COVID19, treating pseudo-narcolepsy, and slowly turning 72 into a horse area

I've never experienced empty grocery shelves in Germany. I went for hand sanitizer and found that area empty. Also, no single use gloves. Hrm, why are those gone? There were also only empty crates where vegetables usually live, and fruit. And no fish sticks at all, which I found  hilarious cuz the better fish (frozen trout, shrimp) was still there.

Then I saw it, a half-empty hand sanitizer sitting next to the clerk as she scanned my stuff. I pointed at it and said half-jokingly, "How much do you want for it? Your store is out, ya know." She kind of grimaced at me cuz Germans aren't used to chit chat. I said, "No worries, I know you need it more than I."

It feels good (read: safe) that we stayed home over the 5 day Karneval* weekend, but then J had to go back to work - at a school. All schools are closed in a district 40KM from here. Why not J's, just to be safe?

(*Karneval is celebrated around the world, but apparently not Seattle so it's still a shock for me every year how insane everyone gets. Example, my checker lady at Aldi said, "So, how did you survive Karneval?" I looked at her and recalled my first year here, where I "indulged" and everyone is walking around giving you shots of Schnapps while wearing creative home-made costumes. Karneval is something "genetic" said the newspaper. I cannot recall a holiday in America where people start drinking at 8 AM. New Orleans excepted.)

So I disinfect my husband when he comes home from school, and the car too. Everyone thinks I'm silly but I know about hygiene protocol from the ambulances.



     
I put this on our door as a joke today; something my dad used to say in his southern accent. Not that anyone will get it. Indeed J's mom showed up a few minutes ago and asked me what it meant. I held out my hand sanitizer and she told me I'm nuts.

But I've been reading the paper twice a week, so I know that I'm being panicked by the media.

I read the Koelner Stadt Anzeiger (Cologne's main newspaper) with Hartmut. Remember the old man who walks by every day waving and shouting hello to the horse? It turns out he had a stroke and needs help reading. So I go help him and learn about how scared we should all be about COVID19.

Was I the only visitor who barged into the kitchen on floor 2 and then the laundry on ground level to use the hand sanitizer? The employees were sweet about it, smiling at me and saying of course I'm welcome to use it.

***

I wanted to help him but I had no desire to walk up that hill in this "Scheit Wesser" as I say, so I immediately went to ebay's Kijiji to look for an e-bike. Should I be embarassed? *Hrm*

     
I was able to use Lytha-logic and convince my husband to buy me a USED e-bike. Typical vernuenftiger German, he doesn't make large purchases without warranty. But I found out this particular brand is sold and serviced here in our very city!!! And price shopping for 4-year old 560watt e-bikes, I found this one to be perfect. Especially since it was only lightly used by an elderly lady.

Funnily it came with a padded doggie basket up front, for toy dogs who cannot keep up with an e-bike. It would be perfect for grocery shopping.

This bike was 2400Euros new, and I was able to get it for 940. Yay, me. Although my mom would be disgusted at my lack of bargaining/haggling skill.

Learning how to ride a bike again would be funny if I didn't have to be in traffic most of the time. I'm afraid I'll lose my balance at the wrong moment and hit a car. This bike is so heavy there is no possibility of keeping it in our cellar. No stairs possible. I try to stay on sidewalks and go very, very slowly, but it's not legal here.

We don't really need two cars, so this bike makes it possible for me to get to the nursing home, grocery store, and post office without a car, and in only 10 minutes up a huge hill! We live in a hole, as you know, so I've got a hill climb both directions.

The first day I got it I rode as far as I could in all directions. It was almost 3 hours and when I got off, I was all wobbly, but oddly not as exhausted as I should have been after such a hilly long ride. This is exactly what I needed. I never bothered to get a bike before now because it's so bike-unfriendly here. I love this freedom!

***

 Oh, Mag.

     
Although I plan on buying the niche product called Fetlock Sheilds, for now these thick neoprene bell boots are working perfectly (hiding awful open scars I will not post here, cuz they're so nasty.)

Mag has been in the stall/paddock for 6 days and nights, and only once have I found blood from an opened scar.

Every morning when I go out there, I am surprised to not see blood running down, because I know he's not lying down in the stall, so he must be falling, and the neoprene is protecting him. But the Feltock Shields are a more permanent solution once I can get these sores started healing.



     
It takes weeks to start to heal, thus the imprisonment this week. I cannot let him go out to the pasture when getting there means sinking in deep mud. The priority was to let the wounds stay dry and clean, and we have done that.

And as a side benefit, my horse has been clean for the last few days. I actually found myself touching him today, stroking his soft Winter coat, enjoying the feel of it, not finding chunks of mud. He gazed at me, and I said, "Mag, whatdya know, it feels GOOD to touch you. Please carry on." (RIGHT!)

And his personality flourishes unexpectedly. He's putting everything in his mouth possible. If I turn away a moment to pick something up, the thing I left behind is now in his mouth, being gnawed upon gently.

He has removed every piece of grooming equipment that he can reach, tossing each of them to the floor.

He speaks to me in perfect language, "I'm bored and I want out of this and I'll do anything in my creativity to show you"

And, sadly, it's sometimes destrruction. Twice he's torn down the fence between him and Bellis. I keep them separated cuz he needs the food and she doesn't. But he's learned that wire is not on. *sigh* Worst thing ever - animals who do not respect fences. But for now, keeping him on the upper half of the paddock has resolved it.

It's just a few more days, guys, until our fencing of 72 is done.

We did a tremendous amount of work today on 72, pounding T posts with our new-best tool, the Rammer. Short T posts go in almost too easily and we have to be very careful or else the fence won't be even.

But even the enormous T posts go in easily, my husband can do them alone, no need for me to hold onto the ladder he's standing on with a hammer. How ridiculous. Today he said, "We spent 3 hours driving to Nurmbrecht to buy these tools. How much time did that save us, pounding posts on a ladder with a hammer? Unfathomable, we laughed together.

***

J's mother was here months ago witnessing the wilderness of blackberries, 30 dead trees standing/leaning/lying, and everything else. Since then we've done a monumental amount of work.  And she did not seem to notice the difference.

I took photos but not enough, since last Spring when I was officially allowed to start cutting blackberries.

J just walked by me and said, "You should have taken more BEFORE photos."

He's right. I never do that.