Read in 2021 - 19: Christmas Tree Land

Although I finished this free ebook in the first days of 2022, most of it I read in 2021, and so it counts for that year and not for this.

When I downloaded "Christmas Tree Land" by Mary Louisa Molesworth, I expected a a sweetly old-fashioned Christmas tale. And sweetly old-fashioned it was, but Christmas only happens in the very last part.

Rollo and Maia are siblings who have lost their mother and are sent to live with an elderly spinster relative for a while, far away from home in a fictitious middle-European country, while their father has other things to do.

The elderly relative lives in the ancestral castle in the middle of dense coniferous woods, and to the children, it seems like a forest of Christmas trees.

They can't wait to go and explore the woods, and are indeed allowed a walk outside the castle walls with their nanny. The latter is happy to rest under a tree while the children play, and soon falls asleep. In the meantime, Rollo and Maia discover a small cottage in the woods...

The fairy-tale like story is one I would have loved as a child. I still enjoyed it for its writing style, and although I did not care all that much for Maia and Rollo (knowing from the start that all was going to go well for them, and especially Maia getting on my nerves sometimes), their adventures were a bit of innocent fun to keep me company on the train rides going back and forth between my place and O.K.'s.

My edition was a free ebook from the Kindle shop with no illustrations, but I found some online.

Originally published in 1884 or 1886 (according to various sources), this was one of many childrens books by Mrs Molesworth. She lived from 1839 to 1921 and has been called the "Jane Austen of the nursery", although she wrote novels for adults as well, sometimes under different pen names. Her wikipedia entry is here. Almost ten years ago, I read another book by this author. You can find my review here. Back then, my quick research did not turn up much about the author, but now I have find more detailed information about her life here - well worth reading, I think.

Second Hike in 2022

This year's 2nd hike had the same destination as the 1st one in 2020 - the Moosturm, or "moss tower", a viewing tower on top of a Black Forest mountain called Moos. Maybe you remember having seen this tower before on my blog, and you are right; it has featured a few times, for instance here.

Unlike our usual circuit when we hike to the Moos, we came from a different direction, as suggested in a booklet I keep in my bedside cabinet at O.K.'s. That booklet has already provided us with several good ideas for hikes and walks, and there's still plenty we have not "done" yet.

The starting point was about half an hour's drive from the village, on a parking lot for hikers and walkers called Moosbach (moss beck).

Skeleton of a dead fir

The ascent from there felt gentler and different from our usual one, and took us past the Lothar memorial (more about that in the same post linked to above). We stopped there for the view before walking the short distance to the Moosturm, and then climbed the tower.

It was so windy up there that we did not stay - I really just poked my head out of the staircase, took one single picture and went back down again.

The only picture I took from the top of the tower.

After we had our packed lunch on a stone bench a little further down the hill from the tower in order to escape the worst of the wind, we walked on as the tour from the booklet suggested.

Windswept me!

Next stop was the Kornebene, a guest house run by the Friends of Nature, a Germany-wide association. Had it been open, we might have bought coffee there, but everything was shut - probably as much due to the pandemic as to it still being only the 3rd of January and many of the volunteers being on holiday.

A surprise awaited us near the end of the 10.1 km circuit: This B&B run by two Englishmen (or by a half German-half English couple, we're not sure) advertises and sells David Austin roses, very popular in the UK! How this connection with a relatively remote Black Forest place came about is a mystery to me. Even now in winter, the place looked nice and well cared for; in spring and summer, the garden must be gorgeous. 

Like with our first hike of the year, we were home in time for coffee and cake, and spent the evening resting, reading, having a delicious meal of pasta and wine and watching a (new to us) episode of Midsomer Murders.

Read in 2021 - 18: Sleigh Bells in the Snow

Years ago, my sister and I were in Ripon for our annual Yorkshire Holiday. It must have been July or August, high summer anyway. As usual, my mother-in-law had put aside a pile of paperbacks for me to choose from and take home with me. I was into seasonal reading at the time, and chose two or three Christmas-themed books. This was one of them.

Sarah Morgan's "Sleigh Bells in the Snow" was published in 2013, pre-Covid times that now seem so different and far away from the present.

The story offers no surprises: Girl meets boy, falls in love almost instantly but has to overcome obstacles that seem insurmountable; in the end, it all pans out very nicely and exactly as expected.

In this case, Kayla hates Christmas - not because she is a modern incarnation of Ebenezer Scrooge, but because when she was 13 years old, she had a traumatising experience at Christmas. Ever since, she has worked hard to become independent from all family (and other) ties, and has made a successful career for herself.

Something that starts out as a work assignment, ideal for Kayla to escape all the Christmas fuss in the big city, quickly turns into a nightmare when she discovers that her new client's place and his family are heavily into all things Christmas. But it takes the super-gorgeous client, his grumpy granddad, warm-hearted mother, adorable puppy and a cast of other characters not long to change Kayla's outlook and attitude... for good.

I must say that I was not overly impressed with the writing style, but that's clearly not what the author was aiming for anyway. The whole thing is designed to provide a little escapism and easy entertainment, and it delivers on both accounts.

Not something I would spend any money on, but not a total waste of time, either - mainly because I read nearly all of it while cat-sitting, with sweet Hobbes on my lap and nothing else to do. It was my second (and probably my last) book by Sarah Morgan; you can find the review for the first one here.

First Hike in 2022

Sunday, the 2nd of January, saw us out on our first hike of the year. We were lucky in that the weather was not as wet as we‘d feared, and at 12C it was rather warm for the time of year.

We had packed our usual array of food and water in our rucksacks, plus extra bits of warm clothing (which we did not need).

I love it when we start straight from the cottage front door, without driving first, although I also enjoy those drives past typical Black Forest farms and villages to reach the starting point of a particular circuit. It is just that I can‘t help seeing the contradiction of wanting to enjoy clean air and nature, but using the worst kind of transport to get there.

Back to our hike: We walked on familiar paths, and I name the various stations along our route more for the sake of my own memory than for you - most of my readers will not know those places anyway.

Leaving the village by way of the Hohlweg and passing through the small communal wood (called Hohhölzle), we walked downhill and crossed the road towards Nächstenbach, a parking lot meant for walkers, with information boards and maps.

From there, it was uphill (not too strenuously) for a while until we reached the Sägereck hut, where we sat down for a few minutes to have a sip of water.

I know I have posted picture of this particular place before, and even of the inside of the hut. You should be able to find it by typing Sägereck in the search bar in the top left corner of my blog.

From there, we walked on the ridge of the chain of hills, on the path fittingly named Kammweg (meaning ridge way) to the next hut called Barack. A large group of people were alredy gathered there, lighting a fire and having a noisy BBQ. Good for them, but we chose a bench and table away from the crowd and sat down for our packed lunch. Just as we started to eat, a former colleague of O.K.‘s (now retired) and his wife came walking up the path. Of course they stopped for a chat, which was nice, but it made our break much longer than expected, and by the time they left and we finished eating, we were both very ready to move on; even at 12C, when you just sit there and the relative strong wind blows about you, it does get rather chilly.

Next along our route we passed the third and last hut, called Handwerker-Hütte. No stop there, as it was full of families with children, and we wanted to keep walking anyway.

From there, a gentle downhill path leads out of the woods and to the edge of Diersburg, a village next to O.K.‘s which I have frequently mentioned on here.

We just skirted the last row of houses on our way across the road, then over fields and through orchards, before reaching Hofweier again.

The last of these pictures was taken just after 4:00 pm - time to go home before it was going to be too dark to walk the unlit paths. Also, by this time, we were looking forward to mugs of coffee.

All in all, we were out for about three hours. A good start into another year with hopefully many more walks and hikes.

The Last and First Days

Of course, it is all man-made, this end of one year and start of another, but that does not stop me from liking this particular time of year and enjoying the quiet transition from December to January.

Somehow, the week between Christmas and New Year passed very quickly, without me doing all that much apart from looking after Hobbes every day, meeting an old school friend for a lunchtime walk, and a trip to Stuttgart with my sister, where we met a couple of friends of hers for lunch.

On New Year‘s Eve, O.K. arrived in time for a walk to catch the beautiful late afternoon sun across the fields.

We were at my sister‘s at 7:30 pm and set everything up for our Raclette. The table was hardly big enough to hold all the delicious things we had put together, and that was just for the three of us!

By midnight, we were ready to clink glasses of sparkling wine and watch what little sparkling in the clear nightly sky there was to be - and were amazed to see that there was quite an impressive and beautiful display over the town. For the second year in a row, no fireworks have been legally sold here, but of course those who want them will always find ways to have them nonetheless.

New Year‘s Day saw us getting up early enough for me to manage about half an hour with Hobbes (our good-bye cuddle) and packing my suitcase for the next days. We had coffee with my parents and then set off for the 150 km drive to the village, where we joined O.K.‘s family for their traditional New Year‘s meal. 

This week has been unseasonably warm so far, but the spring-like mild weather is going to end tonight. By tomorrow, what is currently coming down as rain could easily be snow. A strong wind is blowing, and we have been having the lights on all day because it is so dark and grey outside. We still managed a quick walk around the village earlier today, though. These last three pictures were taken during that walk, at about half an hour before midday:

On both Sunday and Monday, we took advantage of the good weather and went hiking. Those hikes will have their own posts, though.

Done and Dusted

Well, not yet, not quite. Christmas itself may be over, but "dusted" it will only be for me once I have put away the decoration and cards, and will indeed have dusted the cabinets and shelves.

It was a beautiful Christmas Eve with my family. My Dad is better than he was this time last year - he even made his famous spuds salad (click here for the recipe). Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while may remember that for us, Christmas Eve is the most important part of Christmas, and our traditional meal consists of Wiener sausages and spuds salad.

The tree was beautifully decorated by my Mum and my sister. I must admit my contribution to the entire evening consisted in little more than opening a bottle of sparkling wine and clearing the table after our meal; all day, I had been busy at home, with about an hour in between to look after Hobbes.

Next year, I want to have more time before Christmas, not working right up to it, leaving me to press all household work etc. into Christmas Eve itself.

On the 25th, I got up early and was with Hobbes a few minutes after 7:00. I made sure he had everything he needed and his toilet was fresh and clean. Back home, I showered, dressed, packed my little suitcase and the presents for O.K. and left the house at 9:00.

My three trains were more or less on time, and O.K. picked me up at the station as planned. We even had enough time to drive back to the village, leave my suitcase in the cottage and freshen up a bit. O.K.'s parents joined us for the short drive to where his sister and her husband live. They had invited us for a festive Christmas dinner at their beautiful home. We ate, drank and were merry, and of course took the family group portrait of the six of us, just like we have been doing for the past five years. It is fun to look at the group portraits of former years and see how much (or not) we have changed over time.

On the 26th, more rain was forecast, but O.K. and I managed a good walk around the village before it rained again in the course of the afternoon and for most of the evening and night. We spent the day reading, resting and watching TV and were happy with a meal of cheese, bread, wine and salad in the evening.

O.K. has to work this week, so yesterday (Monday, the 27th), he took me to the train station at 7:00 for me to catch my usual Monday morning train. The train was delayed by about 20 minutes because the doors would not open! This happened again during one of the stops on our way to Stuttgart, but in the end, I arrived at my flat only about 15 minutes later than usual. And it wouldn't really have mattered, had I arrived later, because I am on holiday!!!

I love watching the morning sky on those early Monday morning train rides, but it is nearly impossible to take a good picture of the sunrise over the Black Forest hills when one is rusing past at breakneck speed, plus the reflection of the window.

After unpacking and doing a quick food shop, I went to Hobbes. He was fine, but happy to have company after having spent two nights and one entire day all on his own. I sat on the settee with him for almost an hour, reading, and he slept on my lap for a while, before I had to go to keep my appointment at the Vaccination Centre just up the road from where I live.

I had to queue at check-in, and then again to get my booster jab, but that was nothing out of the ordinary. Then I had to queue again in order to get my certificate with the QR code. And that last queue just did not move. We could see from where we were standing that the people at the six or eight computer desks were rushing from one desk to the other. Something was clearly wrong. Then, a technician appeared. About five minutes later, another technician joined him. 

One lady came to the head of our queue and advised us to sit in the waiting area, because "this could take a little while". With some sighing and shuffling, we all made it to the white plastic chairs in the waiting area. I pulled out my book (still in my bag from my Hobbes visit) and read for 10 minutes, until the lady appeared again. This time, she told us we could leave our paperwork with her and just the keep the provisorial proof of vaccination, go to a pharmacy and have a certificate with QR code printed there. 

More sighing and some grumbling ensued from the waiting crowd, but I just put my book back in my bag and walked to a nearby pharmacy, where it took all but two minutes to have the code generated and the certificate printed. After that, I went home to have a well deserved cup of coffee and some Christmas cookies.

I slept reasonably well but am feeling a little off colour today. My left arm hurts, like it did after the first two jabs, but I am confident that by tomorrow, I will be as good as new :-)

Next Stop: Christmas!

Here is my little red London bus, on the way to its next stop: Christmas! 

Today is my last working day for this year; I will only pick up work again on the 10th of January. Two weeks off - such luxury, and so very welcome! 

And tomorrow is Christmas Eve, with my schedule looking like this: 1) Only get up when you've slept enough and are ready. 2) Open last door of Advent Calendar; Coffee; shower; dress. 3) Iron Thursday's washing. 4) Dust, hoover and wipe. 5) Wrap gifts. 6) Visit Hobbes (see further down). 7) Ring Mary (my mother-in-law in Yorkshire). 8) Put gifts in large bag and/or rucksack and walk to my parents'. 9) Celebrate Christmas Eve with parents, sister and friend.

I guess there will be a quick sandwich somewhere between 5) and 6), and probably a mug of coffee at around 7). It will be a busy day, but all at my own pace, not dictated by meeting schedules and calls from clients. Somehow, I find it hard to believe that Christmas is really already here again.

Most of December has been grey and wet here, but we have enjoyed the odd sunny day in between. Last Friday was such a day, and my sister and I met for a lunch break walk. And although I have been walking every day, it just felt so much better under a blue sky:

Another day, we met up after work for some errands and a walk in town. You already know that once again, we have no Christmas Market this year, in spite of the square being all lit up. Imagine our surprise when we rounded a corner at one of the two churches and saw - a stall!!! We were quite excited, wondering what they were selling - until we came closer and spotted the sign and saw the person behind the counter. 

Turning a Christmas market stall into a Covid testing station is symbolic for this entire 2021 Christmas season.

Remember what 6) on tomorrow's plan is? Meet Hobbes:

Hobbes is 17 years old and the last remaining of originally three feline siblings living with my American friends V and G. V has been my running partner for many years, and both of them have been part of my pub quiz team for just as long. A week ago, they have packed their suitcases and their two little girls and travelled to the US to be with their families for the holidays. 

They live only 5 minutes away from me, and so I have been walking over there every day since they have left. I place all their mail (and there is plenty) on the dining table, feed Hobbes, clean his toilet and take a quick tour of the ground floor flat, making sure all is in order. Then I take my paperback out and sit on the settee for a while. And although Hobbes allowed me to stroke him from the first day, it took until Day Four before he jumped up on my lap and settled for a good long cuddle. 

It is nice to look after a cat for a while. We have had cats living with us almost as long as I can remember, but since my last one died of old age in 2013, I have been without a pet. And to be honest - opening the smelly cat food and cleaning the smelly cat toilet reminds me of the few things that are not so nice about having a cat. Also, my clothes have not been full of cat hairs in a long time, and I need to replenish my sticky roller thing for cleaning up; after all, I will be visiting Hobbes until New Year's Eve.

The last set of pictures were sent to me yesterday from O.K. He started and finished work early enough to catch a bit of daylight and a beautiful sunset. It had been a frosty night and day with temperatures around -6C in the morning, and everything was covered in glittering frost, looking very beautiful:

I don't think I will have the time to write another post tomorrow, therefore let me now wish you all Merry Christmas today! May you and your loved ones all be safe and well. Thank you for sticking with me another year, reading and commenting on my blog.