Apologies

    ...to anyone who hasn't read the blog in a while. I've been pretty loquacious since coming north, so there's lots up with which to keep.
    I'm sitting at Mom's computer, drinking water out of a Far Side coffee mug and eating peach pie straight from the pan. You've just got to love being the only child home for the holidays—one gets away with so much more decadence than one would, otherwise. I was just wandering around on Overstock.com, searching for a bedskirt for my heavenly bed. I wasn't wild about anything that I found, so I started looking at clothes (of course). I found a dress that I love. It's fairly short (40" from shoulder to hem) and has spaghetti straps, and is pink (!) with a black mesh overlay. With any luck, you'll be able to see the picture here. It's nearly out of stock, if the website can be trusted on that count. If I had a solid reason to wear it, I'd order it right now. Alas, I do not.
    I spent the evening at my college BFF's, just past the little town to the west. For the uninitiated, that town is between my hometown and the next, bigger town. Getting there requires traversing The Hill, which is the local equivalent of a bar mitzvah; more than a simple geological fact of life, it's a rite of passage. It was snowing gently as I ascended, blasting NM~I [beta] on the CD player and the heat (as high as it would go). I took it much more slowly after coming upon 2 cars in the ditch after cresting the Hill, though--one in each direction. And I turned the music down. What is it about driving through bad weather, or other negative conditions, that makes one decrease the volume on the radio? It seems to be almost universal, regardless.
    We had a nice evening. BFF & I talked almost nonstop, while her husband distracted their kid from us, as well as from the breakable stuff that I always seem to give to BFF as gifts for Christmas. This year it was yet another glass...'round thing'--an orb, perhaps?--for her collection (photo to be posted on Monday, among others) of those and glass eggs, and an obnoxiously sweet Hallmark ornament. I think that husband would've appreciated the opportunity for some adult conversation as well, but BFF was selfish and wanted to keep me all to herself.
    We didn't eat much. I did get my Krumkake, as well as some fudge and a 7-layer bar, and the offer of boatloads of chocolate-on-fruit (oranges and cherries, at least). The night was mostly just about talking--about the strange turns my life has taken, and about people we've known in common. Classmate Stewrt, for one. I wonder where he is now? She told a hilarious story about driving back to town with him and another student during the college days, and him needing to stop at his brother's apartment for some allegedly reasonable purpose, only to stay much longer than he'd claimed and to return to the car clearly baked. Ah, Stewart.
    I wonder if I'll ever return to my hometown to live? Sometimes, like earlier tonight, it seems possible. Sometimes, as for many nights over the last couple of months, it is very appealing. But right now, my thoughts take me to far-away places where I've never been, or to the place that I know is my home for right now. The place to which I will return tomorrow, sad to have left home but still exhilarated. Things can change in an instant if you let them. And sometimes it's OK to let them.