photo by Cody Bralts



THINGS I DID ***NOT*** DO ON MY WINTER VACATION TO FLORIDA, ALL OF WHICH I HAVE DONE ON VACATION BEFORE:



check work email obsessively write frequently in a journal solely because I “had time” make to-do lists for my return to IL collect shells like there were never going to be shells again, ever dread going home (well, “dread” is a v strong word) get a sunburn over my entire body (just my face, unfortunately. Oh, and my shins.) drive the car stay fully caught up with the news take photos with a real camera (used the iPhone instead, with decent results) go for a walk on our last morning (I regret this) enter the Gulf of Mexico past my ankles watch TV (apart from a couple basketball games) worry excessively about the house, the cats, etc* explore any farmers’ market or natural food stores/co-ops wear socks or shoes most of the time



THINGS I ACTUALLY DID WHILE AT THE BEACH:



fly a kite shoot occasional lo-fi video catch a cold drink caffeinated coffee (I usually drink decaf due to anxiety, but miraculously, etc etc) eat berries and citrus and lots of other stuff used the iPhone for just about everything sit on the beach for long periods of time pretending to read but actually just listening to the water and sniffing the very salty air see bald eagles and their babies pet a beach cat named Peepster** sleep walk Twitter the whole thing from beginning to end so I wouldn’t forget anything, on account of the not writing anything down



We also spent time with some of my relatives (Dad, Uncle Sacha, and my Oma, who was very Oma this time around) and some of Jim’s relatives (actually, a lot of Jim’s relatives, including my in-laws, whom I adore), and it was excellent.



Now I’m back. I took today off to regroup and catch up with things like work and mail and cat hair and seed-starting and extracurricular activities. I better get to it.



* this was interesting to me. When we’re away, I typically worry myself about what’s going on at home to the point where enjoyment of any vacation-related proceedings gets to be difficult… and nothing ever happens while we’re gone, of course. This time, however, we found out a couple of days before leaving FL that our furnace had stopped working and it was 48 degrees in the house. Which, you know, is not exactly freezing (cats were fine), but some v cold air was on the way and we were wondering about pipes freezing, and we thought, you know, it’d be nice to come home to a house that was a bit warmer than 48 degrees, etc… but, surprising everyone (including myself), I didn’t worry too much about it or get hysterical or tense or unhappy. I was, instead, philosophical. After all, what could we do other than enlist the help of our totally awesome friends and neighbors? For some reason, it did not interfere in any way with my enjoyment of sunset or food or the beach (last year it would have been too much) nor did it make me extra-crabby on the way home. Thanks to Ed with the Breakaway Head and Neighbor Dave for troubleshooting and fixing the “Cadillac of Furnaces”.



** Peepster, who lives next door to where we stayed and who, quite possibly, has the best life of any cat:

3. The Chrysler, Failures and Sparks (2003, Galaxy Gramophone in the US) Sweet, simple and not a little sinister, like nights must have been in the canyons of LA on the back side of the good times in the 60s. I hear this and I hear what it smells like before a thunderstorm, or what brains are thinking before they bestow weird dreams. Acoustic guitar and some well-placed piano laced with the singer’s nasal, of-a-different-era voice call to mind what Joe Henry might sound like after being shaken in a time machine, stirred by Scandinavian sensibility. Expansive thoughts from me, but to Cody it just reminds him of having the stomach flu, Failures & Sparks on repeat. #################### When we came home from vacation back in February, there were little scraps of yellow construction paper all over the floor. Mr. Teacups, our youngest cat who is prone to such behaviors, apparently taught himself how to read in our absence, for he had shredded the following, created by Lilly on the cats’ behalf (behalves?): ######################### My ex-boyfriend’s sister designs shoes Sign up to help the Great Sunflower Project (well, all except Femme, who can plant something more to her liking, if she wishes) Gene Lodgson is re-issuing his much loved and long out-of-print book Small Scale Grain Raising Muxtape is made of awesome - thanks, Audra