Not a whole lot of anything to report. My book did turn up in the mechanics, and I got it back today, along with a new exhaust and a big bill. My car is quiet now though.

We have moved further into the realms of middle-class-icity by hiring a housekeeper. In keeping with tradition she is a fully qualified Latvian nurse who is happy to clean my house instead of treating the sick as she cannot get work in that capacity here. I fervently hope that when May 1st rolls around and Latvia (along with Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, Malta, TheCzech Republic, Slovakia, Cyprus and Slovenia (I had to look the last two up)) becomes a full member of the EU, that she will find herself able to work in her chosen profession.

Out new rooms are almost finished and we have spent a fortune on them. Scary money.

A forum I visit had a bit of a tremor recently when people were banned and shouted at (well, the other way around really) and there was some brough-ha-ha. None of that is very interesting for anyone who's not a member, but in the course of this it came out just how much work it is to run one of these things. I have always been amazed by how people can keep up wit what's out there, but the owner/administrator of this board is just amazing with the amount she can consume. In addition to reading and cosseting and propping up the board she finds time to keep a journal, gardening log, weblog, booklog online as well as go to grad school, read a metric fuckton of books and argue the odd California Supreme Court judgement. I tip my hat.

I on the other hand (let's not forget about me!) can barely post here half a dozen times a month, sporadically update the rest of this site and read my eleven URL site list of a morning.

I took a lot of pictures in Dublin the other day, and not many are worth looking at, but I did enjoy this cup of coffee.