I took this a few days ago. The only thing that’s changed is the status of the vines. The freezing temps we had a the other day killed off the morning glories and moonflowers. And maybe the zinnias – I have to check.

I’ve been staying indoors because it’s been cold and I’m still suffering from jet lag. Much harder to deal with on this end of the journey than it was on the other end. We’re still waking up at 5 am. I still fall asleep in my chair at 6 pm and then at 8 pm and beyond. It’s like I’m drugged. And my brain still feels a bit fuzzy, though much less than it did when I first got home.

We didn’t want to come home, so there’s that. Some of this might be due to a major let-down. I love our home, of course, and it’s tremendously comforting, but there’s nothing like the stimulation and excitement that comes from traveling in another country.

Sigh.

I thought I’d take a break from writing about the trip today because I suddenly had doubts. Are you enjoying these posts? Are they too long? Should I condense the rest of the trip down to one or two posts? I never really tailor my blog posts due to insecurity about what I’m writing, but I found myself wondering this morning if what I find exciting and wonderful about a very personal trip might not be boring to you.

I haven’t heard from some rather constant commenters and I stopped blogging for a week and a half (my choice, of course) which means I lost ad income. Would you rather I got back into the normal blogging about my daily life routine?

Let me know.

I did go into Manhattan on Sunday to work with an actor who will be replacing the male lead at the end of November. Manhattan was Manhattan: loud, full of car horns honking, with major traffic jams and all the crap and crowds that are a part of Times Square. I have a soft spot for NYC, but somehow London and Paris – cities with an enormous amount of traffic – seem to function very well without the endless honking of impatient drivers.

Anyway, let me know what you think! I have to get ready to go over to Rick and Doug’s for some brunch.

Happy Tuesday.

Feeling a mixture of rage, despair, loss of hope, and excitement for our trip today.

How to balance all of that? I have no idea.

No idea.

I’m just going to move forward, take care of the things I need to do today, and stay away from the news.

It’s very clear to me that the people who run our country only care about two things: money and power. They don’t care about women, children, the middle class, the poor, people of color, immigrants, farmers, union members, teachers, nurses, social workers, minimum wage earners, young black men, women (how many times do I have to say it?), lying under oath, sexual assault, health care, birth control, the environment, climate change, global warming, animals, plants, endangered species, water, air – I’ll stop there.

Wealthy White Males? They do care about them.

My parents, may they rest in peace, taught me what was right and wrong. Nothing earth shattering, just basic common decency, with a large helping of the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule.

I see none of that in the current administration and in those who support it. Absolutely none.

Okay. I’ve had my say. If you disagree, I really don’t want to hear from you today. Trust me on that.

My friends, I have much to do before we leave tomorrow night and I’m not going to post tomorrow. It will probably be a few days until you hear from me.

I am heartened by the goodness in all of you. In spite of it all, I know there are far more good people than bad people.

But there are a lot of very bad people.

Happy Saturday.

About midway through the day yesterday, Don and I realized we were exhausted. Don came home early from photographing portraits, I fell asleep in my chair. It started raining heavily. I think the Universe was telling us that we needed to rest and take it easy.

So we did.

This is what it looked like around 3 pm yesterday:

It was cozy inside the cottage, but dark and rainy outside. It continued to rain and thunder throughout the evening.

Earlier, when I was outside tamping down every square inch of the parking area and driveway, I noticed this:

Isn’t that simply stunning? I think it stood out because there were little drops of rain on the threads. I’ll have to check on it this morning. It’s hard to image it withstood the deluge that we got later in the day.

Rick comes back from his trip tomorrow (he’s actually been back a few days but he’s in NYC) so we’ll pick him up from the bus station. Doug is still traveling, visiting his new granddaughter in Hong Kong and his other children.

I’ve got a checklist for today and I’m determined to tackle it.

Reader Kathy from Iowa sent us a package that included treats for traveling and a wonderful book, Hidden Gardens of Paris. Thank you so much, Kathy! The book is just gorgeous and I can’t wait to explore some of the gardens. And we so appreciate the treats!

I cannot even go into what IT said during his rally last night. There are no depths to which he won’t go. He has no moral compass. He has no empathy. He is a shell of a being.

And that’s all I’ll say.

Happy Wednesday.