A Week of Respite

Last week was a very welcome respite of the previous week's record heat. In the early hours of Wednesday a thunderstorm brought some rain, and for the first time in about two weeks the thermometer reached below 20C/68F during the night.

The lowest we had was around 11-13C/52-55F before sunrise on Saturday morning - so chilly that I actually had to wear a long-sleeved zip-up over my nightdress for our morning coffee on the balcony!

Monday (29 June) already was and felt much cooler than the weekend had been, at a max of 29C/84F during the day. There were about ten drops of rain in the morning and some wind, which added to the relief. For the first time since the last heatwave had begun, I felt like walking to Benningen after work, and although it was still warm enough for me to break out a sweat, that was fine - it IS summer after all, and it's perfectly legitimate to sweat on a warm, sunny day.

A slightly apocalyptic scene

On the way to Benningen

Sunset from my Third Room

The moon, as seen from my bedroom. In reality, it was much larger and golden, almost like the sun.

The moon, as seen from my sister#s flat.

The thermometer was hovering around the 30C/86F mark again on Tuesday (30 June), but it was bearable in my north-facing Third Room, where I sit when I work from home.

I went to my Mum's after work, and she had prepared a delicious fresh salad for us.

The above mentioned thunderstorm arrived at 2:00 am on Wednesday (1st of July), bringing rain & relief. We still need a lot more rain, but it was at least a bit of a freshener for a couple of hours or so.

I worked at the office in Weilimdorf and enjoyed my walk home from Zuffenhausen.

Thursday (2 July) was wonderfully fresh in the morning at 16C/60F. Of course, each and every window in my flat had been wide open all night, and for the first time I used the thin summer duvet for the night and not just bed sheets.

It was sunny and warm again during the day but remained below 30C/86F. My sister and I met after work for an ice cream, a brief visit at the city museum and a leisurely stroll in the palace grounds before relaxing over a Limoncello Spritz at the open-air bar in the abandoned industrial complex by the train station.

Temperature-wise, Friday (3 July) was the "best" day of the week, with a low of 15C/59F and high of 25C/77F - a perfect summer day; lovely but not too hot.

I worked from home, did my usual cleaning etc., and late afternoon/early evening made the usual train trip to Offenburg where O.K. picked me up and drove us to the village.

On Saturday (4 July), O.K. spent most of the day gardening around his Mum's house while I made sure to do the ironing early, as long as it was not hot yet, and then made our late breakfast of fresh fruit and cold joghurt which we had on the balcony.

A man from our wider circle of friends/acquaintances is moving to a different part of Germany and had invited everyone to a good-bye garden party, and we went there briefly to hand over a little something and wish him all the best for the next chapter in his life.

We were back in time for my sister-in-law and her husband to pick us up for the short drive to the next village, where they had booked a table at a pizzeria for a family meal. We had a table in the shady garden and enjoyed our food, drinks and conversation.

O.K. and I had to be up early on Sunday (5 July). The three villages forming an administrative unit were holding a "Wandertag" (hiking day), with a designated route of about 12 km taking in all three villages and the beautiful countryside in between. 

Along the route, various clubs and associations from the three villages had set up stalls where they offered snacks and drinks to the walkers and hikers, and some (like us, the village band) also had live music playing.

The event officially started at 10:00 am, and we arrived at our spot at 8:00 am to set up everything. Most important were our pavilions so that people could sit in the shade - it was going to be another mostly sunny day at around 30C/86F.

We who worked at the stall were also glad of the shade!

Around 7:45 on Sunday morning, walking from the village to where our stall was to be.

Setting up finished, with not much time to spare before the official start.

The view from our spot along the route

After our not too busy shift ended at noon, O.K. and I walked most of the official route, stopping for something to eat at one place and for drinks at three different places. It was all rather nice and low-key, and of course we "ran" into several friends and acquaintances.

Storks in their nests on top of buildings are a common sight in the villages here.

Along the route

A particularly picturesque place is this old winery and mansion.

I love this tiny attic window - I imagine a fairytale character living up there!

By mid-afternoon, very dark clouds were gathering, and it was hard to tell where the rain they carried was going to come down. Luckily for us and everyone else who was still out and about on the hike or working along the route, the rain did not hit us - on the other hand, O.K.'s area needs rain just as much as where I live.

Anyway, we made it home dusty and exhausted and rested for about an hour before we could muster enough energy to cross the street to see my mother-in-law and tell her what the day had been like.

O.K. and I ended the day - and the week - enjoying refreshing drinks and a plate of light cold snacks on the balcony in the calm evening light.

Read in 2026 - 19: Standard Deviation

Standard Deviation

by Katherine Heiny

Until my book-swapping friend A. lent me this paperback, I'd never heard of the book or the author, but I'm glad she included it with the pile of books she brought last time, because I enjoyed it.

Graham and Audra live in New York with their son Matthew. On the surface, they have rather ordinary, typical modern lives: Both of them work (Audra from home), their son goes to school (he has Asperger's), and they divide their spare time between doing things as a family or with friends. Husband and wife enjoy a glass of wine in the evening, Graham is a great cook and Audra a great networker - she talks to anyone and everone about anything and everything, and remembers details about even the most remote acquaintances AND their children's friends.

But things are not quite so ordinary as they appear. (Are they ever?)

Audra is Graham's second wife; he left his first wife for her. Elspeth was the complete opposite of Audra: Cool, composed, logical-minded, elegant, quiet. Audra is bubbly, passionate, emotional and has little (if any) social inhibitions. 

The divorce from Elspeth wasn't amicable, and Graham has not been in touch with her for years until one day there is a request to meet her when an elderly aunt dies and leaves them both a bequest.

To his surprise, Graham finds Elspeth's coolness and quiet temper soothing, and although he loves Audra and their son, and Elspeth is in a relationship, after a few meetings with both couples, Graham and Elspeth start seeing each other alone at her flat, cooking wonderful meals and slipping into the comfort of the familiarity they once had. Then Elspeth suggests they take things further...

What will Graham do? Risk everything he has with his second wife and son, or reject and hurt his first wife a second time?

And what's Audra been up to, coming out of a hotel all dressed nicely when Graham bumps into her on the street?

There is so, so much more going on in the book. But you can imagine that having a child with Asperger's brings its own challenges, as well as Audra's habit to instantly offer their den as a place to stay to whoever needs to get out of their own place for whatever reason.

Love, friendship, family, trust - it's all there. The characters are fully fleshed out; one of my favourites is Graham's very young, very naive assistant Olivia. Dialogue is never "wooden", and there are some really funny bits while sometimes you don't know whether you want to giggle or roll your eyes or sigh with sadness at the same time.

Katherine Heiny was born in 1968, the same year as I. This was her first novel (published in 2017). You can find out more about her on wikipedia or on her own website.