For all of us wondering how long it would take me to shirk my responsibilities to post a blog entry once weekly during 2015, we now have an answer: 13 weeks. I’m blaming the cumulative effect of various events—also known as life—for this week’s tardiness.

So far, week 13 (in keeping true to 13’s promise of bad luck) has dealt us this hand:

1. Faulty luggage conveyer belts at Heathrow means that we still haven’t gotten our luggage from London. The latest report is that it has arrived in Almaty—good news for us, as our luggage consists mostly of my computer charger (I’m at 22% and still going strong!), and dirty laundry wrapped around sweet potatoes and avocados. Luckily we had enough time in the luggage drop-off line to remove the 20 lbs. of British cheese and sausages we’d packed…

2. London shared some of its spring weather with us on our way out of England (which felt every bit like someone spitting in your face), giving us an opportunity to look forward to Almaty’s spring weather—um, 12 inches of snow on the day that we landed.

3. Ugh, SICK. No sooner than we landed, I began sneezing my fool head off. I’m on my second day home from work now (but definitely on the mend).

All this said, faithful readers, I don’t want to leave you with the impression that this week’s blog post is nothing but a bitch-session. Let me share some of the good luck that we’ve had lately:

1. Our airbnb experience (our first) was exceptional. Simply by chance, Brazilian-born artist Tete De Alencar, www.tetedealencar.com, was our bright and open-hearted hostess who very generously invited us into her home, her studio, and her art practice. She is an inspiration.

2. Hank and Mishka slipped easily into their old life and routines after our return.

3. And the best bit of good luck? Our baby boy, due in late July, has all of his parts in all the right places, and is growing along just the way he should be. Bonus: Sam and I have already agreed on a name.

Take that, 13!

{Above: brooding, obligatory photo from Stonehenge…which has very little to do with the content of this post}