Well, it's been an extraordinarily pleasant First Weekend of Summer. I find that I've moved quite naturally into thinking that if the household tasks don't get done today, they'll get done tomorrow . . . and if not tomorrow, then the day after . . . I've started a list of all the things I want to do this summer, including items like cleaning out the closets (hasn't been done since we moved here!) and writing for an hour every day . . .

That last is a suggestion I took from my niece's example. She and her husband spend an hour each morning writing. I've decided that since I'm a writing teacher, I really ought to engage in my craft during my Down Time. I have no doubt that I can write, and I enjoy writing nearly everything under the sun except academic papers - but it feels to me like I ought to stay in practice. And it also feels to me like this might be really fun. It's the perfect situation for me: There are no negative consequences whatsoever to doing this; I don't have to go to work, so my time is my own, and whether I ever try to find a wider audience for what I'm scribbling is absolutely immaterial. I don't need money from writing, so there's absolutely no pressure.

Anyhow, I intended this to be a Monday through Friday endeavor, but yesterday I started writing a blog entry that quickly morphed into something that could be a first-person article for the Chronicle if I shape it right. Perhaps I'll take another look at it tomorrow . . . or perhaps I'll think more about the silly hook for a short story that took my fancy this afternoon. This is actually extremely fun!! And that's really all I ask of a summertime activity . . .

Got out on a few bike rides today. I went to the grocery store this morning to get the paper, then went to a different store later in the day to get veggies, then finally got out for a ten-miler right before dinner. I have some ways to go in the conditioning department. I'm thinking that if the weather is decent tomorrow, I may try a longer (20+ mile) ride out to Dexter. I definitely have to get, and keep, moving.

Lessee, what else is up for tomorrow: Laundry. Cleaning the bathroom. Maybe buying a geranium plant or two, and possibly getting a rosemary plant - they have perennial versions at the Produce Station, and they can be put outside for the summer, then brought in to overwinter. I think rosemary would be a wonderful plant to keep around that way; we could prune it very severely in the fall, give rosemary to all our friends for Christmas, and thus prevent the plant from taking over the sunroom (as the ficus and the jade are threatening to do). Plus, rosemary smells soo-ooo good . . .

Oh, yeah, and I'm going to continue reading Celestial Navigation by Anne Tyler. I keep finding more books by her, which is nothing short of miraculous. Soon I'll have read them all, I know, and then what will I do?

So basically, life is good here. Actually, at the moment, it feels so good that I feel almost guilty, or something . . . who ever heard of a 14-week vacation?? I have to keep reminding myself that when I was getting a PhD, this was exactly why (in part). I definitely appreciate my situation more now than I did before my stint as a staff person. No doubt about it, I have a Good Deal . . .