The academic term just ended so apparently only 12 weeks have passed since I was home in Seattle over Christmas. But you know, it feels like a lot longer. I have been heads down with my final assignments of graduate school and narrowing down even further the focus of my research. I can’t tell you how many archives I’ve visited. I’ve been hunting down niggling questions with a fine toothed comb. But I certainly have also had a lot to look forward to.

In late January, I joined my friend Sararose in Paris for a long weekend. We traversed the city in such style… I have never had such wonderful cheese, or such cheesy jokes.

In mid February, my two favourite cuzzles flew across the pond from New Brunswick and Newfoundland. It was apparently springtime in London by comparison. We trotted past every worthy site. It was the best week I have had here yet in London.

In early March, my Dad’s work brought him back through London. We headed down to Kew, hoping to see bulbs but as its been relatively cool, we were a little early. Then we walked back along the Thames Path, catching the Women’s Eights Head of the River Race putting in at Chiswick. Each team was carefully maneuvered into the water. First the girls brought the boat down horizontal to the water. The caller would shout “Shoulders, Heads, Over!” and with that, the boat would flip over into the water and everyone would set to finding their oars and screwing them in. Then various items- water bottles, boots, silicone seat pads- were hurled back and forth. I have never seen so many wellies. Over three hundred crews raced! It went all day. The spectators knew the crews by the flags on their oars. They would plummily explain, “there’s St. Cath’s!” and exclaim, “four is terrible!”

And this past weekend, I went down to visit our cousins in Suffolk. East Anglia is considered quite warm and dry for England, so I never could have planned to see it as I did, with white fields and oaks frosted from the blizzard which lasted most of Saturday and Sunday. It put a dent in my plans to bike around the countryside. The air here is still actually arctic. Another storm threatens. Basically, the weather is triple grim and next week I will be walking the Wicklow Way. I have planned it to mark my transition from processing, to product… IE my dissertation is due in just over a month. Oh grad school.