Back in Bermuda

The thing with writing a blog is that you really have to be disciplined. Once a month is not nearly enough – readers will soon give up when nothing new is written. Then again, even if you’re disciplined, you have to either do or say something interesting; otherwise you lose the audience anyway.

That being said, I should probably just quit since I’m not sure I can fulfill any of those requirements. But then, there ARE the relatives and the really good friends who ask why I haven’t written, so here I am back again.

I actually started writing a couple of times, but just never finished. (There’s that lack of discipline). The first post was sort of a recap of 2008 but it got too wordy, too detailed, and then I had a hard time trying to tie everything together enough to send it out. My second was to wish everyone a happy and prosperous New Year, but that seemed too short. So let’s start again.

Very quickly --- we had an enjoyable time in the States. Saw relatives, friends, and neighbors. Ate a lot, drank a lot, relaxed a lot. Enjoyed the crisp mid-west weather (up to a point). Otherwise, a fairly uneventful trip. Only downside was I caught a stomach virus on or around Christmas day that I couldn’t completely shake until a few days ago. I’m sure I was pretty snarly even (maybe especially) to Kim and Michael Anne.

We’ve been back in Bermuda since January 2nd. Michael Anne is with us and will be here until January 23rd when she heads to Italy for her next semester of study. Our Bermuda house seems to have survived quite well in our absence. Bermuda weather this time of the year is mild (temps range from about 55 to 75) so no need for air conditioning while we’re gone. Humidity remains high, so we usually run fans just to keep things moving.

Last week Bermuda kicked off its 400-year anniversary celebration with a party on Hamilton’s Front Street. Speeches, parade (of sorts), entertainment, dancing, fireworks. In typical Adriano fashion, we three got there very early. In typical Bermuda fashion, though, the festivities started late. Result? We tired out before anything really interesting happened, went home, heard the fireworks, and read about the entertainment in the paper. Fortunately (maybe) that was only the start. There will be celebrations of sorts going on throughout the year.

Yesterday the three of us drove to St. George on the east end of the island. St. George is sort of the historical part of Bermuda. Lots of touristy sights and shops. Most were open in spite of the fact that this is off-season. The three of us wandered the town pretty much alone. Partly sunny, high in upper sixties. Had an alfresco lunch with great views of the harbor. You can always tell the tourists. We’re underdressed by Bermuda standards. Bermudians this time of year are bundled up in winter clothes.

That’s sort of the news up to now. And even though it’s well under way we wish you all a very Happy New Year.