SURPRISE!!!!

Did you ever think I would blog again?

Was I dead to ya???

Oh, ye of little faith! I'm back with a vengeance!!!

Ok, maybe not a vengeance, but I do plan on blogging again on a quasi-fairly-semi-regular basis.

So...

What's happened since my last post lo those many months ago?

We've been to Paris, Chicago/Florida, Milan, Lisbon, Amalfi, and then back to the U.S... permanently!

Yes, you read that correctly. We have moved back to the U.S. In fact, we just arrived in NY this past Sunday, so I guess you can say we're "just off the boat." Or, in this case, the plane.

We're currently residing in temporary housing while Mrs. TBF begins her new job, we feverishly shop for a house, figure out what kind of car(s) we're going to buy, figure out where we're going, etc., etc.

We have a million things to do, but we're REALLY excited to be back.

The move went well, we said temporary goodbyes to friends (some are coming to see us in a couple of weeks), and enjoyed our last couple months of Swiss residency.

It was a great 10 years in Switzerland, but...

...it's time to begin the next chapter.

Sweet Relief!

Today's high is supposed to be 35˚C/95˚F. Tomorrow's high is only supposed to be 26˚C (high-70s), and on Saturday it's only supposed to get up to 23˚C (low 70s)!!

Maybe, by tomorrow, I'll even begin wearing a shirt again! Woo-HOO!!!

Yeah, it's been pretty hot this week. But this past week doesn't even come close to comparing to the summer of 2003 here in Basel. That summer was absolute hell. Temperatures regularly approached 40˚C (over 100˚F) for what seemed like three full months, and we had very little rain. Mrs. TBF has "air conditioning" at her office, but I remember her telling me that it pretty much just cooled the office down to the point where I would have been just sweating rather than sweating profusely.

Speaking of sweating profusely...

Here's a self-portrait taken after riding my bike back from the gym on August 6, 2003. I would ride my bike to the gym, change out of my soaking wet bike riding clothes, and then I'd change into fresh workout clothes. After my workout, I'd just stand under a cold shower, dry off, and then change into fresh clothes for the bike ride home. By the time I was at home, those clothes would be soaked through.

Lots of laundry that summer!

We were miserable (along with all of the neighbors), and the pets were miserable too. But hey, life goes on!

God bless "too cold" (as all the Europeans call it) American air conditioning!!!

Happy 4th Of July!

Roughly translated:

Most Americans love their native country. Nevertheless, on the 4th of July, they are particularly patriotic and get their flags from their basements. 232 years ago today, the 2nd Continental Congress of the 13 British Colonies in North America met. They adopted the Declaration of Independence of the United States. The main author was Thomas Jefferson, who later became the 3rd President of the USA.

Plus, dudes...it's, like, the day we all began speaking American instead of English. Have a nice barbecue, drink a few cold beverages, and enjoy the fireworks.

God bless America!