Spring in Winter

This picture has little to do with the post. I recently had it converted to a 16x20 canvas that I picked up
yesterday
 and hung on the wall. It looks real good. I tried to make photo to canvas prints about 2 months ago and was
 rewarded by being ripped off by a company that still advertises

For the past few days and for at least 2 days to come, it has been sunny and almost 50, a welcome
 relief to me who hates the ice and drabness of winter. I have been trying to take advantage of this 
as much as possible going out for long walks and runs. Yesterday I had Ms. Maya who happily
 toddled back and forth on the sidewalks chortling over her ability to jump curbs.

What is warm is relative. One morning in a small, Italian village on the Mediterranean in October,
 we awoke to temperatures in the 50s. Our Swiss hostess informed us that this was the coldest it
 ever got there. Being Swiss, it didn't stop her from her early morning hour long swim in the sea. 
We went to a bakery with me being dressed in shorts and a short sleeved shirt (my friend was
 dressed more warmly spoiled from living in California for 26 years). The local ladies were
 dressed for a blizzard. One laughed as she saw me.

A week before, we were in Switzerland. It was in the mid 40s there when we took our morning
 walk. A middle aged man dressed in only a Speedo crossed our path and then jumped into the
 swift moving Aar (crossword puzzle alert: Swiss river almost always is Aar or Aare). Our first
 thought was that he was mentally ill, second thought, he is Swiss.

Where we were staying wasn't well known to Americans (unlike the nearby Cinque Terre region
 overrun with them no thanks to Rick Steves). We took a long hike through the mountains. The
 Swiss could be identified from afar as they usually wore no shirts and had walking sticks. The 
Italians dressed way more warmly and didn't have the sticks.


I saw a few people yesterday wearing shorts even though they were not running. We Michiganders
 try to soak up the sun when we can.

Ms. Maya's remaining teeth seem to be all coming in at once making her crabby at night so we
 were giving Naomi a break. We took her shopping with us. She was dressed all in bright pink
 but still several commented on what a cute fellow ' he' was. She does have a lot more hair than
 in  picture above but it is mainly on the back of her head. In the bright sun, the front straight
 hairs glint blond but the longer hairs in back are curly and darker. The hair still isn't very thick. 
One can easily see her scalp. She also isn't speaking. The pediatrician was all concerned that 
she wasn't saying anything at one; can't wait until she sees how much little progress that has 
been made at 18 months. But she is in speech therapy; we are doing all that can be done. She
 does like to imitate all sorts of behavior that aren't  verbal and seems happy and engaged. Also
 fresh in my mind was the anxiety I had with Josh not speaking in a manner that anyone could
 understand for almost 4 years and how he was classified by one tester as 'slow' even though
 the little scamp could play chess and now look at him.

At one of the stores, I bought a fruit smoothie for myself. Maya instantly demanded her share
 happily slurping it up with a straw; the cold must have felt good on her gums.