See icon -- cornucopia is really just a euphemism for a lot of not overly important things

Back is almost ok. I'm very glad I know my body so well -- all that was necessary was 1) capsicum plaster, 2) careful warming, i.e. walking on the treadmill, 3) careful but intense stretching. I can move without pain now; changes in position, i.e. sitting down and getting up, have to be made slowly and carefully, because we really don't want the muscles to act up again, now do we.

The weather is marvellous. Rather cool but sunny, the trees in full red-gold-green gala outfit, the air crisp. This makes me happy, and I don't feel very tired in spite of another repetition of the "3hrs sleep - 2 hrs awake -- 2,5 hrs sleep" pattern. The sum total of hours slept wouldn't be so small, but the interruption between ~ midnight and 2 a.m. rather reduces the overall effect of having slept. *shrugs* I'm being pretty zen about it, because it has happened many times already, and whenever the body really needed 8 hrs of uninterrupted sleep, it got them, so that's ok I suppose.

Everybody at the Embassy seems to be in a good mood. This is partly due to the weather, I guess, and partly to the fact that we're going to declare the Embassy closed around 1 p.m., to retire to the 2nd floor common room and have an "Oktoberfest" with roast suckling pig, many delicacies and large quantities of alcohol. Janine will have to participate, poor thing -- not because she dislikes suckling pig or the company, but because she had to get up at a (for her) ungodly hour in order to catch her plane to Skopje. Tonight we're going to stay in, and I'll cook. This reminds me that I still have to do a bit of grocery shopping. Or maybe not -- I've got enough ingredients at home to produce some very decent risotto or pasta, and as far as I know her, that's exactly what she'll be wanting. Besides we'll both be full of suckling pig, so maybe dinner is going to be a frugal affair anyway. Janine is rather low maintenance, bless her.

Daniel the Lovely Nephew has already submitted a few suggestions for desserts I could make on 6 November. My problem is that I don't like sweets and therefore am not very good at preparing them. The lemon tarte he suggested doesn't look too difficult though, and the dough ought to be a piece of cake (OMG baaad pun) due to dacian_goddess 's fantastic recipe. If my courage abandons me, Panna Cotta, though not Austrian, is always a safe bet, and it can -- or rather must -- be prepared the day before, which reduces stress considerably. I think I might make another IKEA soup, because people seem to like the idea, and it's easy, tasty and stress-free. Main course will have to be some kind of roast, ideally something that gets better the longer you let it rest. Unfortunately Mr H eats neither onion nor tomatoes. Git. The tomatoes wouldn't be a big problem, but cooking without onions isn't the easiest task in the world. (Does he eat garlic? Damned if I remember...)

Since the weatherforecast was correct for today, I'll assume it's correct also for the weekend. Barring unforeseen developments, this means that Teh Cunning Plan will indeed be put ino action, and Mr H's legs and the rest of him subjected to the critical eye of Best Friend. She saw him briefly at the Viennese Ball, but up, close and personal (not to forget wearing shorts) is of course much better.

I must say I'm in a rather effervescent mood today myself. Not getting any work done of course, and utterly lacking concentration, but at least I've already done the evaluation talk with one of my visa girls -- feel the love, is all I can say. If somebody tells me I'm the first she comes to with her problems, and that she wanted my opinion on whether to continue her university studies or not, and it's not flattery, that's one of the biggest rewards I can possibly imagine. I'm very, very glad I'm doing this right, because up till now (two talks still to be done) everybody has agreed that the climate has improved, and that they're actually looking forward every day to going to work.

Janine's flight has taken off right on time.

Life is good.