Snowcrust skiing

Yesterday we skied Pfiffner Park, along the Wisconsin River just west of the apartment. You can see by the open water in the background that it's not very cold. The snow that fell wetly overnight Friday may last a few more days. There's no snow in Wisconsin worth driving to ski on; an inconvenient truth...

2006: Year's end...

After a winter in which our xc skiing was limited by lack of snow and our racing likewise, I had spinal surgery in March. This lateral view of my lumbars was taken in June. I was rehabbing well enough that we went ahead with the scheduled trip to teach in Poland in May.

After a week at the School for Information and Management in the eastern town of Rzeszow (ZHESH-oof) we spent a few days in Krakow(CROCK-oof), where I taught philosophy in 1990.

I must say the changes there make capitalism seem positively benign. We took the train 40km west, too, where Jane bravely marched into Auschwitz.

Then it was on to Paris for a week, to revisit cherished sites and memories, capped by a weekend on the island of Ile de Re, walking and cycling and enjoying some of the best seafood meals of our lives.

We taught our Healthy Relationships course again in June. My mother suffered another "transient ischemic attack"--a form of stroke but with limited permanent damage--in August. She recovered well enough to enjoy her 95th birthday gathering, at which I read humorous comments on friends and family she dictated earlier in the week. Jane came out to California for the party, too.

After a few days in La Jolla with Megan, Quinn, Tazmin, and Serina it was home to our new apartment--1020 1st St #212--to wait for the midterm election to play out. The results made me feel better than I have in this century, at least since teaching in Munich before 9/11.

Now winter approaches once again and once again the prospects are slight for snow and xc ski training . I'm making do with swimming and racewalking--I went 1:01 in a 5mi race early this month--since I'm not yet cleared for running, as well as continuing cycling on the many warm days provided us since October by global warming. I wish you all bracing workouts, friendly embraces, and all the good cheer you can muster. luv...jb