Sun:05.Jul.20 Lachen-Speyerdorf.de
Back in Germany at my parent's place, under the majestic walnut tree. Ten intense days of baby and nephew sitting, Maupertuis remodeling work and Deezer quarter planning madness are behind us. Clemens, Valentin and Maximilian had a blast: canoeing, swimming, garden camping, bonfires, home cinema, Hängematting, barbecues, cooking and baking, and what not. Dad the builder pushed the upstairs-Baustelle to the next level: finishing ceilings (that now require "only" fine tuning), electricity and starting chessboard tiling. We also identified a severe water leak behind the house, which probably helped our newly groomed vine tendril to flourish... just like our water bill. Big fun, long days, short nights and obviously continued daily routine runs. The counter is back at 19, reaching once again 70 will be a challenge. But what really matters is my fitness level, which is slowly but surely moving into spheres where it should be.
Tue:09.Jun.20 Mailly-le-Château.fr
After one week of Pantin (one day working from the office, two days school for Max, three evenings with friends, four, 5, 6, 7, ..., 72 beers from Gallia, and well over 600 euro on my ticket restaurant card), a couple of days Maupertuis, now on our way back to Pantin until the weekend, which will see us back in Maupertuis. Ping. Pong. Work. Max. Garden. Mubi. Sleep. Run streak (67 as of today).
Fri:29.May.20 Pantin.fr
Back in Pantin, back to civilisation. Over 10 weeks at the cottage, hiding from that mean virus that's ravaging the world. But I got a mask in my pocket (not on my face, no need to overreact neither) and I am not afraid. Everything that could be done at the house, has been done:
- Fixed all 5 or 6 cottage bicycles
- Introduced my Silberpfeil to the Morvan
- Sanded and painted (3x) the two dormers
- Fixed the wine cellar door
- Built a new wooden fence and removed concrete and wire
- Ran during a 55-day streak a 6k trail
- Built a tree house, a swing and more stuff for Max
What I've been putting successfully off so far is the picturization of this blog, with hundreds of images sitting around and waiting to be invited to my planet. Since I lost my Photoshop licence I am having a tough time getting to it, and the blurry attempt to use free MacOS software discouraged me beyond despair. And then there's the final layer of blaster that is still due at Maupertuis, but motivation we'll surely be back once my daddy is allowed to enter the country again and continue his mission of enhancing the house. Scheduled for the end of June.
Let's see how to deal with living and working from a new place, this weekend is a good start to settle in. Cheers!
Tue:12.May.20 Mailly-le-Château.fr
Decontainment in France started yesterday, a new Liberation day that surely will become yet another holiday for France's preferred month ;). Now, instead of to-be-justified with written proof exceptions and basically a 1 hour / 1 kilometer restriction we can now freely move around (100 km or within the entire département) without carrying those ridiculous dérogations. Yesterday was still a bridge day, with the old emergency state being already over and the new not yet legally acted, allowing me to do a back and forth drive to Paris to fetch Babcia and bicycle for some more relaxing weeks to come at the cottage. It felt good to see that Paris is still around, and bustling. And it feels even better to be back at the countryside to wait for more clarity. No school yet for Max, no Deezer office open for work. Definitely at least 2 more weeks of full remote. Bring them on.
Fri:24.Apr.20 Mailly-le-Château.fr
Still confined, still at the cottage. Still things to do. Spring is slowly turning into summer, and our garden into a beautiful piece of nature. Maximilian is turning into a little savage, spending more than half of his life outside now. A couple of weeks to go it seems, until school kicks back in... an attempt to normalize our lifes. 2020 will be a special one, I am sitting back, relaxing and enjoying what's coming.