Thawing out

It's supposed to be 47 here in Berlin this weekend. I am overJOYED. I heard birds singing at dusk last weekend and thought "oh...do you know something I don't know? Is it really going to get warmer?!" There may still be a late snow, but it feels like it's winding down.

Imelda and Marla are probably on their way to the airport in London to come over here, and I find myself with a clean house (mostly done last weekend) and a dissertation description to edit. But the push to take the weekend off, while they're here, has gotten me through 3/4 of the material I had left at the Federal Archives, through most of the material at the Koch Institute, and with a list full of bullet points and last tidbits to take care of. One more conference proposal and a grant application for early March, and then it's just research all the way.

As of yesterday, it's one month to go! It's a bit bittersweet, because I do love Berlin, and I'm nervous about everything awaiting me at home, but it's home, and I'm ready to be finished with research and get started writing. And then there's the whole not-being-5,000-miles-away-from-everyone-I-love business. Words fail me.

And I will do not a speck of work until March 3, if I can help it. Maybe a 4+ hour opera or a Turkish bath, but we shall see...