If all else fails...

The parents have landed! With tea AND another mug! Now I have a back-up mug for the back-up mug, so it doesn't look quite as sombre. It's just one mug from a country of mugs, although I suspect more and more will be leaving as the mugs in charge press self-destruct. Not even tea can save them now. After all, we've been here before – tea bags, tea leaves, tea gone.
They might think twice about coming here though. There was an icy reception for my parents on their first visit to Brrrrrrrrrrrrrlin – 14 C below zero – and the next day could only be described as inhumane. The cold wind would skin a polar bear. Even penguins were complaining before they upped and left for the relative warmth of Antarctica.
Family matters means there's no escaping for me this winter, and work means I won't be able to hibernate through it either. Not that I'm complaining: nipperdom promises exciting times, and work is a hAPpy distraction from chilling thoughts of weather. And if all else fails – Glühwein.
Tomorrow sees the first eagerly-anticipated summit of the expectant grandparents take place. Kicking off at 11 a.m. (only at my insistence; otherwise it'd be even earlier), it promises to be quite an occasion. There are rumours of Bienenstich and meat-platters being prepared. There's not a word of a communal language between them so myself and Jenny will be acting as translators. Again, if all else fails – Glühwein.