Another literary note

Tony Hillerman, one of my favorite authors, died yesterday. I started reading his books after visiting friends in New Mexico quite a few years ago. I've now read most of them and highly recommend them to anyone interested in the Southwest.

Catching up on historical fiction

Leonardo's Swans, despite being fiction, has a lot of real history of Milan and other areas of Italy in it. And it's not too romance-novel-ly, although I doubt guys would find it a very good read.
But it does have some interesting insights into sisters, family competition and Leonardo da Vinci. And any of you who read it and then come to visit us in Milan can see a lot of the places it talks about.

Preparing for Milan

When you all come to visit, we'll go here.

Laura demonstrates her technological superiority

Elementary school progress reports came out Friday. Laura is rated as being on grade level in absolutely everything EXCEPT technology skills. In that, she's above grade level.
That's really not what I was expecting.

How we spent our R&R: Stop 2, South Carolina

On Oct. 1, we flew from Orlando to Charlotte to visit the South Carolina relatives. We spent some time with various people -- including an ever-so-thrilling visit to the Museum of York County with my sister Katie and my mom -- and did some shopping. Laura also got to go horseback riding at my sisters' barn.
The last full day we were there we drove down to Charleston and visited Fort Sumpter, which was where the Civil War began. In all my visits to Charleston over the years, I'd never been there. You have to take a boat, so there are some interesting sites along the way. The flag was at half-staff for National Fallen Firefighters Day.

Most baby showers include more women -- and fewer deadly weapons

This story on the Rocky Mountain News Web site caught my eye.
The things I missed out on, functioning as the business copy chief and not on the metro desk.

One year down, less than that left to go

A year ago today we arrived in Trinidad. In some ways it seems like we've been here a lot longer, but some mornings I wake up and have to think about where I am. It's a bit odd.
I was just thinking about the fact all the Americans we met that first day already have gone on to other assignments. Such is life in the Foreign Service.

Do YOU know who the prime minister of Great Britain is?

I saw this story on the Yahoo home page this morning and found it interesting. I would have known all three -- but with Kevin's job, it would be a travesty if I didn't know who Condoleezza Rice is -- but am not really surprised that so few people knew Gordon Brown is the British prime minister.

How we spent our R&R: Stop 1, Orlando

Finally I'm getting around to posting some photos. But first, some background:
This was our third trip to Walt Disney World. (We've also been to Disneyland once.) The past couple of times, we've stayed at the Pop Century resort, which is relatively inexpensive but still decent. This was the first time we'd rented a car, which I think Kevin and I agree was worth the extra money. And we've had the Disney dining plan during all three of our stays; we even got it for free two years ago and then again this year.
I'm not a person who's big on rides. I get motion sick, and I also don't like the idea of going upside down. But there are plenty of things I do like to ride at Disney.
But at least so far, I haven't ventured on to Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom. Laura did this year, though. If you look closely at this photo, you'll see a guy in an orange shirt sitting about halfway up the train. That's Kevin. The small greenish-blue smudge beside him is Laura.
My in-laws came to Orlando for a couple of days while we were there. During that time we went to the Epcot Food and Wine Festival, which was fun. That same day, we came across Donald Duck, whose autograph we'd never been able to get on previous visits.
We'd always stuck to the Disney parks before, but this time we also went to Universal Studios Orlando. We never made it to Islands of Adventure, but we did have a few run-ins with Scooby Doo, whom Laura adores.
Some of our favorite things, such as the Haunted Mansion ride at Magic Kingdom and Test Track at Epcot, don't make for good photo-taking. But here's a selection of shots taken by Disney photographers during our stay, and it includes shots of every time we rode Test Track.

Biggest. News. Ever.

How's that for a headline?
So, the big news is that I'm pregnant. He/she will be born around May 30. Because the people who already know have asked all kinds of questions, here are a few explanations:
No, I won't be giving birth in Trinidad. The Regional Medical Officer frowns upon such things -- not that I'd want to anyway. I'll probably go to Houston, Charlotte or Washington, D.C., but I haven't decided on specifics.
I have no preference for a boy or a girl. I think Kevin wants a boy (not that he'd come out and say it). Laura definitely prefers a girl because "baby brothers can be very complicated."
I will not be naming the baby after my sister Jennifer. (She wants me to regardless of whether it's a boy or a girl.) There is a chance of her second wish -- that the baby share her birthday -- coming true, though, as she was born on May 13.
And no, I didn't know I was pregnant when I decided to stop working. It did correspond very nicely, though.

The joys of new appliances

The whole time we've lived in Trinidad, I have hated my stove. The burners often didn't work because the connections were worn out, so sometimes one would think water was on its way to boiling. But no, it was still cold ages later.
So I asked for a new stove. The day before we left for Orlando, the embassy warehouse guys brought us one. Well, it wasn't new. In fact, it was ickier-looking than the previous one. But one of them demostrated that all the burners worked, so I was happy.
But then I discovered a problem: The oven didn't work. I called to complain -- couldn't they have checked that either before they brought it or before leaving my house? -- but it was the last electric one in the warehouse. I told them just to bring the old one back, but they didn't like that idea. So for the last day before we left and the first three days after we got back, we had no oven.
Needless to say, I wasn't happy. Although Kevin will point out here that I don't use the oven very often anyway ...
Yesterday, finally we got a new one. And this one is really new. The instruction manual still was attached to the shelf inside the oven. It has a radiant glass top -- some of you know that's one of the things I miss most about my Kingwood house -- and all the burners work.
Lesson learned: Being whiney yet nice can pay off.

Ways I won't be celebrating my 60th anniversary

Yes, I know I have 50 years before it's an issue, but ...
Today we were having lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern at Magic Kingdom. A couple dining at the same time were celebrating their 60th anniversary.
My first thought was along the lines of "Wow, they've been married 60 years!"
My second thought was along the lines of "OH MY GOSH, why in the world are they having lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern?"
So I turned to Kevin and informed him that if we make it to 60 years, we won't be celebrating at Disney World. He agreed but also pointed out we'll be close to 90 by then.
You're all invited to our 60th anniversary in 2059. Location to be announced.