Augustine once famously said that all humans have a God-shaped hole in them. I have recently developed a family-shaped hole. Tracy and Annabel are in Cape Town, they just made it before the volcano cloud. When I dropped them at the airport, all the flights north were already cancelled. So let's pray for some favourable winds in the next week or so, so that they can come back on schedule. Annabel was great on the flight, not really crying, and coping well with all six the takeoffs and landings. The grandparents and great-grandparents are very happy to have her there, and it sounds like they are having a roaring time with friends and family. The photo is one I took with skype, hence the poor quality.

I am stuck in Helsinki because of the volcano, I was meant to travel to a conference this morning, but no planes took off. So instead of one week at a conference and one week at home alone, I now have two weeks at home alone. So far it has been ok, considering the circumstances, but it might get long. The plan is now to work as much as I can, and I have been trying - there is not much else to do...

Spring is sort of arriving, there is not a lot of snow left, only in places where it was heaped to get it out of the way. Nothing much is growing yet and although little buds are starting to form on the smaller plants, everything is still very brown. The temperature has also not been much above 10 yet, and I was thinking of going camping with some of my free time, but when I was walking to my office in the cold I realised that it might not be such a good idea. I'll wait a month or two.

I have recently signed up to Spotify, and it has been worth every cent. There is so much good music on there, and since I no longer have my CD's with me, it has been a real blessing. If you are also a member - search for the Bluegrass Worship Band, I really enjoy them at the moment. They re-imagine current worship hits in a Bluegrass style, it is quite fun.

We had a great weekend away with Willem, Hanna-Leena and her extended family in Paltamo, like we did last year. It was quite a bit warmer this year, and the skiing was not nearly as good as last year. In fact, we had much better skiing in Helsinki than up there. But we had some great conversations, and some amazing meals. It was a real blessing to have a bit of a rest, and we came back tired from the long journey but refreshed from the good company.