Sunday morning thoughts – December 3, 2023

How is it December already?

It’s a freezing -8°C/17.6°F and the sun is shining. It’s still all white. And the snow will stick around for a bit as temperatures are gonna stay low. This kind of weather is obviously not great for everyone but I absolutely love it!

An emotional week this week for so many different reasons. Some of them I might share on here. Others I will share with friends.

Before I talk about other things let me post the link to this really cool concert in NYC two weeks from yesterday. I mean if you’re in New York on December 16 you kinda have to be there in person. You can get those ticket here. Now, if you can’t make that and you’d like to watch it live you can get your online tickets here. For those of you in Europe it’ll be at 1.30 in the morning (00.30 in the UK), but it’s well worth staying up for. Actually it’s well worth making the trip.

Now that I’m in a happier mindset, let’s see what else is on my mind this morning. What I’m gonna wear for my walk out in the cold. Many different layers, I guess. But not too many otherwise my jacket won’t fit. I’ll definitely be wearing my bobble hat. That’s a given. Oh and my cool gloves. Did you know that gloves are called Handschuhe (literally “hand shoes”) in German? I like that. Of course, we completely butcher the word by saying “händsche” in Swiss German. It might look similar to you, but I don’t think Germans have any idea what we’re talking about when we say that.

Wednesday was a beautiful day – gorgeous weather. The rest of the week it rained, snowed for a bit and rained again. Today looks beautiful for now. Too bad days are so short this time of year that the window for going outside in the sun is very small.

Ooops, I was gonna start a load of laundry before writing this – will be right back. I don’t have that many clothes, so I do need to do at least one load a week. And if I want stuff to dry by the end of the day … well, you guys know physics and such. I love having a washer/drier in my apartment. Makes such a difference. And have we talked about underfloor heating? LOVE IT! I’m pretending to be a cat and trying to sit where it’s warmest (okay, since I’m not lying down let’s call it *cat-like-ish*). I think I found the spot - this is nice!

The heating is off in my bedroom because I like to sleep with my window open. It’s perfect. And it’s not like there’s anything else going on in there at the moment. But that’s an entirely different story. Also, still no date for the concert. Someone’s missing out.

But hey! You never know. I might just ask that lovely barista from the Starbucks at the corner of … yeah, like I’m gonna tell you which one. She made my day two years ago and was still around last year. Of course, I was too shy to go in and talk to her.

Anyway, enough day dreaming. I’m back. There will be a podcast later on today [back to edit: the podcast no longer exists - it got deleted when Callin was sold]. I only figured out an approximate topic late last night. And I have no idea what I’ll be talking about yet. It’s gonna be “Ep. 30 - COP 28 are they talking plastic too? They really should be if one of the main objectives is putting people at the heart of climate action.”

I’m gonna look at some of the objectives set, be very critical about 70,000 participants flying into a country that is rich because of its oil, while telling us that we should fly less. It feels a bit hypocritical. You know, just a tad. Granted I don’t know that much about Dubai. So that’s something to look into. Still I have a feeling that it’s a bit like the NRA hosting a conference on gun reform in the US and inviting all their biggest sponsors.

Anyway, you’ll have to listen to my podcast to hear me rant more about that. Or maybe I find out really cool stuff about Dubai and completely agree that it was well worth for everybody to travel there and that we need to keep the fossil fuel industry going strong and expand our use of plastic. Sorry … made myself laugh. I’m sure there are some positives about COP28 – I know that people I admire have traveled there. So, kind of trying to keep an open mind.

There might be a second newsletter later today. It depends a bit on if I’m winging my podcast or if I actually have some notes.

What else was I gonna talk about today?

Remember that fat I shifted away from my stomach? Well, some of it has made it into my double chin. That’s very unfortunate in winter. I needed that space for my scarf. Very rude. I mean we had agreed on hips, thighs and butt. Well, I guess boobs would work as well. Actually that might be my preferred alternative. We might need an entirely new agreement! I’ll keep you posted.

Okay, the church bells are going for some reason. I guess Mass is over. And I’m exhausted from a really tough day yesterday. So, just one last thing. I found a lovely café to go write at on Friday mornings. They have all my favorite foods/drinks and are not crowded. So, they will let me sit there for a few hours no problem. Very happy about that. I enjoy writing and people watching at the same time.

Lunchtime on Lake Zurich, Wednesday November

Leaving you with a picture I took down by Lake Zurich at lunchtime on Wednesday. Have a lovely Sunday everyone. Be gentle with yourselves. Hugs all around.