So much for posting every day. My friend H. has been staying with me while he tried to find a job in this part of Germany. He's originally from a town an hour or so away from here and his mum lives just across the border from there in Holland. So he has been staying with me. He started his new job today, in a town about 40km away. They're providing accomodation, at least for the first few months so he'll just be back occasionally on his day off. He couldn't really handle not having a telly though and spent nearly the whole time on the internet watching films. He copped on yesterday that there are lots of films to be seen on the internet that haven't even come out in Germany yet. He was like a little kid. I really hope this job works out for him. He has a serious drink problem and it sort of feels like this might be his last chance to sort himself out. After being offered this job he even said something to me about how he would have to be careful with drink if things were going to work out. Closest he's ever come to really admitting and accepting he has a problem so it made me feel hopeful. He has an offer to go back and work in the hotel in the Black Forest where he first did his apprenticeship (and then worked for 15 years or so) starting in March so if what he has now doesn't work out he has something else lined up. But I hope what he has started now does work out as it's a much better situation for him I think.
Anyway, with him spending all the time on the internet I couldn't really get to blogging. Tomorrow will be a busy day. In the morning I'm meeting up with the other people who work in the garden for their annual outing. Instead of just a meal this year they've organised a walking tour around the 'Altstadt' (old town) of Dusseldorf which I think will be really interesting. We'll go for a meal and a beer or two in one of the breweries afterwards.
Then, in the evening I'll head off to the next in the annual circle rituals which I've been going to. After the last one just before Christmas I wasn't honestly too sure that I'd bother going to the next one. But when the hostess sent me an email last week asking if I would be joining them and giving the details it sounded interesting. It's a Candlemas ritual (if the online translations have gotten it right) for cleansing and preparing for the new beginning. I'm still very deep in a winter funk and I know I wouldn't have gone looking for something to do but the note at the end of the invitation really did catch my interest: "during the ritual we will change clothes; we will put away our dark winter clothes (symbol for energy which has been used up) and pull on white/light clothes." It can take me months to 'wake-up' again after the winter and it might be that this is what I need. I planned to take down the Christmas decorations last weekend but didn't get very far. So I will do that tomorrow instead in preparation for this ritual. Putting away the artificial light that I have had in my life for the last month or so and getting ready for the light of spring to arrive. For the ritual tomorrow we also have to bring a white candle with us as well as a glass which has special meaning for us. Not sure yet, what glass I'll bring. Can't think of any off-hand which are particularly special for me although I do have one jar which was my mum's and her mum's before her, which I've always had a fondness for. And the German word for glass is the same as the word for jar so I'm not sure which is meant. Now just need to find something bright to wear and decide what food to bring. Might just be lazy and buy a block of cheese and dig another jar of chutney out of the cupboard. Depends on how well I sleep tonight probably :-)
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