Last week was cold, as can be expected mid-January in these parts. Some nights and days were icy, and Wednesday was particularly so: An icy rain turned the roads and pavements in my area into glassy surfaces, causing hundreds of accidents over the course of the morning, with people on foot or bikes falling left, right and centre, and cars crashing into each other or against walls and fences everywhere. Rescue services, medical staff and the police were kept busy, and there is still a backlog on related operations in many hospitals.
Monday (13 January) started at a wintery -7C/19F, but it was a sunny day and would have been great for a walk, had it not been so bitingly cold. I was out twice for a short time, first to stock up on groceries and then for my regular back and shoulders massage at the day spa, which is only about 5 minutes on foot from my house.
It was also Full Moon, and the large silvery orb appeared at the roof of my neighbours' house before sunset. Can you spot it?
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| After sunset, it was of course a lot easier to see! |
The weather was more or less the same on Tuesday (14 January). I was glad to be working from home, just like the day before, and only left the house after work to help my Mum with her putting away most of her Christmas decorations. Of course I stayed for a delicious home-cooked meal: A perfectly shaped cauliflower baked in the oven, accompanied by spuds and sausages.
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| The moon lit my way home from Mum's, as bright as the street lights. |
On Wednesday (15 January), the aforementioned icy rain made getting to work really tricky. The right thing to do would have been to stay home, but it was my regular office day with two "big" meetings that I wanted to attend in person and not online, and so I stubbornly left the house, wearing a pair of boots with good profile.
Well, when you walk on mirror-like surfaces, you can have the best profiled soles in the world - they are no use when there is nothing for them to grip on. And it was exactly like that. I very, very carefully dragged myself along on fences, garden walls and lamp posts, but every time I had to cross a street, there was of course nothing to hold on to. What is usually a quick walk to the station took me three times as long, and at one point, two young gentlemen helped me to safely cross the road - I can tell you, I really felt OLD at that moment, but they were very kind about it, and I was most grateful!
At the station, nothing had been done to make the platform safer, but most people were sensible and climbed on and off the trains with caution. Those who didn't usually landed on their behinds, but I didn't witness any bad falls and eventually made it to work in one piece. I was completely exhausted and had not even started work yet!
Of course everyone who did come to the office that day (half of my colleagues wisely stayed home) shared their "icy" stories. Fortunately, by the time I left work, the ice had gone.
Thursday (16 January) is partly covered in my previous post. I was glad to be working from home and for the chance to go walking for a couple of hours after three walkless days.
On Friday (17 January) after work and a quick round of cleaning, I went to my Mum's to set up a new IKEA coffee table for her. If you have been reading my blog for a while, you may recall that I actually like setting up IKEA furniture and usually don't have any trouble with it.
This time, all went well, too - until the very last part... two drawers (which were super easy to put together) needed to be inserted into the corpus of the coffee table, while having to match holes in the drawers' back and side walls with hooks and bolts on the telescope-like metal bars. I perfectly understood what had to go where, and with some faffing (and my sister's help) was able to put the drawers in as they were supposed to be, but their fronts wouldn't fit as expected. A screw underneath each drawer that was meant to be turned to adjust the height of each drawer simply would not budge, no matter how much we tried. In the end we gave up, and my Mum had a friend look at it, who managed to complete the task on Sunday. I regarded this as a personal failure and was glad to hear that Mum's friend did not have to dismantle anything (meaning I had not done anything wrong); without knowing in detail what he actually did, I suppose it was a question of strength, which I don't have.
Anyway, I had another good meal with my Mum, a nice, thick, hot vegetable soup, before going home.
O.K. and I spent the weekend seperately again, because his Mum was in hospital for surgery (all went well, I am happy to report) and he was looking after her cat, and of course he wanted to stay close just in case, not be 150 km away.
Saturday (18 January) saw me finally cleaning my windows - always a job I leave until I really can't stand it any longer. I don't mind house work at all, but windows are a truly unloved task for me. It's a bit like doing my taxes; when I finally kick myself into action, it doesn't take all that long and really is not much trouble at all, but the sheer thought of it keeps me untypically postponing the task.
Late afternoon, I walked to the station where I was to meet my sister for a meal and then to take a local train into Stuttgart; she had given me concert tickets for Christmas. I was in for a big surprise, and will tell you more about that in an extra post.
Sunday (19 January) lived up to its name with wall to wall sunshine, but it was cold at -5C/23F in the morning and barely reaching 3C/37F during the day.
A quiet morning was followed by a lunchtime walk with my sister. We chose the palace grounds and then went for a meal at a café in town which we both like.
The week ended talking to O.K. on the phone, watching the news and then something on Netflix, and finishing a book I have really been enjoying.
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