Just dropping by for brief update

Will respond to comments these day -- I know one doesn't have to, but I feel terribly rude if I don't.

dickgloucester you'll get Slavica's recipe this week
dickgloucester and duniazade , news re. wine will be forthcoming this week, too.
tudorpot , the book is hilarious -- so very, very American. Thanks! (((hugs)))

In other news: the best laid plans, and all that. Valentina called me yesterday morning, with scarcely any voice -- in fact, I had to apologize for laughing, because her croak sounded rather hilarious -- to cancel the lesson, i.e. her participation in the double.
So I thought I'd test my zenitude. I wrote Pinar a text message re. cancellation but didn't write one to Mr H, since we'd agreed that tennis would have to be confirmed anyway. And I thought, let's see whether he even calls. He didn't, the git, and I'm proud to report that I didn't mind in the least.
Instead of tennis, I went running. Half an hour walking from home up to my favourite running path a bit less than halfway up the Vodno (that's 300 metres elevation in 30 minutes, not bad), and then 30 minutes running with slight up-and downhill. Back home on the road, as cool-down.
In the afternoon we went to the testosterone place (i.e. the hunting restaurant a little outside Skopje) with friends and had a great time with good wine and a large platter with Macedonian starters. They make their own sausage there. YUM!
More horror stories about Mr H, and I wonder whether he might not have an "accident" quite soon. Boy, do his employees hate him. *shrugs* Well, that's a problem he'll have to deal with. My lips are sealed anyway, and I'm just gathering information and watching. Since I have the equivalent of a ring seat, I'm enjoying it quite a lot.

Busy day today, with briefing at [...] followed by (certainly very, very boring) bilateral negotiations. It's about the bilateral economic working programme for the next 2 years, and the Austrian delegation will be doing the work anyway, so I'm really just decoration. Bored decoration, but that's part of the job.

Good days to y'all!