Cough, Cough. Gasp. I am waving hello to all of those who responded to my last post through a thick, gritty fog, that has enveloped the Martini lounge. Thank you (and Google reader) for remembering me.

I thought smoke monsters only existed in the minds of the creative writers at LOST. Little did I know but, far from mythical, they are real, fierce, and nestled, deep within the Eyjafjallajoekull volcano in Iceland. (Is it just me or does the name of the volcano sound made up.)

I guess what I am trying to say is that volcanic ash from the far north has not only disrupted air travel all over the world, but also (gasp) the relaunching of this blog.

No, it's nothing so catastrophic. I'm fine. Charlie is fine. And Max, who is always flying the sometimes friendly skies, miraculously made it home with a no-name airline from a quick trip to Romania last Friday. However, friends and visitors in and around Europe haven't been so lucky. As a result, our home has become part staging area, part refugee shelter for friends and friends of friends, who haven't been able to return to their home countries. Until things settle down, I won't be able to even think about posting.

If you are reading this in the quiet comfort of your own home, please do a little rain and wind dance for Europe so that we can finally say goodbye to the nasty smoke monster.