has also changed a lot, mostly for the better. There really wasn't much there for young people back in the 1980s - we were 18 years old when we started. Now, one is spoilt for choice in terms of shops and places for going out.

Dorm in Calw; my room was on the first floor above the entrance, the third from the left here.

Calw market square

Calw

Calw

It definitely was a day for ice cream!

I went to Librarian School here in Calw-Wimberg from 1986 to 1988.

I was back home a bit before 6:00 pm after what had been a good day of time-travel and of course catching up with my friends; they both live about an hour's drive from me, and we don't get to see each other often.

Sunday was here, and the 1st of September! Another hot and sunny day, just right to stay indoors and do my taxes... Like cleaning my windows, this is one of the few jobs I postpone until the last possible moment, and then when I tackle them, I have to admit that they aren't really that horrible, and I finish quicker than expected.

It was the first time that I had to do my taxes with two employers to consider, but it was less complicated than I had feared, with most of the data already automatically transferred by my employers - all done in a couple of hours.

After a bite to eat and a little rest, I walked to my sister's and spent the rest of the afternoon in her garden, reading in the shade of the big old trees.