I don't plan to live in an attic in Milan, but a terrace would be nice

The New York Times Real Estate section has a feature on an apartment in Milan. It's smaller than what we'll have (I hope) and has only one bedroom, but I love the terrace. Not that I'm expecting to have one, but it would be cool.

Merry Christmas to all

It's a little unusual to be celebrating Christmas in a tropical place again, but here we are.
I hope everyone who reads this is doing well, enjoying the holiday and whomever they're able to spend it with.
And, because it's all about the birth of Christ, here's a nativity scene. It's a little unusual, yes, but I picked this one because it's in Milan. (It's by Correggio and is in the Brera collection, for anyone who wants to see it while they're visiting us in another year and a half.)

A gift "so magnificent you will fall to the floor when you see it"

Kevin got me a waffle maker for Christmas. It was something I really wanted, although Laura wanted it even more. When she helped Kevin wrap presents, she came to me and uttered the title of this post. (She didn't, surprisingly enough, tell me what the present was.)
So, anyone who comes to visit us in Trinidad before mid-April can have waffles made with this.

News from our future home

It looks like some down-on-their-luck residents of Milan will be getting caviar for Christmas. I heard this story on BBC Radio this morning.

Coolest Christmas card ever?

Today Kevin brought home a Christmas card he got from a colleague from the British High Commission. It features this painting by Tony Todd. I don't particularly like walking around London when it's freezing cold, but it's an awesome picture.

This isn't really what they mean by "Green Christmas"

The Christmas tree had been up a few days, and I'd put the lights on it, but the only decorations had been placed by Laura. I happened to notice this conglomeration on the lower left branches:
She insisted the green ornaments were "a family that doesn't want to be split up." But the mean mommy won the day, so now the ornaments are much better distributed.

Adventures in "advanced maternal age"

Being 36, some doctors/sources consider me high risk for having a baby. But seeing my risk factors listed as "advanced maternal age" on the ultrasound report I got in Miami makes me laugh.
I had another ultrasound in my doctor's office here yesterday. It's still too soon to know whether it's a boy or a girl, but I did get a very good view of the baby's brain. I didn't even know it was possible to see that much detail on an ultrasound.
But even with technology, I think 36 is plenty old to be having a baby. Of course, my mom had her last one at 46 -- after I graduated from college -- so anything's possible.

Dark day in Denver

Today Scripps Howard, which owns the Rocky Mountain News -- my employer from 2004 to 2007 -- announced it is putting the Rocky up for sale. It's Colorado's oldest newspaper and has won four Pulitzer Prizes since 2000, but if no one wants to buy it by mid-January, Scripps will "explore other options."
Reading between the lines, that means the paper likely will close.
These are dark times for U.S. newspapers. Just this week, Gannett -- which owns three newspapers I previously worked for -- announced layoffs at all its papers. Former co-workers in Phoenix, Nashville and Sioux Falls are among those losing their jobs.
So now, with the latest news from Denver, it's looking like a better and better thing that I left newspapers when I did. But if Kevin hadn't joined the Foreign Service, I'd probably still be at the Rocky in some capacity. And that thought makes me ill -- not because of the situation I'd be in but because of the situation many, many of my friends now are in. These people have mortgages and kids (some of them in college) and 401(k)s worth a fraction of what they were just a few months ago.
It's no different than the situation thousands of people around the country find themselves in, but it's still downright scary.

Continuing my fascination with Zimbabwe

Cholera in Zimbabwe has been in the news a lot, but this Los Angeles Times story talks about another deadly development there: diamond mining.
It's a strange, strange, strange world.

Once a copy editor, always a copy editor

I almost forgot about this photo I took in Miami. It's a sign that was posted by the elevators in my hotel the second day I was there, and for those of you who aren't too detail-oriented, it's the spelling of apologies that leaves something to be desired. (Click on the photo for a slightly larger view.) I never saw any window washers, though.

The blessing of having car windows that stay up

In February 2007 -- when we knew Kevin was joining the Foreign Service in just a couple of months -- we bought a brand-new car. It had 21 miles on it when we drove it off the lot. (No, I don't remember this specifically, but it says it on the title so it must be true.)
Said car was fine for the first several months. Then, after we shipped it to Trinidad, things started happening. The windshield wiper sprayer stopped working. The brake pedal started making a clicking noise. One and then the second back electronic window refused to operate properly (including falling down into the door). And a strange noise -- Laura says it sounds like a ghost wailing -- would surface intermittently.
Thank goodness for international warranties. After some research and pestering, I managed to arrange to have some things fixed. So as of yesterday, we can spray our windshield again. Parts have to be ordered for the windows, but at least the mechanic was able to secure them somehow so they don't fall down into the door anymore. The brake pedal still clicks and there's still a ghost somewhere in the chassis, but we had to start somewhere, right?