Today was meant to mark my deliverance from the long, long Easter break–school has been out since April 5, and I’ve felt every day, believe you me–but instead I’ve got two sick kids at home and am nursing a doozy of a sore throat myself. Lydia has the same sore throat I have, and Tage has assorted cold symptoms, including a raw, red patch of impetigo around his nose and mouth, so my days have been spent lately passing out popsicles and cough drops and liberally applying anti-bacterial ointment. Also, this morning I started gargling cayenne-pepper water in hopes of restoring my ability to swallow normally, and while my mouth is on fire, my throat does seem to be feeling better. So, that’s us.

Last week was a good deal more fun, with my friend Leslie and her ten-year-old son Alex visiting for a few days from Stockholm. It was the first time in nearly two years that Leslie and I were able to spend any quality time together, and it felt good to be able just to sit and talk. In fact, it felt so good that while they were here, I booked tickets to go visiting down their way at the end of next week. Leslie’s birthday is April 26, and she’s having her party the next weekend. My own birthday is one week before, and I managed to convince Olof that a good present for me would be a trip on my own to the big city to do a bit of celebrating. He’s a good guy, that husband of mine.