In all seriousness, I've been a bad blogger during my break. This is partly because I've spent most of break at Mom and Dad's house, where I'm sharing the computer with two other people, and also, yes, pure laziness. Hey, I earned it!
I had a dream last night that I decided to go back to England and teach at St. Peter's again, but instead of teaching music, I was teaching English (little known Meg factoid: I have an authorization to teach English/Language Arts on my credential). In the dream, I was so happy to hang out in the school's library with my English Mum, Kathy. It was great to see my friends there. I woke up feeling sort of sad, and very much missing Jolly England. Four years later, I still sometimes think, "I ought to go back."
But so much ties me to California. Family, friends, Millie and Harley. I won't leave Millie again. And really, I do like my life here--I love Chorale, I've got friends nearby, and it's nice to be able to hop in the car, drive an hour, and then hang out with Mom and Dad on a weekend.
I can get my ocean fixes when I need them, and though London still holds the Number 1 spot in my list of favorite cities, San Francisco will always hold that Number 2 spot...and it's near enough that I can pretty much go there when I please.
But it's hard not to get a little down sometimes. Especially because I've been having some stress lately. I can't go into it too much in a public forum, but let's just say that there's some job stress happening. Not enough to make me run for the hills (and a new job), but enough to make me think that some changes have to be made, and soon. All I will say is that of my two sites, one is great, the other...not so much.
And that's all I'll say.
So having a two-week break has been lovely. I talk about "ocean fixes" and how much I love the Pacific--let me tell you, the ocean really does have healing powers. Last week I stood on the bluffs overlooking the ocean in Fort Bragg and marvelled at how calm I felt, after weeks of being tense, anxious, and worried. In the three days I was gone, I barely thought of work and the trouble there. Something about listening to the ocean pound on the rocks, or driving through the redwood forests, marvelling at the trees that have seen so much more than I ever will puts life in proper perspective.
It's been a good break. I got to see Train, one of my all-time favorite bands, live. Totally worth baking in the 100-degree heat all afternoon. I've had my share of lazy days of reading. Dad took me to the air show, and I had my adventures in Mendocino and Humboldt Counties.
Monday I drove to Stockton and spent the night because I didn't want to miss a second Chorale rehearsal. I came back to Mom and Dad's yesterday, and spent today getting stuff done, like lesson plans for all of next week (go me!) and a flu shot.
I've also been supremely creative. I scrapbooked July's Monterey trip and a few other things. I got a bee in my bonnet yesterday that inspired me to buy some picture frames and a hot glue gun. Mom let me raid her stash of buttons and sea shells. This is what I came up with:
I'm quite pleased with myself, and can't wait to do some more.
Tomorrow, I'm tagging along with Mom and some of her quilting friends to Grass Valley to look at quilt shops and have lunch. If we're in the historic part of town, I'll bust out of the quilt shops and take pictures.
Speaking of pictures, I like my new camera. I'm slowly getting used to it and really need to sit down and read the manual. The best part? It is soooooo much faster than my Kodak was, in terms of the time between hitting the button and the camera clicking the shot. Next time I go whale watching, I might actually get some awesome shots! It also takes excellent night shots. The Kodak took horrible night shots.
I'll return to Stockton on Friday. Summer is probably visiting on Saturday, and it's been ages since I've seen her. I'll spend my weekend relaxing and cooking, and head back to work on Monday. The weather forecast predicts rain next week, and I'm beyond excited at the prospect of spending a cozy evening or two indoors drinking hot tea and cuddling with my cats. It's been a long, hot and DRY summer, and the cooler temps we've been having are not only welcome, they're life-saving. Rain is just icing on the cake.
And that's it. A long ramble from Meg of the Little Pink Blog. I promise I'll get back to my senseless daily posting in a few days. : )
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