LA FIN DE L'ANNÉE
I finished the old year as I mean to start the new. First, I bashed out the rest of the concrete floor in the barn, so I can lay the second half of the new drain. After that upper body workout, I then went for a last 2011 cycle ride, a short, sharp 20km tour round the town.
The combination has brought me down to 78.4kg, meaning that I may well finish the year under 80kg for the first time in a decade, and within my optimum BMI. I just have to take it a bit easy at my sister-in-law's this evening.
Happy New Year to everybody!
Walter Blotscher
Saturday, 31 December 2011
Thursday, 29 December 2011
CLEARING UP
Today was a clearing up day. My elder son is going off to Copenhagen tomorrow and then to Hong Kong next week for 6 months. So we had to empty the trailer laboriously brought back last week, wash the clothes he is going to take, store the stuff he isn't, and then fill the trailer up with rubbish from the barn. I will get rid of that at the dump, once I can find a car to pull it.
We also took down the Christmas decorations from the tree, and put them away until next year. The tree had to go out to the compost heap. However, while getting a Christmas tree - safely ensconced in its net, with its branches pinned to its trunk - into a living room is easy, getting one out again is another matter entirely, as the branches stick out at right angles and fir needles end up all over the place. Luckily, I got a new vacuum cleaner as a present this year, so I was able to hoover up afterwards.
We then had the remains of the Christmas turkey for dinner, so that has finally been finished off. Tomorrow will be a sort of fast day, probably combined with a cycle ride if the weather is not too bad. Then it's on to New Year's Eve and a new cycle of festivities starts.
Walter Blotscher
Today was a clearing up day. My elder son is going off to Copenhagen tomorrow and then to Hong Kong next week for 6 months. So we had to empty the trailer laboriously brought back last week, wash the clothes he is going to take, store the stuff he isn't, and then fill the trailer up with rubbish from the barn. I will get rid of that at the dump, once I can find a car to pull it.
We also took down the Christmas decorations from the tree, and put them away until next year. The tree had to go out to the compost heap. However, while getting a Christmas tree - safely ensconced in its net, with its branches pinned to its trunk - into a living room is easy, getting one out again is another matter entirely, as the branches stick out at right angles and fir needles end up all over the place. Luckily, I got a new vacuum cleaner as a present this year, so I was able to hoover up afterwards.
We then had the remains of the Christmas turkey for dinner, so that has finally been finished off. Tomorrow will be a sort of fast day, probably combined with a cycle ride if the weather is not too bad. Then it's on to New Year's Eve and a new cycle of festivities starts.
Walter Blotscher
Tuesday, 27 December 2011
CHRISTMAS SPENDING
Today's the day when everyone can take back those Christmas presents they don't like, and exchange them for ones that they do. You know, clothes that are the wrong size or colour, items that you already have, or things that are just plain useless.
Depsite talk of crisis, Christmas shopping held up well in Denmark. In the first 24 days of December, spending via Dankort (the ubiquitous debit card that everyone uses here) was Dkr24 billion, up from Dkr22.9 billion in 2010. And that was despite the storms and wet weather, which plagued the month. Dankort doesn't cover everything, but it is a pretty good indicator of total consumption.
The most popular day for shopping this year was Thursday 22 December, when an incredible 3.881.778 payments were made through the system. Including some by me.
Walter Blotscher
Today's the day when everyone can take back those Christmas presents they don't like, and exchange them for ones that they do. You know, clothes that are the wrong size or colour, items that you already have, or things that are just plain useless.
Depsite talk of crisis, Christmas shopping held up well in Denmark. In the first 24 days of December, spending via Dankort (the ubiquitous debit card that everyone uses here) was Dkr24 billion, up from Dkr22.9 billion in 2010. And that was despite the storms and wet weather, which plagued the month. Dankort doesn't cover everything, but it is a pretty good indicator of total consumption.
The most popular day for shopping this year was Thursday 22 December, when an incredible 3.881.778 payments were made through the system. Including some by me.
Walter Blotscher
Monday, 26 December 2011
TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCES
Last year on our Christmas Day walk, snow had been on the ground since November and was almost a metre deep, and the temperature was heading for minus 20C. This year, there has been no snow at all yet, and it was close to plus 10C.
The former was definitely too chilly, while the latter was a bit weedy. Can we please have something in-between for next year, please?
Walter Blotscher
Last year on our Christmas Day walk, snow had been on the ground since November and was almost a metre deep, and the temperature was heading for minus 20C. This year, there has been no snow at all yet, and it was close to plus 10C.
The former was definitely too chilly, while the latter was a bit weedy. Can we please have something in-between for next year, please?
Walter Blotscher
Sunday, 25 December 2011
A LAZY DAY
Christmas Day, being the day after the big party, is a quiet day in Denmark. So up late, breakfast after 12.00 (my children and Chinese guests slept for a long, long time), a long walk en famille in surprisingly mild weather, and not much more. My wife made a delicious Thai soup for supper with some of the remains of the turkey, and that was pretty much it. I am now watching the NFL game, and will go to bed when it has finished.
Walter Blotscher
Christmas Day, being the day after the big party, is a quiet day in Denmark. So up late, breakfast after 12.00 (my children and Chinese guests slept for a long, long time), a long walk en famille in surprisingly mild weather, and not much more. My wife made a delicious Thai soup for supper with some of the remains of the turkey, and that was pretty much it. I am now watching the NFL game, and will go to bed when it has finished.
Walter Blotscher
Saturday, 24 December 2011
CHRISTMAS 2011
It's 15.30 and I am writing this while drinking my second Christmas beer of the day. I am alone in the house, as everybody has gone off to church at 16.00, leaving early in order to get a seat, since it is one of the few days in the year when it is full. The turkey has been in the oven for 3.5 hours already, and is looking good. I have showered, and ironed my shirt. We are on schedule for dinner at 6 o'clock.
There will be ten of us this year. My family of five, plus my wife's sister and her two sons, plus two Chinese lads from Hong Kong. They are on my elder son's university course, and will be with him when he goes to Hong Kong on 3 January to study for six months. Instead of letting them be lonely in their rooms in Copenhagen, he has brought them home.
Christmas and its traditions, both religious and non-religious, are so deeply ingrained in Europeans that it is remarkable to meet two well-travelled young people for whom it is not at all part of their cultural background (other than producing lots of toys for us to buy). I think it is the first time that I have had non-family members to share Christmas dinner with me, and I am looking forward to it.
A happy Christmas to all who read this.
Walter Blotscher
It's 15.30 and I am writing this while drinking my second Christmas beer of the day. I am alone in the house, as everybody has gone off to church at 16.00, leaving early in order to get a seat, since it is one of the few days in the year when it is full. The turkey has been in the oven for 3.5 hours already, and is looking good. I have showered, and ironed my shirt. We are on schedule for dinner at 6 o'clock.
There will be ten of us this year. My family of five, plus my wife's sister and her two sons, plus two Chinese lads from Hong Kong. They are on my elder son's university course, and will be with him when he goes to Hong Kong on 3 January to study for six months. Instead of letting them be lonely in their rooms in Copenhagen, he has brought them home.
Christmas and its traditions, both religious and non-religious, are so deeply ingrained in Europeans that it is remarkable to meet two well-travelled young people for whom it is not at all part of their cultural background (other than producing lots of toys for us to buy). I think it is the first time that I have had non-family members to share Christmas dinner with me, and I am looking forward to it.
A happy Christmas to all who read this.
Walter Blotscher
Thursday, 22 December 2011
A TRIP TO COPENHAGEN
I said in my tweet above that I was off to Copenhagen to pick up my sons. It was supposed to be a pleasant trundle over with a trailer to load up my elder son's stuff. He is going off to Hong Kong for 6 months and then America for 6 months, and so is giving up his room in Copenhagen. We chose to do it today, so we could coordinate with my younger son's arrival from Basel. It turned out to be a bit of a nightmare.
On the other side of the Great Belt bridge the car went dead on the motorway. That meant a call to the breakdown people Falck, but also a wait of two hours by the side of the road in pretty cold weather. When they arrived, my wife also arrived with a borrowed car from home, and we swapped roles. I continued to Copenhagen with the trailer, while she went with her car to the nearest garage (chances are that it will have to be scrapped).
Cold and tired, I then had to go up and down five flights of stairs for two hours with bed, desk, bags, and other packages. It's a tradition that poor students live in garrets, and it is also true for my son.
When everything was finally packed on the trailer, we went off to the airport to pick up my other son. Airport drop-off and arrival areas are not designed for trailers; and this problem was made worse by the system's accepting my credit card to get in, but rejecting it repeatedly when I tried to get out. Having blocked the exit, I had to find a supervisor to get him to open the gate. He turned out to be Swedish, which made communication a bit tricky; though we eventually managed it.
Arriving back home at 8.30pm I was knackered. But at least the family is all here for Christmas.
Walter Blotscher
I said in my tweet above that I was off to Copenhagen to pick up my sons. It was supposed to be a pleasant trundle over with a trailer to load up my elder son's stuff. He is going off to Hong Kong for 6 months and then America for 6 months, and so is giving up his room in Copenhagen. We chose to do it today, so we could coordinate with my younger son's arrival from Basel. It turned out to be a bit of a nightmare.
On the other side of the Great Belt bridge the car went dead on the motorway. That meant a call to the breakdown people Falck, but also a wait of two hours by the side of the road in pretty cold weather. When they arrived, my wife also arrived with a borrowed car from home, and we swapped roles. I continued to Copenhagen with the trailer, while she went with her car to the nearest garage (chances are that it will have to be scrapped).
Cold and tired, I then had to go up and down five flights of stairs for two hours with bed, desk, bags, and other packages. It's a tradition that poor students live in garrets, and it is also true for my son.
When everything was finally packed on the trailer, we went off to the airport to pick up my other son. Airport drop-off and arrival areas are not designed for trailers; and this problem was made worse by the system's accepting my credit card to get in, but rejecting it repeatedly when I tried to get out. Having blocked the exit, I had to find a supervisor to get him to open the gate. He turned out to be Swedish, which made communication a bit tricky; though we eventually managed it.
Arriving back home at 8.30pm I was knackered. But at least the family is all here for Christmas.
Walter Blotscher
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
