Blog May 17, 2020

The weather has been unusually cold for this time of the year and it would have been nice if the landlord had not turned the furnace off.  The advantage will be the fuel costs at the end of the year. Most of the stores are open including the larger ones and everyone is entering wearing masks. The supermarkets are mostly requiring that customers also use the shopping carts which facilitates keeping distances between the shoppers while pushing the carts. There has been demonstrations in the larger cities in Germany against the lockdowns and sheltering at home but since one can go out for a walk, increasingly go to restaurants sitting outside, small groups meeting, shopping, visiting a friends home, etc. my feeling is not one of isolation. I have started teaching at the music schools where I have students as well as continuing lessons online of those that want to stay at home. The music schools have „Spukwände“ ( spit shields) for singers and instrumentalists, plastic sheets mounted on wooden stands and plenty of hand sanitizers in teaching rooms.  Luckily in one school,  I have two pianos so that I can demonstrate without getting near the student at the piano. What I have missed this year since I only started back to teaching last week is driving in the countryside looking at the light pastels of emerging leaves on the side of the road and hills as they are turning to full greens. I was at my garden yesterday and picked a good handful of sorrel to add to a salad along with parsley which comes up every year (sorrel too) in my greenhouse.  We usually make sorrel soup here in Germany but I googled some recipes for salads and will give it a try.