Three Years, Three Months and Three Days

Three years, three months and three days - that is the exact period of time until my 60th birthday!

I have never had a problem with getting older, or "revealing" my age to people. When I was little, there was a family in our neighbourhood where not even the children knew how old their mother actually was. This changed in later years, and my Mum especially has been to many of this lady's birthdays over the decades. But I remember how silly I found this, since my parents never made such a fuss about their age.

Turning 30 was interesting - it made me feel really good, and I couldn't help but shake my head at how all of a sudden, cosmetics companies sent me adverts for anti-age creams and wrinkles concealers, and my health insurance started sending me a different customer magazine than the one I had received until then.

At 40, I thought I had the coming years neatly mapped out in front of me, and again I had no trouble with that number. Little did I know that 1 1/2 years later, I was going to be widowed, with my life changed forever.

For my 50th birthday, I was happy to be able to rent "my" entire Irish Pub and fill it with my family, friends and neighbours. Shortly afterwards, I had to undergo major eye surgery - partly related to my age.

What am I going to do when I turn 60? What will my life look like then?

Where will I be, job-wise, living-wise, relationship-wise? Actually, I do not expect either my job nor my living arrangements to change, and especially not my relationship - as far as depends on me, O.K. is my "forever" man.

Of course nobody really knows what the future will bring. 

Much like the rest of the world, Germany is undergoing rapid and radical changes that impact our daily lives. The company I work for could cease to exist or need to lay me off before I reach retirement age (currently 67 for me). My health could suffer, making me unable to keep a full time job or go for my beloved walks and hikes. O.K. could decide he's had enough of me. Political unrest and economy crisis could lead to dangerous circumstances beyond my control. Climate conditions could create  problems in the area where I live.

The list is long and scary, but although I am realistic enough to know that all of this is possible, my general outlook is optimistic and hopeful where my personal future is concerned.

I'll stick to doing what is good for me for as long as I can. This sounds egoistical, but it makes sense - I can't be of any use to anyone, be it in my family, circle of friends or at work, when I'm not well and my life is off balanced.

Therefore, here's to turning 60 in three years, three months and three days!

A Grey Week

Last week was almost entirely grey - the sky, that is. Life itself was as colourful as always, but a solid grey lid above our heads would not budge except for a couple of hours on Saturday and Sunday (and is firmly in place again as I am typing this).

The only substantial walk I managed was on Monday (9 December) mid-afternoon to Benningen, under grey skies and with relatively strong winds blowing across the fields. Still, the walk did me good, and I was able to work productively before and after. 

During my lunch break, I went to post the bulk of my Christmas cards for a sum of close to 17 euros in postage. But maintaining friendships across the miles is worth every cent, I believe.

Tuesday (10 December) saw me working from home and only leaving the house for a quick shop at the nearby Aldi, which amounted to a 5-minute walk there and back.

Unlike usual working weeks, I did not go to the office on Wednesday (11 December) but worked from home. Afterwards, my Mum, my sister and I met to visit the Christmas market together. We enjoyed our traditional food and drinks, and a look around. Also, I bought two packs of Christmas cards for next year, having used up almost all my stock for this year.

A day at the office in Weilimdorf followed on Thursday (12 December). And just like on Thursday the week before, once again the power went off early afternoon! This time, there was no fire alarm, but the majority of us still decided to leave and either take the rest of the afternoon off or continue work from home, since we simply can not do anything without electricity.

At least one person got stuck in the lift when the outtage happened - I am glad it wasn't me! I hardly ever use the lift in our building, unless I have to carry something heavy or awkward, which happens very rarely.

We learned the next day that the previous week's repair had been done only provisionally, not meant to last for more than about two weeks, when a proper, more thorough repair was scheduled. Well, the makeshift repair lasted exactly one week... the proper repair was rescheduled, and I hope that when I return to the office tomorrow, we'll be able to put in a full day's worth of work with no unforeseen interruption!

Friday (13 December) was busy without being stressful. I worked, got a hair cut, went to Aldi for some groceries for the weekend, did my weekly cleaning and ran an errand in town.

For the 2nd weekend in a row, I was home on my own, due to O.K.'s Christmas do from work on Friday evening and me and my Mum attending a concert on Sunday afternoon.

It made things more relaxed that way, and of course O.K. and I spoke on the phone every day.

On Saturday (14 December), for the first time that week the sun put in an appearance! It lit the paper stars in my bedroom window up nicely, and lasted all of two hours... Still, better than nothing :-)

Around lunch time, my sister and I met up at the Christmas market with our volunteer group. We had a good chinwag and of course something to eat and drink. One couple came with their two children. Their daughter is 4, and their son was born this autumn. It was a joy to watch little Frida on the old-fashioned roundabout!

Back home, I spent part of the afternoon putting up my battered old Christmas tree, something I really enjoyed.

The sun was back for another 1 1/2 hours or so on Sunday (15 December), enticing me for a walk of just about an hour; I wanted to be back in time for the young lady who cleans our staircase and around the house once a week. We had a nice chat before she set to work; it is always good to talk to her.

I met this cat who was VERY into being cuddled and played with!

I left the house again just after 3:00 pm and walked to the bus stop opposite the palace grounds, waiting for my Mum. 

Like we've done over the past few years, we were going to the Christmas/Advent Sing-Along concert, something we really love.

It was a beautiful concert, uplifting and touching, with six choirs and a full orchestra on stage. The choirs take turns in performing, and for every other song, the audience are encouraged to join in.

It is quite an experience when around 350 people on stage plus the entire audience of well over 1,000 join their voices and musical instruments to sing Christmas songs! (I don't know how many were there exactly, but the tickets had been sold out 3 weeks before the event.)

The stage with the 6 choirs and orchestra, as seen from our seats.

We went back to my Mum's afterwards for a drink and to review the beautiful evening we'd had together.

Once I was home, I lit the three candles on my Advent wreath and sat down with a book in front of my Christmas tree.

Read in 2024 - 30: A Christmas Journey

A Christmas Journey

Anne Perry

Do you love seasonal reading? I do! It is so nice to read a novel set in summer, when I can enjoy sunny days and cold drinks just like the protagonists in the book, or when their Christmas traditions are described while I am involved in similar activities.

This year, Anne Perry's Christmas Journey signalled the start of my seasonal reading for Christmas.

I have posted several reviews on my blog of her series about Thomas and Charlotte Pitt, set in Victorian London. One recurring and probably much loved character by all readers of the series is Charlotte's elderly great-aunt Vespasia. She often helps with the enquiries, and there is mutual fondness and respect between her and the much younger Pitts.

In this book, we meet Vespasia as a young woman of about 30. She is part of a weekend party at a country house in early December. Among the guests are two young widows, both eager to remarry, and two eligible daughters of a wealthy couple. Their host has invited an equal number of bachelors and widowers, and everybody expects at least one or two announcements of engagement before the weekend is over and they all part ways.

However, things do not go as planned. Although romantic interests soon become obvious, a tragic death occurs, with one of the young widows accused of being responsible for having triggered the suicide.

The consequences are drastic, but the gracious and wise host of the party suggests a way for the accused woman to redeem herself: A journey of expiation.

Vespasia offers to accompany her friend, and the two ladies set out on what proves to become a journey that is as difficult as it is finally rewarding.

I enjoyed this book very much, and it is entirely fitting for Christmas - not in a kitschy way with glittering baubles and surprise visits from Santa, but in that it touches the timeless topics of guilt and forgiveness, love and friendship.

One does not need to know the Pitts series to enjoy the story, but it adds valuable background to those stories.

Read in 2024 - 29: Fuchs 8

Fuchs 8

George Saunders

When I returned from our September Hiking Holiday with a bad cough and wasn't really up to much, my Mum and my sister came visiting one lunch time. My Mum brought home-cooked vegetable soup, and as a get-well-soon gift for me, this beautiful little book in its German version (original title: Fox 8).

I put it on the chest of drawers in my tiny hallway, where it complements the fox-themed bits of decoration I have already in place, among others Neil's painting of Fred Fox, a once regular visitor to his garden until one day he stopped appearing.

Foxes are my favourite animals, and around my home, you'll find them in many places, shapes and sizes.

Fox 8 is part of a group of foxes who live in the woods, happily going about their business. He is curious and likes to observe humans, often sitting underneath their windows so he can hear them talk. That way, he manages to learn their language.

A large shopping mall is planned outside the town, endangering the woods where the foxes live. Fox 8 thinks it should be possible to reason with the humans he feels he has gotten to know quite well, even though he has never had any direct contact with them.

When one day he and his best friend approach the humans working on the construction site for the mall, things take a dramatic turn.

This short book, published in 2018, lives of its peculiar language (Fox 8 may have mastered the human language as such, but he admits to not being a master in spelling and grammar) and of course the wonderful illustrations by Chelsea Cardinal.

It is a work of art, and one that touches the mind and heart as much as the eye. It certainly had that effect on me!

I'd never come across George Saunders before, but if you are interested, his website is here. 

An Advent Week

Last week was busy both at work and afterwards. I had occasion to do many pre-Christmassy things, and enjoyed the seasonal spirit and activities in spite of the busy-ness.

My train trip back home on Monday (2nd December) morning was about to turn into another adventure when all of a sudden the train slowed down and came to halt out in the fields between Karlsruhe and Bruchsal. A slightly panicky female voice came through the loudspeaker, calling for a train attendant with an "F-device" to report immediately in Coach 23.

My coach was 21, and of course we all understood that "F-device" was their code for fire extinguisher. The railway company's policy is probably not to use the word "fire" in an announcement unless absolutely necessary; many passengers would most likely only hear that one word, and start to panic.

Anyway, after a few minutes, the same voice came back, sounding much calmer, and explained that a passenger had been freshening up in the toilet and used a lot of deodorant spray - so much so that the smoke detector went off and triggered the alert.

I still made it home on time, the 10 minute delay not encrocahing too much on my connection in Stuttgart.

The rest of the day I worked from home as usual, and the evening was spent with my volunteer group - the first time we'd met since May, and probably the last time, as we are dissolving this particular gremium for lack of support.

As I had not been home on the 1st Advent Sunday, I lit the 1st candle on the wreath on Monday evening.

I also made sure to switch on the small yellow star my sister gave me some years ago.

Tuesday (3rd December) saw my friend and me go for our customary Tuesday morning walk between work appointments. The morning was sunny, and the weather kept mostly dry except for some rain in the afternoon. 

By 7:00 pm when I was to meet with some of my Pub Quiz team mates at the Christmas Market, the rain had ceased again, and we enjoyed our stroll across the market as well as the food, drink and conversation.

I was back at the Christmas Market on Wednesday (4th December), this time coming directly from the office in Weilimdorf and meeting my sister and a mutual friend. Once again, food, drink and conversation were a delight.

Thursday (5th December) was my second day at the office that week. And like the previous Thursday, once again we had a power outtage, only this time there was no fire alarm. There is no way we can do our work without electricity, and so I, like almost everybody else, headed home. 

Various problems with our local trains meant that it took me a full hour (instead of the 17 minutes according to timetables) to get there.

View from the high platform at Zuffenhausen train station that morning. I change trains there on my way to work.

The morning had been frosty at -3C/26F, but the day was sunny and beautiful until strong winds brought rain in the evening.

I was not having to get ready to take the usual trains to Offenburg on Friday (6th December): O.K. had band practice all weekend, from Friday evening to Sunday lunch time, in preparation for the band's annual concert, and so there was no point of me joining him that weekend.

Also, it was the evening of the "Secret Rubbish Santa" with my girl friends, an annual tradition that has been going on in this particular group of friends for at least 16 years. I love to host that occasion, and it is an evening filled with much laughter, but also room for serious topics to talk about with my friends.

The table is ready for the arrival of the "girls" - and the Toast Hawaii I traditionally serve on this occasion :-)

 

Yours truly with "Ali Baba", part of the rubbish gift I ended up with.

The hand-crocheted coasters were also part of my gift, but the other things you see in the picture weren't. The Matrioshka doll looks very similar to one my sister and I had when we were little, brought home as a souvenir from a trip to the USSR our grandparents undertook in the 1970s.

On Saturday (7th December), I spent the morning writing a stack of Christmas cards and the afternoon baking Christmas cookies with my sister at her place. 

We had a lot of fun, listening to 80s music at full blast, singing along and dancing around the kitchen while at the same time trying to produce decent cookies.

It was a rainy, stormy day and so this was a very good way to spend it.

My sister and I met again on Sunday (8th December), this time at our Mum's for coffee and Christmas cookies, staying on until evening, when we had a meal of spaghetti with a delicious tomato sauce and home-made pesto.

Before that, I went for the only really substantial walk I had managed all week: Two hours on the fields, which are rather bleak this time of year. 

But there is a different kind of beauty in bleakness, I find, and I enjoyed that walk very much, spotting several birds (kestrels, buzzards and herons.

On the way to my Mum's, I briefly  stopped at the cemetery.

There, a woman was also visiting the grave of a beloved person, and she was sobbing, at first unaware of my presence. 

I felt deep sympathy for her, being of course no stranger to grief myself, and for a moment wondered whether I should simply walk up to her and put an arm around her shaking shoulders, not necessarily saying anything. But then I felt it might be too intrusive, and left her alone in her sadness. 

I am still torn between thinking I should have gone to her, and being convinced I did the right thing in not approaching another fellow human being in distress.

Sunset as seen from my Mum's balcony.

My Mum takes seasonal decor to a high level - she even has plates etc. just for this time of year!

The afternoon and evening spent at my Mum's was good, and shortly before 8:00 pm, I was home.

For the rest of the evening, I lit the two candles on my wreath while watching "The Christmas Chronicles Part II" (starring Kurt Russel and Goldie Hawn).

It had been a good 2nd Advent Sunday, the end of a good week.

Read in 2024 - 28: The Bookshop Murder

The Bookshop Murder

An Absolutely Gripping Cozy Mystery (A Flora Steele Mystery, Book 1)

by Merryn Allingham

You know it very well by know, the pattern of these 1st in a series freebies at Amazon's Kindle shop, meant to make the reader buy the rest of the series.

And admittedly, much in this book followed the exact pattern I keep coming across, including the romantic interest between two people who at first have a more or less active dislike for each other.

But "The Bookshop Murder" was different in several ways, last but not least the author's style of writing and well researched 1950s English village setting.

The story was longer than other books of the "Cozy Mystery" genre, without drawing things out unnecessarily. Characters were developed better than in other books. The plot really DID have unexpected twists (and did not only claim so in the blurb), and I was kept guessing for quite a while.

In short, we have the series' heroine, Flora Steele. A young woman, trained librarian (of course that caught my interest), early orphaned and raised by her aunt who owned and ran the village bookshop that Flora has inherited upon her aunt's death.

She is plodding along with the shop, just about making ends meet, when a man is found dead in her bookshop. The police are quick to dismiss the death as by natural courses, but would a young, healthy man just drop dead like this, when he'd broken into the book shop after hours, obviously looking for something?

Add to this that the man was visiting from Australia and related to a family who had been living at the manor, now a hotel, for centuries.

Flora wants to save the bookshop and her livelihood and knows she has to find out what really happens, if she wants her scared customers to return.

Unexpected help turns up in the shape of a famous author...

This book kept me company on many a train trip, and I enjoyed the read. The 1950s setting is credibly painted, and the characters' interactions mostly plausible. I doubt I shall ever buy #2 or more of the series, but it certainly was not a waste of time.

Merryn Allingham has a good website, if you are interested in more of her work or herself. She was new to me, but my first impression of her work was definitely a good one.

Last Week of November

Last week started unseasonably warm and ended suitably cold, with us lighting the first candle on our Advent wreaths and opening the first doors of our Advent calendars.

Monday (25 November) saw the continuation of Sunday's warm and largely sunny weather. I broke up work for about 2 hours in the afternoon for a walk. At about 17C/62F, I needed only my light blue coat, not one of my padded winter coats. When it started to rain in the evening, I was even more glad I had gone walking when I did.

My town's beautiful Christmas Market opened on Tuesday (26 November), but I didn't attend the opening. It is too crowded, and I don't like being shoved about by throngs of people in various states of drunkenness after they've had a mulled wine or four. Still, I caught a first glimpse of the market when I briefly walked across it after work on my way to a few Christmas-related errands.

In the morning, I had been out for the customary hour of walking & talking with my friend. It was sunny again after last night's rain, but not quite as warm as the previous two days.

Wednesday (27 November) was my usual office day. I finished at 5:00 pm, took the usual two trains back to Ludwigsburg and then walked to my Mum's. The three of us (my sister was there, too) enjoyed a chat and a meal, and we helped putting up some more Advent/Christmas decoration. Our Mum wisely does not attempt to climb ladders or stand on chairs to hang stars and baubles from the thick wooden beams running through the ceiling of her open-plan living/dining area, but waits for our help with such small jobs. It is the least we can do.

View from my office on Wednesday

Another office day on Thursday (28 November), but with a very different ending: About 15 minutes before I intended to leave, I was tapping away at my keyboard when all of a sudden first the light in my office went off and then the computer screen went black. Others who were still in the building came out of their doors to report the same, and ten seconds later, the fire alarm went off. The nasty, piercing sound was really clear in its aim to drive us all out of the building, and fast!

By then we were pretty sure that it wasn't an exercise. I was glad that my office is on the 2nd floor from the ground up, so no long, winding staircase to master, just two flights of wide stairs. We could not see flames or smell smoke, and everyone left the building in an orderly manner, gathering at the designated spot on a nearby parking lot.

Since I had already been preparing to leave, my coat and handbag were ready, and once we were outside, I reported to a colleague (the head of our department was away on a conference) and then took my leave.

I rang my colleague the next morning to find out what had happened, and he told me that a transformator in one of the service rooms in the basement of our office building had exploded. Thankfully, the room was secure (for just that reason); nobody was hurt, and no fire broke out. But the fumes from the explosion had been enough to set off the alarm, and most of the building was without electricity for the rest of the evening - nobody was able to go back to work that day. By Friday, everything was restored to normal.

The same view on Thursday.

On Friday (29 November), I spent my lunch break with my sister at the Christmas Market. We ate our beloved Dinnede (click here for an older post with a photo of this delicious food) and did NOT have mulled wine (I am not keen on that, anyway), but stopped at a nearby café where we had coffee and a big slice each of a super delicious carrot cake. It was a sumptuous lunch and a real treat.

I finished work, did my usual cleaning, adding the first bits of Advent decoration, and then spent a quiet evening in front of the TV, watching a rather odd Christmas movie starring John Cleese, Kris Marshall, Elizabeth Hurley and several other well known and less well known actors (clicking on the link will take you to its wikipedia entry). 

In preparation of their upcoming annual concert, O.K. had an evening of extra practice with the village band, which was why I wasn't on a train to Offenburg until the next morning.

Advent wreath created by my Mum.

O.K. and I alternate this Advent calendar village each year. This year it's mine :-)

Saturday (30 November) was sunny and cold at -3C/26F, below freezing. Connections on Saturdays and Sundays between Ludwigsburg and Offenburg are not as good as on Friday evenings, and my trip was made more adventurous when three things happened in a row, all on the same line: 1) A passenger needed medical treatment, 2) there was a technical problem with a track switch and 3) a tree had fallen across the line. 

Saturday morning just before sunrise, view from my kitchen window

It meant that the last of my three trains was running later and later, and I expected it to be cancelled any minute. Therefore, in Karlsruhe I changed to a regional train, and of course I wasn't the only person to have that idea. The train was packed, and I stood for the next hour until I finally arrived in Offenburg with only about half an hour's delay.

It was well into lunch time by then, and so the first thing O.K. and I did after reaching the cottage was having a bite to eat.

Mid-afternoon, we walked down to the village square where a small Advent market had been set up for just that one day. Stalls were mainly selling food and drink, and there was a stage for musicians. O.K. and four other band members donned red Santa hats and played Christmas songs for a bit over an hour - it was beautiful, and very atmospheric, especially as it got dark and the lights came on.

Once the quintett finished and the next band took the stage, we got ourselves something to eat and drink, and stayed until we were getting really cold. Of course it was also a good occasion to chat with fellow band members, neighbours and friends.

An example of Christmas decoration in the village.

Sunday (1st of December) was cold but not below freezing. For the afternoon, along with O.K.'s sister and her husband we were invited to O.K.'s Mum for coffee and cake, and a meal later.

Before that, we took advantage of the dry weather and went for a walk in and around Gengenbach, a small picturesque town about a 15 minute drive from the village.

The sun was out there, unlike at the village, where a solid grey lid of clouds made not attempt to budge.

We walked for little more than an hour before heading back in time to keep our appointment, and spent a nice afternoon and evening with the family.

The Christmas Market in Gengenbach was very well attended on this sunny Sunday afternoon! Good job we only walked across, with no intention of buying anything.

Gengenbach Townhall has 24 windows and is turned into a giant Advent calendar every December.

The chapel on the hill was where we wanted to go.

View across Gengenbach and Black Forest hills from outside the chapel

A shrine to some saint or other at a crossing in the vineyards.

The chapel from a different perspective

 The tree to the left of the dead tree caught my eye.

Zoomed in, it looks almost as if its fruit was hung there as decoration. Beautiful, isn't it, especially against the blue sky.