Mm, I'm listening to my CD of "Die Lustige Witwe" (The Merry Widow), giggling at the silly, fun romantic comedy dialogue and thinking hopeful thoughts about Vienna..... I love that operetta. (And it has the best ever final lines of dialogue, which I won't repeat here, because they give away the major plot twist...yeah, yeah, I realize most people probably won't ever go out looking for this recording/movie, but hey. I have principles. Really.)

Nika and I just got back from a wonderful big hike through the forest with a friend, talking about writing and life and everything else. (And, in Nika's case, racing around in circles with a new dog.) It's gorgeous out there, in a funny wet way--it's all grey, and the mud is unbelievably deep in places, but the wet grass is glistening, the breeze is invigorating, and it felt great to be outside. I spent the morning cleaning--I'm in that kind of mood, wanting to get the house clean and aired out after my weeks of temp work, slumpage, and general disarray. Now I'm settling down for work on the thesis, and looking forward to doing more fiction writing tonight. I finished Chapter Ten in the cafe this morning, and I'm fairly pleased with how everything is going. I'm enjoying it, anyway--let's hope other people do, too. :)

And anyway, how can anyone be in a bad mood when happy, romantic Viennese voices are flirting outrageously through the stereo?