February has been a busy month, but it’s been a good one for the most part. The recent highlight was that the Wife and I took a much needed trip back to Mürren. It’s definitely one of our favorite places to go. So peaceful and incredibly beautiful! I took some pictures (which I haven’t processed at the time of this blog post, of course), but mostly I just enjoyed the beauty and the peace. We did do the James Bond Brunch again, because, well, why not? Sarah took a great picture of me taking pictures at the Birg station.

The Schilthorn is quite something in the winter, and it was really crowded with skiers! I was rather impressed that there were so many people going right up to the top to ski down it! There were even little kids (some in the 4 or 5 year old range) and older folks (some looking in their 90s!) skiing from the top! My cousin let me know that Schilthorn, and pretty much all of the Alps, are kind of bucket list places for skiers. Skiing isn’t my thing, but holy moly, that was impressive!

(Nerdy side note: Do you like my Aunt Hildy hat? The Wife and I decided we’re the Aunties in “The Thrilling Adventures of Sabrina.” I am totally Hildy.)

The other big news is that our business is now legally formalized in Switzerland! We’re now working on getting the bank sorted, and other particulars. It’s been interesting to find that all those years working in biotech, particularly small biotech companies, is coming in really handy!

Novel writing has been slow since I got back from Flordia between jetlag, business, and other stuff. It’ll come back, I know, and my mom gave me some really good plot bunnies to chase after.

Writing:

• Unity: This is a military/hard sci-fi/spy novel set in a future where humans have colonized several other planets. One of the main characters is a Religious Program Specialist and Senior Communications officer who has PTSD and works with the station’s Chaplain to figure out why the colonization survey they’re supporting isn’t going according to plan, and realizing that who’s behind it is more dangerous than just a failed colony.
  • Word count as of today: still 101,765 (not including the chapter I’m currently working on.)
• The Four Keys: A spiritual prose journey to the underworld and back.
  • Needs final edit pass and cover for e-book version.
  • Graphic novel version on hold for the time being.
• The Little Tarot E-book: This is a book started for my tarot class here in Zurich
  • Still in draft. Need to finish Major Arcana and more spreads.
• Poetry For Lent
  • New devotional project starting on Ash Wednesday.

Travel:

• Belgium: Short weekend road trip for business. Probably in the next 2-4 weeks.
• 10th Anniversary Getaway: Most likely to Mürren around May 1.
• Crazy Trip to the Northern Most Point in Europe: Summer 2020?
• Rome/Vatican: TBD (Maybe Fall/Winter 2020?)

Fiber Arts:

Not made much headway with any fiber stuff at the moment. Still working on the cotton. Will probably take my loom off it’s stand and bring it into the living room so I can weave while watching TV. I really should get the current weaving project done.

Photography:

Need to process pics from Florida and Schilthorn. Am planning to take my camera to Belgium when I go. New country! woot!

Fountain Pens:

Ok, I have to say it: I think Noodler’s pens and ink are crap. The pens are cheap construction for the price. Basically, I inked them up and they barely worked again. The Wife didn’t like them either. The ink was even worse. Feathered on just about any paper we used, even paper that we’ve used with other fountain pens and inks with no problems whatsoever. On top of all that we learned that the owner is one of those Libertarians and a big Trump supporter. Never buying from them again! Needless to say, we’ve since tossed both pens and inks.

Swimming:

Yes, I am back swimming again. Zürich is quite awesome for swimming, actually, and right now I’m going to one of the city run indoor pools. 50 meters of lap swimming awesomeness! The Apple watch workout app works pretty well, and it has both pool swim and open water swim functionality. Rather nice! Swim.com’s app wasn’t all that great, but it just filched the data from the Apple app, so I went back to the Apple one. My last swim I did was 600 meters, which is pretty darn good since I haven’t done much swimming in about 2 years. The Wife pointed out that I’m much more fit from all the walking I’ve done, and she makes a good point.

One thing I have learned is that my sinusitis is annoying enough, that it’s making breathing for Freestyle difficult. The last swim I did, though, I breathed through my mouth instead of my nose, and it felt better. I think I’m going to use a nose clip during my next swim and see how it goes.

In May (until middle of September), I’ll be able to use the outdoor pool near our house. It’s literally about 2 blocks from our front door. That, too, is also a 50 meter lap pool, along with some general swimming areas, a kiddie water playground, and, of all things, a water slide!! I love this city. Seriously!