I don't know how the counter registers "Europe" with the EU flag, but it did today, along with Belgium. That brings us up to fifty flags so far.A hearty welcome to these latest guests! Y'all come again, hear?
When I was on the tour described in the Switzerland posting below (1969) the European Union did not yet exist. Nor did the Euro exist when I was in England in 1997. We did encounter Euros in transit on the second trip to St Petersburg in 2004, in the Frankfurt airport. In Russia, however, one uses only Rubles (legally at least).
My first venture outside the US was my semester abroad in fall of 1967. We spent two week in intensive French at the School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont, then flew across the Atlantic, landing in Brussels. So my first point of contact with Europe was Belgium. We had just a brief time there but I do recall the sense of Flemish architecture and pommes frites (they are, after all, really Belgian fries and not French at all).
Speaking of which, I had some very nice ones with my green chile cheeseburger tonight across the street from the UNM campus at the Frontier, a local landmark. They were hot and delightfully crispy-crunchy on the outside. So there is my Mardi Gras extravaganza, which, as I ponder the current moment on the Church calendar, seems to call for a trip downstairs for something dripping in butter. Hmm, I could make some pancakes, though that would be second dinners--and I am a bear, not a hobbit. What to do, what to do?
As for techie adventures, I may have been indulging in condomless computing because some of my files have become corrupted. Again. The Apple guy--shout out to David!--cleaned it up and for the moment all is well. Just in case it does not stay that way, they ordered a new hard drive to have on hand if needed, and since the big crash came last month while the computer was still under warranty, it won't cost me anything if this happens in the next thirty days. After that, sucker, well... another story.
So that's my news. I have not read a thing about primary vote returns and am steeling myself to go look. Or I could make pancakes. Lots of real butter and maple syrup down in the kitchen....
UPDATE:
The pancakes won. [Mad cheering everywhere, confetti and balloons falling from my office ceiling.] I dashed downstairs, mixed up some no-cholesterol eggs (I know, no reason on this occasion, but it's what I keep in stock), non-fat milk, dash of salt, bit of sugar, hint of vanilla, some flour, a bit of baking powder. No measurements. Whipped the heck out of it and slapped it into the pan. It was a very thin batter and I began, foolishly, to panic, so I added more flour. By the time I bit into the first batch I knew the added flour was a mistake. The first few were heaven. The rest we all right: a vehicle for butter and syrup.
Well, if this Tuesday's gonna be fat, and me with it, might as well make the most of it. All is well on the desert front.
--the BB
