Where have we been?

Hi folks,

Sorry for the lack of posts recently. I wish we had a good excuse, like we were traveling Europe for 15 days or were just so busy with our research that we couldn't stoop so low as to write a simple blog post. But no, our departure from blogging has been due to 4 mundane things:

1. Danny's computer has been being repaired for the last 2 weeks. The saga has been much longer and more complicated than that, but we'll spare you the boring details. Just know that when they finally returned his laptop after replacing the motherboard, they neglected to also return the power cord. Laptop - powercord = desk decoration. And obviously he can't possibly write a blog post on a Mac. Good heavens, no.

2. I had a cold and spend a few days doing nothing but putting my head under a towel over a pot of steaming water. Another good sinus-clearing option that I've never had the guts to try is the Neti pot.

3. I've just finished a really excellent novel, called White Teeth, which kept me unable to concentrate on anything else for a while. It's the impressive first book by Zadie Smith, and it delves into the lives of first-generation Londoners, trying to find their place in the swirling mass of ethnicities that is London, all with their own history and family circumstances. It's a vague description, I know, but the book tries to do so much (and succeeds!) that's it's hard to sum up. Suffice it to say, if you're looking for a really good read and are keen to better understand London, this book would be a good place to start.

4. Umm... I'm embarrassed to say this, but Danny and I have finally broken out our 2-person card game version of Settlers of Catan, and we're hooked. For a while it was looking like every game would be be a nail-biter, but lately I've been running up the score. We'll see if Danny can recover tonight!

We did manage a trip during all that, up to Glasgow to visit our friend Barnie. You can check out our facebook photo album (if you haven't already) to get a taste, but the short version is: it was shockingly sunny and warm, the city is surprisingly nice, we didn't eat haggis or hear bagpipes, but we did drink whisky. And there was much rejoicing.