Lingering

The snow has stopped falling, but is still out there - unsurprisingly, since it's about +1 C. I'm going to have to turn up the heating, as my fingers are turning blue if I leave them out on the keyboard long enough to type a sentence.

And the birds have decimated the feeders.

Schnee

Looks like the weather forecast was right.

It's due to warm up next week, so I doubt it will stay long. The birds don't seem to mind at all, I saw all four great tits on the feeder (one pecking at the water), the sparrows were darting in and out and two blackbirds were chasing each other noisily through the garden. ^_^

I made myself some breakfast and took it back to bed.

Strange days

Finally got around to sorting out the big blue Ikea bag that was full of my stuff from the last time I sold any of my jewellery - in March on the anniversary of the earthquake in Japan. I took inventory of all the remaining pieces and found that I couldn't name one of the semi-precious stones. You know you've been away for too long when that happens.

Decided to do a draft list of people for physical and e-cards for Christmas and (Japanese) New Year. The last list I could find to edit was from two years ago, and I found myself having to take some people off the list as they had passed away in the meantime. Very strange feeling.

Here, there, everywhere

We were barely back from Berlin before himself had to get ready for a three week work trip to the USA, and me for a 10-day one back to Dublin. Thanks to everyone who sent Dad good wishes for his surgery, it all seems to have gone perfectly and fingers crossed his vision will improve before the end of the year as the corneal graft settles in.

Apart from juggling the flood of work that predictably came in just when I couldn't take it on, I've wandered far, far outside my comfort zone with the amazing Experimental Genome Science course that I found after someone pointed me at the Writing for the Sciences course on the same site (Coursera). The courses are all free, you just need to put in the time and do the assignments. Experimental Genome Science is aimed at entry-level graduate students in genetics, which I am not, so I'm not sure if I'll make it all the way through but so far it is fascinating if an awful lot of hard work. The Writing for the Sciences course is much more my speed and I'm enjoying it immensely, especially the tips on writing and revising.

And thinking ahead - it feels like the end of the year already - a search for images to use for my Japanese New Year cards led me (in a rather roundabout way) to the very lovely LittleLion Studio. Not that any of their images are suitable for the cards, but I just love them to bits.

Berlin!

I'm still working on getting all my camera photos of Berlin in order, but hopefully it will be done by/at the weekend. Took far, far too many photos in the zoo and aquarium....

We loved Berlin. It wasn't what we expected at all. It was wide open spaces and never crowded, chilly but sunny, full of places to stop and talk and eat and then realise that you were surrounded by history. The first reaction was that we'll be back. As a bonus, I got to meet a translator I've worked with on the Japan Society school exchanges - we got on like a house on fire - and another translator who was in Berlin at a conference.

The U-Bahn trains had the Brandenburg Gate printed on every surface.

A double pumpkin delight at a restaurant in Hackescher Markt - pumpkin soup with smoked duck breast...

Followed by linguine with huge slabs of roast pumpkin and shallots. Couldn't finish!

Our sugar rush on Saturday, a German dessert made with pancakes, raisins and slivered almonds, served with fruit compote and ice cream.

There was a spot of rain on Saturday, so we nipped in to the Ritter showroom/shop. Their half-bitter hot chocolates were amazing!

And finally, a bit of strangeness from Zurich station, when I was there yesterday trying and failing to send a DHL parcel.