Blueberry Almond galette

CELEBRATING MY BIRTHDAY

Life zings along, does it not? As simplistic as it sounds, the years have flown by. I have seen many suns and moons, orbiting....I love it. Not when my bones ache, not when I feel too few hours in a day that must(somehow) end earlier and earlier each year. It's a stamina thing! Yet, I awaken each day, feeling more energy than I can invent ways to use. So, I invent. Ask anyone in my wake.
This brings me to my birthday. I am inside my house. I am quiet. I am not accepting invitations today (tomorrow or anytime in the future is fine). I am reading the NY Times, in luxury. No interruptions. I am hugging my puppy. I am making no plans. I am not building wings on houses. I am not cooking. I am listening to great new music, the Decemberists, Amos Lee, the Secret Sisters, Liz Janes...Flo and the Machine, Herbie Hancock. Loud. I am alone. I love it. I need it.
Tonight WFS will come home, we will do our usual evening.... this is very good. I want leftovers from the dinner I made last night for WFS, Cari, David and Polly. I want to watch stupid tv, WFS snoozing near-by. I want to take a long, hot bath. I want to be in my pj's by nine.
All of this makes me happy. I am a senior citizen. Senior Citizen Sally. Grandmother to Colin and Jaxon. Mother to Christopher and Jason. Joe and Cebah's daughter. What could be better? I blunder less in life, more in my stride. I love purely, I am less complicated and more demanding. I like me.
The next threshold in my life promises to open many doors. All I ask is: please, dear friends, stay with me and be there. You make my life one hell of a ride.

'TIL WE ROLL AGAIN

JOURNEY'S END

We left Louisville sixteen days ago on a snowy morning. Our travels have taken us to climates exceeding 80 Degrees. We have explored beaches, rivers, mangroves and scrub pine hideaways. We've dined at beach shacks, fine dining(restaurants and camp), and found a few great coffee houses. We've met some great folks, greater dogs and unusual characters along the way. Snowbird(Snowy), the little white poodle, made a lasting impression on Momo. Snowy's owner, a sweet old man, was sitting on a bench near the entrance of the beach. Two hours later when we left the beach, Snowy and his owner were still on the bench. " See," said Snowy's owner, "I told you your buddy would come back."
And it is true. We do whirl around, but, we always come back.
We are ensconced in the mountains of Georgia. The temperature will be in the high twenties tonight. Our little airstream is as cozy as can be. I am simmering Thai noodle soup outside. Soon we'll eat our soup. We'll take Momo for one last camping walk in the chilly night air. Then, the three of us will sleep in our warm beds, dreaming the dreams of wandering souls entwined by the love of the journey.

WHEN THE SUN SHINES

The Midwest is experiencing the worse snowstorms in history. Flights cancelled and cars buried under drifts of snow. Our friends and family( Chicgao, Monte Vista, Louisville, Philadelphia and New York) have kept us posted by email and Facebook... It sounds absolutely terrible. I did find a NYTimes paper in Publix today. The unrest in Egypt overshadowed(somewhat) the blizzard.. As a complete newspaper junkie, it feels quite odd to be disconnected. I occasionally check the news online but mostly we spend our days hiking, biking and strolling on the beaches with Momo. A typical day is coffee and a short walk, then breakfast. We decide what bike ride, hiking trail or beach we plan to explore...then, we head out to spend the day. We return to the campground around 4:00, we read or catch up on emails and then build our fire to prepare dinner. We've had some scrumptious meals. We've also met some great folks. Tonight two campers from Ashville, NC joined us for dinner.
The great thing about camping is meeting fellow travelers, inviting them to join you for nibbles or dinner or whatever. They arrive, bringing a great bottle of wine to share around the campfire.
Tomorrow promises another day in the low 80's... When the sun shines, it is very hard to think of heading north toward home...
We'll begin that trek on Friday, slowly winding our way back to winter's brittle reality.