Geo: 52.2681, 4.54507 To begin the month of April we went to Annemieke's Pluktuin, a tulip farm. Everyone was invited to pick 10 tulips from their fields, to take back with us to brighten up our cabins in the ship. So much beauty in our arms! I picked ones that were either still closed, or barely opened, thinking that in ten days' time they would all blossom (which they did). I tried to pick pink tulips and purple ones, but also got a yellow, an orange, and a red tulip to take back with me. Finding vases to hold these gorgeous, hopeful flowers was a trick; I used our ice bucket, which served quite well. And after visiting the tulip farm we went to Keukenhof, the 79 acre flower park that was once the kitchen garden ... read more

Geo: 44.9653, -69.1086 It's been a very long, very cold, very snowy winter, the second snowiest winter on record for this part of the world. Our area has received almost three times the expected average amount of snow for the total winter! And I survived staying home for all these frozen months. This was a huge accomplishment for me, one I haven't done in years, but that hadn't been my plan; I had intended to go volunteer in Bali, or Sri Lanka, or India, or to teach a semester in the Philippines, but nothing came clear, nothing was so compelling that I felt excited about rushing to confirm the months I'd be gone, or to book flights. I did pay for expediting my new passport, but that turned out to be wasteful. So, rather than act ... read more

Geo: 44.9653, -69.1086 Usually I love celebrations. Whether it's in Peru or Ecuador, being swept up into one of their frequent parades (often with a religious theme), or in Thailand for Songkran, their Water Festival, or in India for Holi, their Festival of Colors, I love joining in with happy people laughing and singing and dancing. Having grown up in a fair-sized city, yet living in a rural area for a quarter of a century, there are times when I hunger for being part of a huge crowd, walking anonymously through multitudes of people, picking up on the energy a large city intrinsically has and projects. Sometimes I just need to be with people, lots and lots of people. So even though I do not agree with much the US has been doing for many years, ... read more

Geo: 44.9653, -69.1086 Today is my birthday. Another ride around the sun completed. For as many years as I can remember, April 21 has always been a beautiful day, and today was no exception. I have always felt lucky that I was born in late April, a month of true spring, blossoming trees and flowers, the singing of the peepers, delicate scents to delight the senses, a softness in the air, the reawakening of the earth. Unfortunately, this is not true in April in Maine; it will take another three weeks until we see evidence of all this new life unfolding, and I am totally impatient waiting for winter to release us from its awful grip, especially this year even though I wasn't here for most of it. My youngest daughter came home for this Easter/birthday ... read more

Geo: 44.9653, -69.1086 I am home. Home: all the images and comforts that word conjures! After almost four months of constant international travel (there was a break for December) I left Delhi, India one morning at 11AM and by 8PM that evening was in Boston, back in the USA. 17 hours of flight time, 4 good movies, 2 Sherlock Holmes 21st century BBC productions, lots of interesting British Airways food, what felt like miles of walking through both the Delhi and Heathrow airports, saying "Happy Holi" (in India) at least a million times, saying "Happy St. Patrick's Day" (in Boston) fewer times, gaining 9 1/2 hours (from India) from heading west around the globe, seeing my luggage appear among the first few on the baggage carousel, and upon exiting the inner airport seeing my husband and ... read more