Stories from the week

I’m trapped in the apartment with the door open. The stairs & hallway have been undergoing renovation. It started in September, with sanding of the stairs. I was hoping it would be finished by the time I got back (Nov 20th!) but noooo. The week before I returned they started on the plaster – plaster dust everywhere! They continued the plaster and finally finished it up last week. This week, our doors and doorsills are being painted. So on Monday and today, the painter came and did prep, patching and painting. And, the door stays slightly open until it all dries. She finished around 11:30 today, so I should be able to close the door soon. The hallway looks wonderful and I’m very happy that the work is just about done. Brushing up against plaster dust or paint sandings dust in a black duvet coat provides unintended comedy for everyone on the train.

Where were we? Oh, up to Monday Nov 28th. I played badminton again. Tuesday was a work around the house kind of day, laundry & grocery shopping. Wednesday, I went on an IWC tour of the city of Dachau. The city is pretty, has been around for 1200 years (they celebrated it this past summer) and people keep suggesting that the city change it names. But, our guide explained, they don’t want what happend to be forgotten. They have just started installing stones in the street, created by an artist, to commemorate a place where a citizen was taken from and hauled off to the camps. Dachau did not have a big Jewish population even well before the war, so she said that 5 stones would be installed in the city. Apparently, this is going on Germany-wide. I’ll take a pic if I come across one, it may be a while as she also said that the city of Munich was not going to do this because they didn’t want people essentially walking on a memorial.

Thursday December 1st was another world-class museum tour, led by Alex. This trip was the Lenbach Haus, and the artist Franz Marc. There was quite a gang of us, maybe 30 in all. Alex had arranged to get the microphone & earpieces, so she could talk in a normal voice & we could all hear here. It was stellar. She knows so much of the background on the artists, and she could tell us about their lives – they were rock stars well before music got electrified – and she points out great details in the work. For example, Franz Marc started off in mostly natural pastel colors in his oils, and water colors, but ended up in electric colors in his own color scheme: "Blue is the male principle, stern and spiritual. Yellow the female principle, gentle, cheerful and sensual. Red is matter, brutal and heavy, and always the color which must be fought and vanquished by the other two.” Franz Marc (1880-1916), German painter of Der Blaue Reiter, in a letter to Auguste Macke.

Alex pointed out one watercolor, done in 1910, where he used the deep red and dark blue straight off the palette, no mixing or tempering. This marked his departure into the deep colors and away from natural colors. She is like a detective, delving into the 'what happened here' behind turning points in an artist's work. So cool.

After the tour, I met Gayle for lunch. She has been doing amazingly well in launching her business. Unlike other people I’ve worked with, she faces the hard stuff & motors through it. For example, she didn’t have set prices for her treatments – Reiki, Aromatherapy Massage, etc. We talked about pricing and when I was gone, she worked up a price list (her partner, Geordie, helped) and put it out there. She had been telling a few people some very low prices, because she just wanted to get out there & start working, but it didn’t take too long to convince her that market rate was what she needed to do. So she did it. And she’s come up with packages, like a Baby Massage class for moms & infants, and a ‘Dolly Treat’s day for little girls. So her work is increasing and I’m cheering as much as I can.

Friday I had to make a trek out of town, to get to the local FedEx office. It had been warmer Thurs night, and froze overnight with ice crystals forming on all the trees. Friday was clear, with bright sun and a high cornflower blue sky. The trees were gorgeous and unreal looking, covered in white that had formed ¼ inch crystals from all the branches. I was glad to be out in it. Got off the train, looked for the bus but didn’t see one, and decided to walk. On the map it showed 3 or 4 blocks to my destination. I got onto the right street, looking for #28 Zepplinstrasse, and I was at #2. Walked & walked, finally came to #4. Walked & walked, my toes starting to get cold, my legs freezing, now I pass #10! It was an industrial area and each number on the street was a block or so to itself. I finally got there, completed my errand, and turned around to do it again. I had my workout before I ever got to badminton that day. Walking on icy snow, in a long coat, provides the same sensation as walking in water – lots of work but you don’t get very far very fast.

Saturday the 3rd, the weather turned really nasty. It was just freezing, and of course it was raining lightly. That night was the IWC Christmas party. We took public transport and got there just fine. It was a good party and I’m glad we went.

Monday, trapped in the apt, I made cookies for the cookie exchange on Tuesday. There were about 20 people at that party at Debbie’s house, everyone brought lots of cookies and one ornament or decoration gift. We had a Yankee gift exchange, and everyone got into the strategy of when to steal which and what still-wrapped gifts to pick. I was the last to pick. I had had my eye on something for 15 minutes and got to steal it. I scored a great tote bag, and returned the Christmassy soaps that were part of the gift to the woman I’d stolen it from. She hadn’t wanted the tote bag, but really loved the soaps, and gave me the ornament she picked (which was the one that she had brought!) so it was a win all around. I got a ride back close to home from Kate, in her Smart car. They are quite roomy inside – just don’t look behind you and you’d think you were in a regular car. She said that she’s even brought things home from Ikea in it, the passenger seat folds down & the back window is a hatch back so something long can extend outside. (Of course, if you had taken someone to Ikea with you, they’re taking the train home!)

Monday night was Vicki’s leaving dinner. Vicki’s on her way to Campbell, and looking for work in the Bay area. I believe I will send her to TMD! You guys will love her. I am sorry that she’s going and glad to have met her.

Well, I’m pretty much caught up. I need to go work on prep for the lasagna I’m making for the couples badminton pot luck Saturday night. It’s going to be here at our apartment – and it’s really interesting thinking about having people over with very little in the way of glasses, serving dishes, space … all the things I had collected in California. I have to think of it like camping, making the best with what we brought over.