"I have been but little in," said Ninian hastily...

I think rolypolypony and I would be happiest if we could trade weather! It's in the 80s here at nearly 8 pm, and it's so soggy that I almost think it was less humid last night when it was pouring down rain! It's so humid that when I bump a contact lens partly loose from my eye, it fogs up!

Stopped on the way home and got some new shower gel, shampoo, and conditioner that are supposed to help soothe dry skin, and I got some organic, hypoallergenic laundry detergent. Hopefully those will all help...

I was reading a piece in a recent Smithsonian that profiles Frank Lloyd Wright. It described, among other things, the "Usonian" ideal that he pursued in his designs for more middle-class homes. Among the characteristics described were positioning to catch winter light for passive solar, eaves for summer shade, glass brick and wood construction, clerestory windows and built-in lighting, screened from the street to give privacy, and open carports. It sounds almost exactly like our old House in the Trees!

I've been going without an alarm lately--either I wake up or the cats wake me up. I don't have any fixed schedule (though I'm trying to get back to being in the office by 9.30 rather than the 10 or 10.30 it's been slipping to lately, as that means I have to work very late), so if I sleep until 6.30 or 7.30 it doesn't really matter. But this morning I woke up (with two cats sitting on the bed staring at me) and saw it was 9.15!!!! I think that's the shortest time to work I've ever done from a standing start: I was showered, dressed, and sitting down at my desk almost exactly an hour after I woke up! OK, back to setting an alarm for 7.30 or 8, just in case... But it really makes about 1000% difference being able to wake up naturally rather than being jarred out of sleep by a bell or buzzer.

Well, it's all done. ( Read more... )