Long after the trip to Hausermann’s Orchids, we present the pictures we took. Many of these pictures are taken using the close-up lens adapters I got for my birthday. (Thanks!)

I was running down the stairs Thursday morning, trying to catch the early train, and missed a step after the turn at the 2nd floor. Since I hadn’t been holding either railing, instead of tumbling down the remaining 6-7 stairs, I flew down them. Terrifying it was to be in freefall, and then I landed with a hell of a thud on my forearms, knees and face. My head and neck were throbbing, and I heard a clatter. Lying there, my nose smushed into the carpet, I thought, “Oh, shit, my glasses are broken, and I leave for Brazil in less than a week! What will I do?” ...

Arguably this route would have made sense a century ago. (I’m deliberately ignoring any difficulties a war would introduce for that first leg.) These days, it only makes sense if you are in no great hurry at all. Dep. Fushiki On ship Arr. Vladivostok, transfer to Trans-Siberian Express On train (Khabarovsk) On train Arr. Irkutsk In Irkutsk Dep. Irkutsk On train (Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk) On train (Omsk, Yekaterinburg) Arr. Moskva Yaroslavskaya In Moscow Dep. Moskva Belorusskaya Warszawa Arr. Berlin Lichtenberg In Berlin Dep. Berlin Ostbahnhof Arr. Paris Nord (via Brussels) In Paris Dep. Paris Nord, Arr. London Waterloo In London Dep. London Euston, Arr. Birmingham New St. In Birmingham Dep. Birmingham New St., Arr. Dun Laoghaire (via Holyhead) [Updated 7-Mar-2005: hope the edited text is clearer now.]

Since the first day in March, we in the Midwestern states get to see our credit reports free online once a year. It’s not that easy to find where, but Google did show an article in the Indianapolis Star. Reading the sidebar, we found that you have to go through www.annualcreditreport.com—it’s not enough to go through one of the normal credit agency web sites. Nothing to get excited about, though we did not go so far as to check our actual credit scores. (That’s $5 extra.) There are no signs of identity theft.

On Sunday afternoon, at the invitation of friends, we went to the open house at Hausermann’s Orchids in the western ‘burbs. We left our cars near the expressway on the west side of Chicago and piled into the van with his parents and his grandmother to drive out to Villa Park, yet another suburb where I haven’t been before. What greeted us, in addition to door prizes and snacks, were several acres of greenhouses teeming with orchids of all shapes, colors and sizes. It was simply gorgeous, to the point of being overwhelming. It also was a great opportunity to try out the new close-up lenses that my folks gave C for his birthday. ...

Jon Udell has been experimenting with Google maps. The result is interesting in itself, but his closing remark fires my imagination. He says he’s been wondering what we’re going to do with the GPS-enabled phones that everyone will have within a few years. His answer: “we’re going to annotate the planet”.

Susan came across the story of the infamous Purple Cow ditty in the Writer’s Almanac of January 30, 2005 (under Literary and Historical Notes). In case you forget, it goes like this: I never Saw a Purple Cow; I never Hope to See One; But I can Tell you, Anyhow, I’d rather See than Be One. Turns out the author wrote a sequel: Ah, yes, I wrote the Purple Cow; I’m sorry now I wrote it; But I can tell you, Anyhow, I’ll Kill you if you Quote it. ...

We have cats again. This time it’s permanent, unlike the long-term cat-sitting arrangment we had last year. Their previous owner developed asthma and had to let them go. Thanks to e-mail and a mutual acquaintance, they came straight to us without having to make an interim stop at a shelter. So, the cats: AJ is small, gray, female, playful, cuddly and very outgoing; Lieber is big, black, male and still hiding under the guest bed after a week of being with us. It’s a HUGE bonus that they don’t have their front claws. I’m embarassed to say it, but in fact we might not have taken them fully clawed; it was such a hassle to deal with the previous cats’ destructive tendencies. ...

The scene: A small house in Gainesville (n. central Florida) and a state wildlife refuge in Homosassa Springs (on the Gulf coast) No snow and no ice; some clouds, some sun, and a small downpour on Saturday afternoon; temps ranging from the 30s (0 C) to the 70s (18 C) Brownish grass and some bare trees but in general quite a lot of green and even some flowers The cast of characters: Lead roles: ...

As a surprise for my birthday, Susan booked us on a flight to Orlando this weekend. Even called my boss to check it was okay to leave early to catch the flight. That means we’ll probably be missing the 12”/30 cm of snow forecast for Chicago tonight. We’re actually going to rent a car and drive to Gainesville where we are visiting friends. I always like Friday but this is something extra to look forward to.