February, 2010

Written March 4 and 5

Friends and Families,

WARNING: NOTHING REMARKABLE (just a diary).

Over the years that we have been doing these diaries, we have concluded that OUR use is the goal and that our use is basically as a memory aid for past months and years. What was the weather like last year, or ten years ago? When did we last visit Munich or Washington or Paris? Or, that classic: "Do you remember when ...?"

Done correctly, this diary practice forces us to make entries on a regular basis, at least once a month, and it results in some pretty unremarkable entries. This is February 2010's unremarkable entry -- just a diary.

Weather

The weather story here is simple: snow. Our memory of past winters says we normally get two or three storms, they leave behind a little snow, and it lasts for a few days. THIS year, we got a series of January and February storms and each dumped snow on the ground. In between, the temps stayed cold enough that the shoveling mounds just piled up and up. Here are a few pictures:

Now I know other places in the world got worse snow (Geoff?), but we have had enough. I hope March is better and I can't wait for sunny April.

House Things

Our house is our major diversion it seems. But, this month, we had little going on other than a start on re-furnishing the office. We started with new shelves. Eventually, we may get a new desk, new desk chair, and a good reading chair, but that will have to wait for later months or years.

Work

I am still working my inconvenient schedule that requires me to be away from home much of the week. Normally, I am in our company offices in Offenbach, next to Frankfurt, but I also had a quick trip to Helsinki this month. It was VERY cold up there, with mountains of plowed snow surrounding everything. The waterways we had seen on our last visit were completely frozen over. Our Finnish host said this was the first "real" winter in years. He pointed out that a northern winter with plenty of snow cover was much preferred, largely because the white reflected the light and made the dark season far less so.

Retirement

Of course not everyone in the family struggles with work travel. Marianne continues to enjoy her retirement. She has plenty of neighborhood friends and also manages to keep filling the loft with new art work. Here is her current gallery.

Plans

Our plans still include the at-least-one-trip-a-month new years's resolution. For February, that will be Munich (another diary). For March, Marianne will run off to California for little Ava's first birthday. I hope they take enough pictures. I will stay behind because work is getting more and more hectic. It looks like I'll have a trip or two to Paris while she's away and then, in the next few months, I will end up going to Poland, a new country for us. And then there is the inevitable hustle and bustle as Spring comes and we need to spend time in the garden. After all the cold and snow, we're ready.

So, that's it. February is over. How was your winter?

John and Marianne