PlazaJen: Passion Knit

I've just gotten home! We left Friday for Branson, where we spent three nights with James' family (Momma Linda, Brother Steve, and the nieces), in what can only be described as "cosy quarters". Double beds. Single bathroom. Whole lotta togetherness.

I caught some trout, we had some lovely pontoon boat rides, and then some beastly hot pontoon boat rides, and every time I let the dogs out, Polly went over to Mimi Murano and tried to figure out how to open the hatchback to climb in. My dog likes her familiar places and spaces and this whole trip was throwing her into Anxious Mode! But for the people, there was swimming, and there was grilling, and there was bacon, oh so much bacon, and there was awesome food, and there was a fish hatchery tour and then there was more sweltering heat, and laughter and some photos of my brother-in-law that will be blackmail-worthy someday, and I think this is what constitutes a successful family vacation! We never had them, growing up, and I look back on my time in the dorms and wonder how I spent all that time in close proximity to people. Every day. I think it explains why I rode my bike to the cemetery to study. (I've always had a flair for The Goth within....) Being an only child is kind of strange, and I was interested to immerse myself in the non-only-child experience, because the banter and the familiarity and the references, there's just so much there that it's hard to describe. It was a good, good weekend away. The only thing that was bad happened when we hooked up to the Wi-Fi, and I started to construct a pissed-off email to my alumni group,directed at one person who never stops his vitriolic spews to the group (note the irony there), and then I started to edit it, and then everyone got back from somewheres and it was wet swimsuits and pandelerium, but instead of "save", I hit "send" and OH MAH GOD what had I done? So I had to send another email (with complete sentences) that took some (most all) of the inflammatory language out (I rarely start an email with "You are crazy." But I did! Oh yes, yes, I did!) and put the rest of the points I wanted to make IN, and when I got home I had a couple emails thanking me for my efforts. So at least I didn't start an email flame war by accident. I also discovered via email that the work a/c is not working, and that makes me thankful for being home today. I'm teaching a class at the Studio tonight, and I may need to ask my two students if we can end it a bit early, and then do an extra follow-up hour later on, because I'm pretty sure they'll need it. I am so excited for Our Bed. Soooo excited. James is making sure it still works just fine, right now. I know if I go down for the count, that's it - I'll be toast and I'll have unhappy knitters wondering where I am. So I'm going to run on fumes, and whatever else I can scare up to eat around here - sadly, there is no freshly cooked pile of bacon - and then we'll get back to All Things Normal again, with regular blogging and bitching about the heat. And, unfortunately, less bacon. Vacation and bacon rhyme, and I do NOT think that is coincidental.