"That Was Then" - Wishful Thinking, 1990

Between the awful weather in the UK today (although perhaps not quite as severe as some forecasters had anticipated) and the fact that I'm still limping around a little, I decided to stay home and work from here today. In the midst of proofreading the material for a 2-day course, I couldn't help but think about today's anniversary. My mother died suddenly on the 10th of March 2001. In some respects it doesn't seem like 7 years. But given all of the change in my life since then, in other ways it seems like a lifetime ago.

There are other things to talk about today, too, besides the weather and today's anniversary. On Saturday night, we had a great evening with our friends Cindy and Andre at their home in a nearby village. They had invited another couple along, and we enjoyed the hospitality so much. It was John's first "social evening" since his operation...so that's another sign of the returning normalcy in his life.

Oh....and Cindy's food was, as some in the States say, "to die for"! She's just a fabulous cook!

And over this past weekend, the four semi-finalists for England's Football Association's tournament, called the FA Cup, were determined. For the first time in something like 100 years, there is only one Premier League club left out of the four -- and that's Portsmouth. The other three candidates for the FA Cup Final are Barnsley, Cardiff City (yes, I know they are Welsh), and West Brom...all from lower leagues! It's very cool, I think. The FA Cup rounds here are like the equivalent of all of the teams in North American baseball playing each other in pairs, drawn in a sort of lottery, no matter whether they are the biggest major league team or the smallest minor league team. Giant-killings sometimes, but not always, happen as a result. This year, the giants were slaughtered!

In Birmingham, this year's Crufts dog show was won by a beautiful Giant Schnauzer called "Philip". You can read about the show here; it's especially nice to see photos of the best of each breed. There were some gorgeous dogs in this year's show. Some time, John and I would like to go.

Last but not least, John's feeling enough better that we are daring to think about making a trip over to the States -- Texas and New Mexico -- before the summer. We can't wait to see family and friends...and take in loads of our favorite American foods!

So that's what's happening in our household right now.

Janet