Another weekend wrap-up
29 October 2003Thursday afternoon [23.10.03]
One o'clock, dopey after a heavy lunch, tuning into Radio Eins for Happy Sad, the coolest radio show ever. Afternoons are generally brilliant (9 PM onwards Berlin time) for long, groovy, intelligent music programs, with fewer irritating call-in quiz contests or entertaining wildlife/traffic reports.
Nevertheless a friend and I had the idea that a fun radio program would be Plus vs. Getränke Hoffmann employees facing expert-level questions on the hideously complex, controversial new Dosenpfand (deposit beverage cans) system. "Bulgarian pilsener in the 37 cl size, eleven cans, four crushed, two partially full, how much back in Euro?" For some peculiar reason the entire nation has been very exercised by the whole Dosenpfand business.
I skated to work this morning and it began raining shortly after my arrival. This being Calgary, I'm quite confident that the paths will be bone dry by five. (They were.)
Annette decided she wanted to be Traditional Mom for a day, so she's home with Madeleine, baking cupcakes for tomorrow's birthday celebrations. It's like Hillary Clinton and the chocolate chip cookies. One day per year is probably her limit though.
She's not that traditional, however: today someone is coming to clean the house for us. This particular luxury I promised myself the second I landed a job. The last (and only) time we enjoyed regular cleaning services was during the first six months of Miss Madeleine's existence, before she started part-time day care.
We're having a grown-ups + Maddy birthday party Friday night, with booze, and a kids birthday party Sunday morning, without. Lucky girl. She's enthused as all hell.
Lately I've taken to disappearing with Maddy on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, when Annette is preparing lectures and appreciates (if not requires) a few hours' peace. Sometimes we go grocery shopping. Sometimes we just hang around at the mall, causing trouble. Tonight we're going to buy a rain barrel to hook up to the gutters, and look at ski equipment.
Madeleine discovers the materialist basis of family relations (it is but a few short steps from this to Karl Marx):
"I want to buy a hippo."
"A hippo. That's expensive. Do you have any money?"
"Um, no."
"Then it's going to be rather difficult for you to buy a hippo, isn't it?"
"Well, you and Mom have money, so you could buy hippos for me."
In the car, on the regular Thursday night shopping expedition:
"So what did you do at school today, Mads?"
"I'm drawing a scary fruit monster, for you."
"A scary fruit monster? For me?"
"Yes."
"You mean like a banana with big long teeth or something?"
"No, a monster that eats all its scary fruit."
"Oh."
Weekend wrap-up [26.10.03]
The birthday weekend went off without a hitch. The boozy adults + Mads bash was huge fun. (see pictures of beer bottles and cake debris with "3" candle and wasted, possibly hung-over daughter the next morning). In honour of her German heritage I insisted on a bottle of cheap Sekt. The less boozy kids party Sunday was also huge fun (see picture of Maddy on trapeze). Shortly after the trapeze episode she turned to one of our friends and said "My mom and dad are going to sell me to the circus!" - we are, in a year or two when she's fully trained.
God we spent money this week. Antique shop: art deco oak fireplace mantle, to replace the existing plaster monstrosity. New shoes for me. Ski Swap: snowsuit for Mads, parka for Annette. I tried some very good boots at very good prices but nothing fit perfectly so I gave up, and may just spend a bit more to be properly fitted at the local ski shop. We're still haven't decided whether to rent this year or buy some non-abused demos or sale-priced last-year's-model "carving/all-mountain" skis. It depends on the state of the finances, which we've avoided enquiring too deeply into just lately.
Maddy wants desperately to ski but I think it can wait a year. She'll have swimming and skating to keep her occupied this winter.
I did it. On Thursday night I signed myself up for "Skeleton School" in two weeks' time. I thought I wanted to do this, but since signing up I've been scared witless. Nevertheless, I can't wait.
Sunday was ridiculously warm. We washed storm windows and did garden stuff rather than work indoors. At eight o'clock Maddy doing high-speed laps of the yard waving a magic wand, yelling. (For her birthday Trish gave her a complete princess outfit not for Hallowe'en but just for dressing up. All evening Maddy referred to herself in the third-person as "the princess". Cute up to a point, but I can see this leading in dangerous directions.) Earlier she'd been out in the dark, wearing a tall, conical party hat, carrying a toilet plunger, and noticed her shadow thrown against the fence by the streetlights. So she stuck the plunger between her legs and ran around in circles yelling "I'm a witch! I'm a witch!" The toilet witch.
Wednesday morning [29.10.03]Lance Armstrong and Sandra Bullock? Good god. I don't know what to say. Meanwhile Jan's home looking after the baby and, with typical German committment, thinking about maybe finally getting around to marrying his girlfriend of ten-odd years. It's going to be some Tour next year.
It snowed last night, probably around twenty centimetres though it's difficult to say with all the wind. I did, nevertheless, find within myself the balls (technically just without myself, though perhaps not given the temperature) to ride to work this morning. Crunchy ice! Big piled-up snowdrifts! As the ride is almost exclusively on riverside bike paths, I must only contend with my own traction issues, not other peoples' cars' traction issues. So it wasn't too bad. Quite fun, really, and better exercise than dry days. All of me was warm except my hands, so I'll be buying some huge bloody great antarctic-rated mountain-climbing mitts very, very soon, damn the expense. No more fucking about with cold fingers.
Our poor young poplar trees are bent over like candy canes under the weight of the snow. I will have to reinforce them with broken hockey sticks.
The forecast for the rest of the week isn't much better. Temperatures will dip close to minus twenty. Maddy's Hallowe'en costume will look something like "a cat in a snowsuit with a hat and mittens and snowboots", I fear.
Yesterday, after months of waffling, I ordered speedskates. I should have them in a week or so. Uncharacteristically I opted for the least expensive option, Bont Ice Sharks, which take my existing clap blade. I need to reserve some budget for skiing and skeleton. If I really dig deeper into skating in a few years' time I can always trade up.
One of the greatest lyrics ever: Belle & Sebastian, from Tigermilk.
the centre of my so-called being is
the space between your bed and the wardrobe
with the louvre doors
