A Week of Sunsets

This post's headline means there was enough sun to see sunsets - and indeed there was! Also, I made up for not having walked much the week before and went on several walks. Because I don't want to make this weekly summary too long and bore you to tears, I shall end it with Friday and write an extra post for the weekend.

It was still cold and grey on Monday, the 6th of February; it even snowed a little late in the evening. After work, my sister and I met at my Mum's and helped her stow away the boxes of Christmas things. Some of these boxes have been in use for decades and needed replacing, and so we sorted, threw out, re-packed and labeled, and finally put everything away.

My Mum had asked for our help - climbing up and down the ladder to the attic is hard for her now, especially while handling boxes - and offered to cook for the three of us. I suggested this soup, a classic that we've always loved and often had when we were still all living at home: Grießklößchensuppe, a vegetable or meat broth with semolina dumplings and either green peas and sliced Wiener sausages or just vegetables, which was the choice on Monday. It was delicious and just right for a cold February evening.

View from my kitchen window at 10:30 pm, one night after Sunday's full moon.

Tuesday (Feb. 7) was even colder (-4 Celsius, below freezing point), but finally, the sky was clear and the sun shone brightly all day - I believe it was also the day when we hit the 5:30 pm mark for sunset. Hooray! 

I worked at the Weilimdorf office and got off the train in Zuffenhausen on the way home, walking the rest (ca. 9 km) which took me about 1 1/2 hours at a brisk pace - the cold did not invite a more leisurely pace, and I wanted to be off the fields and in a residential area with street lights before it got too dark.

Almost home, just before 6:00 pm; this is the view from the street parallel to mine.

Something unusual happened to me that evening - I FORGOT to eat chocolate!! I nearly always have chocolate after my evening meal in front of the TV, being on my own during the week. By the time O.K. and I were on the phone (as is our habit before going to bed), I had already brushed my teeth and only then remembered that I had not eaten any chocolate. And of course, I did not start then, with my teeth freshly brushed.

It was cold (-6 C) and sunny again on Wednesday, the 8th of February. I was in Weilimdorf again, but only had time for a 40 minute walk between work and an invitation to a meal from work at an Italian restaurant close to the office. My short walk was in a housing area just across the road from the industrial estate where I work, and it was new to me. I might go back there and explore a bit further some day.

A few minutes before sunset, and half an hour before I was due at the work dinner.

Thursday (Feb. 9) saw me working from home, allowing me to take full advantage of the afternoon sunshine. I interrupted work for about 2 1/4 hours and enjoyed every minute of my walk. 

When my Mum gave me this bunch of daffodils on Monday, they were just firmly closed buds. By Thursday, they were greeting me cheerfully every time I walked into the kitchen.

The same afternoon, my sister went to the cemetery and placed a potted primrose under my Dad's and friend R's bird markers.

It was an early start on Friday, the 10th of February, as I had to take two trains to Weilimdorf for the third time this week - but today, not to the office. Instead, my boss and I held a meeting of our regional group of Data Protection Officers. Our Stuttgart group counts around 75 members now, with usually about 20 attending the meetings. This time, almost half of the members joined in; it was good to see them all, catch up and exchange knowledge and ideas.

Good job I had set off from home really early - the local trains were not running, or running late, or running from a different platform than usual, or ending where they usually don't end, and so on. Still, I made it to the meeting in time, but was glad for the lift home my boss gave me afterwards.

Here is where we met, with a fine view of the sunlit hill "Grüner Heiner" ("Green Henry") at one end of the industrial estate where I work.

The open laptop computer you can see on the table in the far right corner is mine.

We had breakfast and our afternoon coffees and snacks in the adjacent room with a beautiful roof terrace - but it was too cold to go out, unless you were desperate for a fag.

Because I knew it was going to be a long and exhausting day, I was only travelling to O.K.'s on the Saturday, not the Friday evening. The day had been beautiful and sunny once more, but I did not have the opportunity for a walk.

Next up will be either one or two book reviews or my post about the weekend.