Today was simply beautiful, beautiful as only the Northwoods of Wisconsin are. It was a bitter, sparkling cold this morning with the brilliant sun making the snow covered ground and frozen lakes glow. Admiring all this as I sat inside enjoying my breakfast this morning I thought, "all I really want to do today is go frolic outside in the sunshine." So I grabbed my classic skis (after waiting an hour for it to warm up to zero; I'm not that tough) and tromped around on the birkie trail. The cold and the sun made the day feel pure, like everything was good in the world. As I was skiing I thought about how lucky I was to be able to wake up in the morning and say that the one thing I wanted to do most was to play in the sun and that's exactly what I was supposed to be doing. (Don't tell Fish, but I stayed out for 3hrs instead of the prescribed 2.) I am thrilled to be flying to Japan on Monday but, right now, I am pretty content right here.