Last of September, First of October

Last week saw the transition from September to October, which to me means from early autumn into autumn proper, with little left to remind us of summer.

On Monday (29 September), I worked from home and as is often the case that day, went for a massage at the nearby Day Spa around lunch time. After work I went for a walk to Asperg and back via Eglosheim, catching what I could of the evening light.

Friendly cat I met along the way - even jumping on my knees for a cuddle!

It was another day working from home on Tuesday (30 September), and also the first time this season that my team and I were booked for the Pub Quiz at "our" Irish Pub. The quiz is held every Tuesday, but we rarely play more than once a month - it can be hard to get the group together, with everyone being busy one way or another.

I am pleased to tell you that we came 2nd, in spite of two who were supposed to join us dropping out only one or two hours before the quiz. Funnily enough, during the afternoon I reached a stage where I thought I might have to drop out, since a headache I had woken up with simply wouldn't budge, and I had a sneezing attack that left me quite exhausted. But I made it to the pub, and amazingly, amidst the noise and bustle I felt perfectly alright again. (I self-tested for Covid; negative.)

Wednesday (1st of October) was spent at the office in Weilimdorf. The day was sunny and beautiful, but chilly at only 6C/43F in the morning and 15C/59F by the time I left work. I got off the train in Kornwestheim and walked to my Mum's from there, which was really nice, as was the evening spent with her.

A foggy morning; 8:00 as seen from my kitchen window.

Between Kornwestheim and Ludwigsburg

It was even colder on Thursday (2nd October) morning at 4C/39F, but warmed up once again with the sun shining all day. It was perfect walking weather for my way home from the office, and even though I had an appointment at my place and needed to be back at a certain time, I got off the train at Zuffenhausen and walked from there.

Just about to reach Ludwigsburg.

The younger of the two brothers who co-own the house with me (I own the middle flat, the younger brother owns the attic flat, and the older brother owns the ground floor and basement flats) came to discuss a matter and have some documents he needs to copy. He is a very pleasant man, and it is nice talking to him - can't say the same about his older brother! 

The 3rd of October is a public holiday here, celebrating the reunion of East and West Germany, and so I didn't have to work on Friday.

Instead, I did my usual weekly cleaning and ironing in the morning, and then took three trains to Offenburg, where O.K. picked me up at the station. From there, he drove us directly to his sister's and her husband's, as we were invited there to celebrate the husband's birthday. The food was very nice (it always is with them!), as was seeing the family again; I had not been to O.K.'s since well before our recent holiday.

Saturday (4 October) was the warmest day of the week at close to 20C/68F, but it was very windy to the point of stormy, and rain was in the making.

We wisely went for a good walk of about 11.5 km in the morning, and indeed were caught in the rain during the last 15 minutes or so before reaching the cottage again. (We kept clear of the woods, not wanting to risk having any branches or entire trees fall on us with the storm.)

From the pictures you can tell that the sky was changing very rapidly, thanks to the strong wind:

neighbouring village

View of O.K.'s village

The afternoon was spent resting and reading, and later we enjoyed bread, cheese, salad and wine - usually our staple meal on a Friday night to ring in the weekend, but this week on a Saturday because of yesterday's birthday party.

The storm kept on, even bringing thunder and lightning while we were eating.

Another relaxed day followed on Sunday (5 October), mainly because it was raining on and off and still very windy, although not quite as stormy as the day before. Nonetheless, we were able to walk for almost an hour around the village before the rain drove us back to the cottage.

For our Sunday evening meal, we had leftover spudsalad from Friday's party.

Although it had been only a short working week of four days, the relaxing weekend was quite welcome.