Varied Week

Last week was very varied both in terms of weather and activities.

On Monday (19 May), I returned from O.K.'s at the usual time with both my trains being punctual. The day was sunny and warm at 22C/71F, and after a busy day working from home, I went for my standard walk to Benningen, which was very nice.

Another day working from home followed on Tuesday (20 May), at 23C/73F a tad warmer than the day before, sunny at first and then cloudy. 

My sister and I and our team met at the pub that evening and had much fun with the pub quiz - although less so in the first half, when we missed four points and didn't see a chance to make up for that in the second half. Miraculously, though, we had a full score in the second half and ended up coming third, walking out with a bottle of sparkling wine (always the third prize). It was still very mild when we left the pub some time after 10:30 pm; I had brought a scarf for the way home just in case, but didn't need it.

Two more quiz nights are lined up for our team before the summer break.

Wednesday (21 May) saw me working at the office like (nearly) every Wednesday. It was a long and exhausting day with many meetings, both in person and online, plus my boss wanting to discuss a lot of things before his leaving for two weeks in Italy.

I was glad when it was time to leave the office and take my usual two local trains back to Ludwigsburg, where I had a 15 minute walk (in the rain - finally!!) to the Italian restaurant near my Mum's. My Mum had invited me along for a meal with her good friend who lives downstairs in the same house, and the friend's brother. The four of us enjoyed our food, drinks and conversation, but after the day I'd had I didn't last very long before going back home.

We were all happy to finally see that rain!

It was still raining on and off, and rather chilly, on Thursday (22 May). I didn't finish work (from home) until 6:00 pm, which amounted to a 10-hour-day, something I used to do regularly when I was younger but find a lot more demanding now at 57.

The rain had stopped by that time, and I really needed a walk. My old Asperg-Eglosheim circuit of roughly 1 1/2 hours was just right, so that I was home again before I got too hungry.

On Friday (23 May) I was happy to spend my lunch break getting a massage at the nearby day spa. Work continued until 20 to 4:00 pm, after which I cleaned, did a quick groceries shop and got everything ready for O.K. spending the weekend here.

At almost exactly 10:00 pm he arrived (we had agreed that it was going to be later than usual), and we had a light meal of fried slices of beetroot and leafy mixed salad with feta and tomatoes.

For my birthday in March, friends had given me two tickets for a wine presentation at an Italian wine dealer at the other end of town. The presentation was on Saturday (24 May), and so after a leisurely breakfast, we started to walk across town.

First stop was for an espresso at our currently favourite coffee bar, then I had the (daft) idea of taking in the Krämer-Markt (a market with stalls offering all sorts of goods from kitchenware to clothes, toys and cleaning products, food and knick-knacks you wouldn't believe anybody wants) and the funfair, both set up in occasion of the annual Horse Market.

The Krämer-Markt was extremely busy and it was hard to just walk through. I kept a tight hold on my handbag until we came out at the top end. It was much better on the funfair, with a lot less people about - I guess it was too early for most folks to start on the rides and everything.

We then meandered through various residential streets (we both like to look at people's houses, not out of a wish to pry, more like looking at pictures in a gallery or window-shopping) and arrived at the wine shop.

The presentation was organised at three tables where staff presented sparkling wines, prosecco and champagne (table 1), white and rosé wines (table 2) and reds (table 3). It wasn't as strictly separated as it sounds here, but that was the general idea. Everybody who had a ticket was given a list of all the wines, where they could make notes of those they had tasted, and of course in the end could place orders.

O.K. and I tried two or three at each table and found some wines very nice, while others left us indifferent. We didn't order anything, but I kept the list and may consult it next time I need a present.

It was very busy, and sometimes we had to wait until someone was available to talk to and give us a sip of the wine we wanted to taste. After two hours, we both felt we had enough of the busy-ness and didn't want to taste any more wines.

Instead, we took a quick stroll in the palace grounds before going home, where we had about 45 minutes to rest before it was time to leave again - to the same Italian restaurant where I'd been on Wednesday :-)

A friend of ours had invited us to celebrate his 50th birthday, and it was nice to see him, his partner, my Mum and my sister. The six of us had an enjoyable evening.

Sunday (25 May) would not only have been my Opa's (Mum's Dad) 110th birthday, but it was also the day of the traditional Horse Market parade. If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know about this. If not, you'll have to wait until my next post - I have taken so many photos (again!) of the parade that I want them in an extra post.

The parade took up only part of the day, of course. 

In the morning, I went to a nearby bakery that is open on Sundays, getting fresh croissants and rolls for our breakfast.

Early afternoon, we walked into town to watch the parade, followed by a walk on the fields north of where I live.

O.K. had things lined up to do at home and therefore didn't want to leave late, and so we had our evening meal of spaghetti with fried fennel early. He left at 7:00 pm, and with the evening light being so beautiful and still more than two hours of daylight left, I didn't want to stay in and went for another walk, this time on the fields south of where I live. Also, I knew I was going to get no walks for the next three days, because I had a work-related trip to Berlin coming up, which was all the more motivation for that extra evening walk.

I was lucky to spot a segment of a rainbow, happening to look in the right direction at the right time - it only lasted a minute or so before it dissolved.

I had actually been looking this way (west) to admire the sunset, and only when I turned my head the opposite direction (east) did I spot the rainbow!

On Saturday, my Mum had surprised me with a gift: This hand-crocheted fox with a little "book"! On the blue notecard, my Mum had written "I am Paige, the reading fox". Isn't that sweet? I am not ashamed to say that I was almost welling up right there at the restaurant. Paige now lives on my book shelf.