2018 Week 2: A Quiet Week

A quiet week for me, but not for others. Michael had to clear the long driveway and lane several times.

On the one warm day, the snow gone, the temperature was such that the bees should have been venturing out. The beeman went out to feed them if necessary to make it through the rest of the winter. Sadly, there was no life.

Sunday evening we were still in puzzle-mood and Moriah did not have homework (unbelievable!) so she brought one up. It was a photo I took last year when the family went to MadJax to celebrate our anniversary. 

Speaking of robotics, the intense build-season has begun!  Not such a quiet week for Michael.

Monday meal was provided by Steph and Karen's neighbor-friend Jasmine--pulled pork and cole slaw, and Karen made gruel, a bean soup. 
[1. a thin porridge 2. from to get one's gruel to accept punishment, chiefly British : punishment]

Karen: "This is so good."

Meanwhile Stephan had an exciting week so I collected his Facebook posts for your enjoyment.

The Adventures of Stephan Koch

1/08
Today I'm flying to Slovakia. It's a carving reunion with my first Ice Alaska team Captain, Stan Kolonko. We are carving in the High Tatras Mountains. We Americans like our power tools but their outlets are different over there. Should be interesting...Top of Form

And the delays begin. All through my youth my parents travelled and travelled and we did a lot of driving and waiting in airports. It seems like anytime one has an opportunity to try overseas travel delays are the name of the game. Though in Canadia I'm sure the word is different--or the word is the same but means something different...

I thought I was going to Vienna tonight. Wrong. It's London--such is the rebooking process...

1/09
The good people of London went ahead and learned English in preparation for my arrival to their airport. How generous!

Top of Form

The Toilets in London are for men [with shoulder pads]and women in hoopskirts...

Trying to figure out what these signs at the Vienna airport mean. I'm thinking the first has to do with wind blowing towards people and the second has to do with wind blowing away.

Do you have any idea how long it takes to figure out how type out an email address when the @ is in the wrong place on this QWERTZ keyboard?

1/10
As an American, transplanted at a young age though I was, I'm really glad we can show our patriotism by appreciating the red, white, and blue!!!

...just like Russia, France, England, Slovakia, Australia, Holland, New Zealand, etc, etc...

I can't figure out which channel to watch--German, Dutch, Russian, French, Italian, Portuguese, Arabic, Japanese, or English...

VeggieTales in Ukrainian. Now I've seen it all.

Well I finally made it to Slovakia but my carving tools did not...

I'm feeling very fortunate that my parents thought it prudent to teach me the main trade language in Europe.

Unfortunately I can't flush gravel down Slovakian toilets. I'll have to leave that American tradition at home...
 Slovakian saunas make me realize I really didn't know anything about saunas...the tea towel they ask you to change into is interesting...

Tools are back in my possession and with hours to spare...

Team Tatry Ice Master 2018; Mountain-top experience

1/12

The Slovak word for pharmacy is here to remind me of my wife... Karen

I had great fun carving this fairy and butterfly in Slovakia today. It's called Flying Lessons--the fairy is teaching the butterfly to fly...or maybe the fairy is learning how to fly, from the butterfly. The carver support at this competition is amazing and it's also an experience taking a cable car to the carving location.

1/13

Stan Kolonko and I had fun carving this 10 block calf roper. The conditions were right for a certain amount of risk and of course we were concerned when we cut the supports but Stan's work was proficient and the rope did sag but did not break!

American Rodeo