dear blog,

Apologies for my pronounced neglect this week. Am currently vacationing in Book Land with Alice and Charlie Blackwell and the tale of American Wife. My idle mind ponders little else, except maybe the sunshine and flowers that were out all week and then suddenly this morning disappeared. And the looming issue of Exercise, and what to do about it. Nothing appeals anymore. Am stuck in a sort of resentful and unproductive inertia that human beings should even have to exercise to begin with, why can’t we be naturally toned and fit from the comfort of our couches, or even the comfort of outdoors, swinging the children on the swings and pondering what vegetables and herbs will go in the garden. Oh and one more thing: why exactly did the Red Tent ever go out of fashion. Because seriously, in the midst of the rainy, chilly weather that looms for the next six or so days, my mood is an exact reflection and I mainly feel useless, if not detrimental, to societies large and small. Although remembering the past days of sunshine and light, I did purchase a set of four exciting snack bowls to replace the white set I found aesthetically displeasing based on shape alone: the new set is black on the outside with a beautiful shiny red on the inside. They make everything they hold taste better, I don’t know why. And the banana cake in the fridge with the cream cheese frosting remains a daily highlight. And my fa-mii-ly all seems (knock on wood) to be well and happy for the time being. A Smartini cabin retreat in the mountains looms large on the horizon that is April, along with a local herb fair at the end of March, not to mention a potentially exciting secondhand sale tomorrow in which I hope to procure a double stroller that may assist the aforementioned Exercise issue, even if I’m skeptical that walking will really be that effective or efficient, calorie-burning-wise. Maybe it will be so, over time? Lastly, in my even-more-sensitive-than-usual state I am perhaps a little more than vaguely concerned about m and her absence, like what is going on 3000 miles away and I hope she’s not entrenched and spiraling in her dark place, but seizing the free time that lies before her to create and dream and realizing above all that she’s all kinds of awesome and fully worthy and able to accomplish even the most lofty of goals, however unattainable they at times seem. I worry that instead she’s hiding out in a bunker somewhere with access only to Netflix Watch-It-Now and our game of Facebook Scrabble, which inarguably have their value, but what about the art supplies, and let’s not forget the mountains and the sky and the trees.

That is all I have for now, my dear blog... 

xoxo,

penelope

Red Tent, barren landscape. It has a certain appeal.