My Latest Adventures... |
|
1 December 2025 - Erlenbach
A new month, and new adventures - that's what I like to say, but pushing myself too hard can wear down my resistance to illness. I started to feel the infection in the right side of my head back in Rome after leaving my patio door open over a night when Rome's famous evil fog descended. Unclean vapors? I forget what it was in Latin, but perhaps more than superstition? Anyway, I fought off for most of the month, but this past week I was finally laid low by it. One day I slept 14 hours. Rest is the best medicine for recuperation, but ibuprofen and zyrtec make it more bearable and speedier.
By Friday after I was feeling better, and luckily so because although I hadn't any Thanksgiving plans I was invited to a party to watch the Georgia Tech game against Georgia with fellow alumni. The last GA Tech event I attended this past Spring was enough of a logistical mess that there were 3 of us there on the wrong (but publicly announced) date. This game night was another experience in the same vein - fabulous conversations with the most interesting people, but we kept losing the pirated feed and didn't see much of the second half. It was a late night anyway.
Saturday was race day, but not just any race. It was Bierathlon! I secured a late invite from a friend (it sells out almost immediately) and was overjoyed to be healthy enough to participate. The dogs and I arrived early to meet my compatriot and explore. Paula has been to Zürich's largest dogpark on the banks of the Sihl River, but Eddie has not. They both loved swimming and sniffing and meeting people and dogs. We watched the start of the shorter Küpilauf before us and they had diametrically opposed reactions. Eddie hid behind me while Paula ran up ti the racers and then looked back at me like "well?" After that I made sure she got a good deal of running chasing thrown sticks up and down the Sihl. Still, it's never enough for her.
Before starting the race with my teammate Pat, who I'd just met, I handed the dogs off to Iwona's former coworker, Giles. I only met him once three years ago for a Guy Fawkes Day effigy burning, but fortunately he remembered me. And Iwona trusted him, so when he was happy to help it was an easy transfer. I cannot recommend the Bierathlon enough. Silly costumes abound. Two people carry a case of 10 beers and have to drink them along the way. Pat was a couple decades my senior and not so speedy running, but was always waiting for me to finish my beer. Eddie made a few girlfriends while waiting, but Paula was just missing the run. At the end they got to run loose with the other dogs while we humans sang and socialized. I was in bed at home reading snuggled up with them by eight o'clock though!
Friday I tried to get a Christmas tree, but realized I didn't have a stand. Doh! Or lights. Double doh! But at least I got the house cleaned up and found all the decorations I did have in storage. And bought lights in one of the several stores I visited, but sadly no stand. Saturday I went the mall -ugh- and found a stand so I could buy a tree at the Coop by my place. Unfortunately I only got halfway through decorating it Saturday before the race, so I had to finish Sunday. And Sunday was also a baking day! I had too bake enough batches of cookies to fill up Iwona's advent calendar. This year she outdid herself and got me a custom puzzle advent calendar, so there could no slacking on my part. Fortunately I come from a long line of German bakers. The only challenge will be Iwona's: waiting until tomorrow to eat tomorrow's cookies!
