Victory and a Weekend with the Family

Perhaps my complaining hit home or they're just concerned for my well-being, but I consider this a small victory. The Bottle Room, the place where I spend much of my workday, is not heated. When high's don't get out of the low single digits (celsius), it gets pretty cold in there. I am unable to wear gloves because then I would lose grip and the ability to label. My tennis shoes don't do well on the cement floor. My fingers and toes end up freezing after just a few minutes. So, to remedy this problem, last Thursday as I was making my way to the bottle room, Heiko was bringing in a portable heater much to my delight. There's a small room off the side of the Bottle Room that is better insulated. In there, we moved a table and enclosed the space underneath and that's where the heater went. I now have a warm place where my body is not shivering at the end of the day:



Things on the vineyard are well. The weather is cold, sometimes rainy/snowy/windy, and normally cloudy. Heiko regularly packs up the van and performs wine tastings. He's gone to Leer, where I went to the Winefest in August, for a few days for another wine tasting.

This past weekend I went to Bammental for a weekend with Heidi and Gustav. Tim was there, but he was kind of quiet with laryngitis and not feeling well, so he kind of blended into the couch upon which he was laying. Friday night, Tim and I went to Jakob's house to watch the Bayern-Hoffenheim match. They are now tied in the table after Hoffenheim's 2-1 loss, but Hoffe is still in the lead with a superior goal differential. It was a very good match, with Hoffenheim striking first just after half-time but Bayern equalized some 20 minutes later. They then took the lead in extra time, thirty seconds from when the whistle would've blown for a tie. The boys from the village looked great, going foot for foot and at many times outplaying the perennial Bundesliga power. Amazingly, Tim refrained from yelling the entire match.

On Saturday, Heidi, Gustav and I went to Heidelberg to do some Christmas shopping and gluhwein tasting. I still have a few more gifts to get, but I think people will be happy. I had fun finding things and that's part of the fun of Christmas! Plus, Gustav was with us. Pictures? Of course!







Heidi and I had fondue when we got back, which is always a good meal. Then I got a haircut...no pics of that. Gustav has been walking for some time now, so it's fun to see him waddle across the room balancing with his arms out wide and his diaper butt sticking out.



















Until next time,
Jon