Happy Easter

We are on the first day of our 4 day "bank holiday" - so cool!  It is great to have a 4 day weekend for Easter.  We are sticking around London, which seems to be a good choice as it's pretty quite.  We started the weekend with breakfast in bed.  I think Amy was feeling like she should make breakfast since I bring her coffee every morning (little does she know that no matter how you slice it I get the better end of the deal - bringing her coffee every morning is the least I can do).  We had bagels with lox, capers, onions, cream cheese, tomatoes - my favorite!  She dutifully informed me that it put us over our grocery bill for the day so it may be a while before we get it again.  She's handling our budget so things are much more "well managed".  No shopping on the horizon for as long as I can see.  A small price to pay.... :)

We're going to try to see a show or two and get some good workouts in this weekend.  Also, we plan on visiting a couple museums, and are very excited about venturing over to the Boroughs Market under London Bridge - it's a foodies paradise by the sounds of it - this will be the highlight of the weekend for me.

The weather here has been a lot like what we're used to at home.  Overcast with some sun breaks, rain now and then, etc.  I do know Amy has gotten stuck in a few torrential downpours... her sopping wet jeans were hung up to dry when I got in from work last night.

Work has been busy, there's a lot to be done here.  Having two 4 day work weeks back to back is fantastic!  We're heading to Amsterdam next Friday for a conference the following Monday and Tuesday.  We are very much looking forward to checking it out over the weekend.  The original tulip festival will be in full bloom when we're there and I'm looking forward to seeing the museums as well as Anne Frank's house.  When I was in Germany I couldn't help but be constantly reminded of what happened there during WWII.  It was a very strange sensation.  The German writing everywhere, the aggressive tone of the language, the intense industrialization everywhere, the focus on precision (ie watches, pens, cars, etc).  It was an eery feeling, I can't really explain it.  I've read a lot about WWII and have always been intrigued by the Holocaust and other genocides in terms of the atrocities that people are willing to commit under the guise of nationalism, religion, etc.  It's beyond comprehension to me that people become lemmings and forgo their own moral compass in such a huge way at times.  I guess we all do that to some degree or else we would get involved in things that are happening around the world right now... Sorry, that's a tangential dialogue for some other day...back to this weekend. :)

We're going to a friends house (Jamie and Brad's) for Easter dinner on Sunday - they're from Tacoma and I worked closely with Jamie at Russell for two years until she decided to come over to London as an expat 3 years ago.  We will be missing all our friends and family from home and thinking of you as you gather together this weekend.

With love,

Jeri Jo