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We're in the Homestretch. . .

A photograph of racing dogs seemed more appropriate, given my current state of mind, than racing horses.

Well, Sir, we are almost there.  The final day of classes is next Tuesday after which I have final drafts of papers to read and final course grades to submit online.  And then it's time to start painting all of these wagons, carts, and teams.  Our friend in Berlin, "Tante Anita," took delivery of the Berliner Zinnfiguren 30mm forge last Saturday, which the Grand Duchess will transport home in her carry-on baggage when she returns after her approaching three-week research tip to Berlin in May.  

Naturally, I'd love to be in Berlin during May myself, but there you are.  The Young Master and I will hold down the fort in Mom's absence.  Meanwhile, the Grand Duchess will enjoy, by all accounts, and judging from the photographs I've seen online, a a rather posh apartment somewhere on the western edge of the city.  Let's just say it looks rather more opulent than anything she/we have stayed in during previous residencies and visits.  Sigh.  As Rod Stewart once sang many years ago now, some guys have all the luck. . .  and some guys do nothin' but complain.  Sigh again.

Otherwise, it's the usual end-of-semester dull roar here at Stollen Central.  A sunny, warm(er) Good Friday so far.  Feeling pretty good today, so I'll wear a suit to school later simply to celebrate being alive, if you'll pardon the somewhat oblique Gay Talese reference.  And if you observe such things, Happy Good Friday. . .  langfredag as it's known in Norwegian.

 -- Stokes

Comments

marinergrim said…
When someone says that the wife/mom/housekeeper will be away I always think of the Simpsons episode when Margery is sent to prison and the house becomes a refuse tip.
Good luck!
2:22 PM
WSTKS-FM Worldwide said…
It's actually the other way around here at Stollen Central, Paul IN other words, everything will be shipshape, picked up, put away, and spotless for three weeks in May. ;-)

Best Regards,

Stokes
2:48 PM
Mad Padre said…
Wishing you all at Stollen a very happy and blessed Easter. I too am in the home stretch, having dispatched two of the three papers I need to submit to finish my last MA courses. A brief respite of games, painting, and yard work will follow before I start the thesis, which is mostly mapped out and ready to roll.
I have many faculty friends who have shared their groaners and travails with me, so I feel your pain. As a history prof friend of mine said, "I teach for free, I get paid to mark".
All the best getting through your travails, M
9:03 AM
CelticCurmudgeon said…
My Dear Heinz Ulrich,

Greetings and best wishes to you and the royal family for a most wonderful Easter.

This is the best time of the year, full of hope and the expectation that the grayness of winter shall be relaced with the warmth of the Spring, the tweeting of song birds and the sweet scent of flowers as they blossom. And, as I remember, completing the work load of correcting papers and posting grades, places a nice punctuation mark on the instructor's work for the semester.
I cannot wait to see how the field forge looks with a bit of paint. Will you be creating a mini-diorama with workers from the Minden range?
All the best,
Gerardus Magnus
Archbishop Emeritus
11:15 AM
WSTKS-FM Worldwide said…
Thank you, men! And Happy Easter to you too. The end of the academic year really isn't that bad. It's just that there aren't enough hours in the day. As my wife so aptly put it late the other evening, "It's all of the little things dumped in your lap between 8am-5pm everyday that make it difficult."

Best Regards,

Stokes
1:14 PM
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