Another Weather Imposed Quiet Weekend

Another quiet weekend.  We had planned to stay at a little cabin in the Šumava with our friend Madla, but, due to heavy snow, the train could not go through to the nearest little town.  We would have had to carry all our gear and Silas several kilometers through a foot of snow. So, we stayed home to enjoy our sixth straight day of gray skies and rain.

At the farmers market yesterday one vendor was selling gigantic yellow mums.  I bought as many as I could carry because they look like the sun.

The older kids and I went to a climbing gym with Aleš and his kids.  That was great fun.  Lucy forced herself to be brave and climbed all the way to the ~25 foot high ceiling.  Caleb climbed all over.  The biggest excitement for me was falling.  Caleb was belaying me and when I suddenly fell trying to execute a move, he was yanked off his feet and slammed into the wall before his weight and friction stopped me.  People came running around corners to see so it must have been a pretty big crash when he hit.  Then, adding insult to injury, when we stopped for ice cream afterwards, our inability to communicate effectively ended up with him getting a single scoop of ice cream while everyone else had two scoops.  Poor kid.

From 2009-10

Today, we saw the sun and I was about to report that there was no rain, but the clouds just broke.  They are saying this is the coldest October in 30 years - we must have brought a little Minnesota with us.

Along with the change in weather came another change in my feelings.  Our first two weeks were all about asking why we did this and frankly missing the routine and rigors of my job.  Then I got a bike, got in shape, and felt like I was in paradise, prompting me to brainstorm on how to extend my joblessness perpetually.  Now, cold, wet, and unable to run due to a pulled muscle, I have returned to reality.  Though I'll bet that a nice Grandma Summer (their term for Indian Summer) will have me once again with my head in the proverbial clouds. 

Finally, if you are wondering about Silas' birthday, yep, it's today.  But, because we were going to be gone, we planned to celebrate on Monday.  We ordered a special cake for him that won't be ready until tomorrow, so we'll hold the course there and we'll have a special Silas Edition tomorrow.