Random thoughts

There are a few random thoughts that have been kicking around in my head. I keep wanting to mention them on the blog, but they're never related to any events I'm describing. I finally decided just to lump them all together in a posting.

First, parking in Switzerland, or anywhere in Europe, is always an issue when you're going somewhere. You always have to think about whether you'll be able to park when you get to your destination. And the parking places are small, sometimes with little or no room to maneuver in or out. That's one thing that's nice about taking the bus or the train. That's just part of life in an area of the world that's more densely populated. I wonder what parking is like in Japan.

Second, did any of you watch Thursday's bipartisan health care summit? Tanner did. He watched about a half hour Friday night, and then got up on Saturday morning and watched about a half hour more before he finally got tired. We may have a politician in the making.

Third, I'm thinking of heading north of the Arctic Circle this summer. Stace and the kids will be heading to Utah for a family reunion as soon as school is over. Since I can't spend eight weeks in the States, though, I'll be hanging out in Europe by myself for a while. I've always wanted to see Norway, and I've always wanted to go far enough north in the summer that the sun doesn't set at night. If I spend a couple of days kicking around Oslo and then hit the northern Norway city of Tromso on about July 1, I'll be able to do just that. Unfortunately, I won't be able to see the Northern Lights. (Some of you will need to stop and think about why that is. [I don't mean you, Stace. I'm sure you'll know exactly why. You can explain it to the others.])

Fourth, Tanner just lost a tooth a couple of hours ago. Lindsey is still eagerly awaiting the loss of her first tooth.

Fifth, I forgot to mention earlier that the Czechs make some of the best potato salad I've ever tasted. Whoda thunk?

And sixth, the U.S. dollar has improved somewhat against the Swiss frank lately, so you should all get yourselves over here for a visit.

Oh, and seventh, Stuart Bunderson and I are going to Oberammergau, a small town in Germany, for the Passion Play in May. They only do it every ten years. It's a tradition going back a few hundred years. Look it up on the web if you haven't heard of it. It should be pretty cool.