California Scheming…

Pizza of Awesome 3

Greetings from sunny and warm California. We’re enjoying actual summer, as contrasted with Scotland, which has continued having, at intervals, miserable rain.

Both of us are trying to make up for having taken time off first in Iceland and then during our ill-fated visit to Puerto Rico, so much of what we’re doing is sitting before the computers, fielding interruptions, and working. It’s actually been good – work is the one thing we can count on having, and its parameters haven’t much changed. T. is subbing shorter pieces to magazines with long wait times, so she can have forgotten about them and be surprised months from now; D. continues to make strides in finishing a major project with his coworkers in Scotland by September. T.’s editor has finally returned from vacation and has gotten her revved up for the next novel revision – T’s first stab at writing a mystery. The revision notes say “darker and grittier,” so T’s reading mysteries and watching Hitchcock. And scaring herself.

We’ve been finding the joy in our days, as we’ve been reminded to do. There is satisfaction in the smooth-skinned nectarines, bursting with sweetness – and juice, of the sort that runs down chins and wrists. There is happiness in the eating of mounds of blueberries (suddenly inexpensive, and yummy with yogurt!), baking bread, making handmade, homemade pizza, whipping up vegan chocolate and coconut pies, and more. We’re very much looking forward to settling into a kitchen of our own and doing more experiments with seitan and sausage-making. We rediscover joy, daily, and anticipate its increase. Soon. Soon. Soon. It’s a drumbeat in our heads.

A few times a week one of us will mention how much we miss Scotland. Much of that is because we were “home” there – we had a domicile, community, familiarity, and (at least before having to move) routine. We’re still coming to grips with the amusement and the irony of being called jet-setters – we feel more like we’ve just been bounced all over – jet-setting sounds at least a bit more controlled. But – this time in our lives has been just a little reminder that we don’t control anything. It appears that soon this little epoch – and this little lesson – is coming to a close. Soon. Soon. Soon. It’s a pulse that keeps us going.

Drumlanrig Castle 093

The main reason it’s important that we know where we’re going soon – aside from how crazy-making it is to be not in our own place – is that we’ll soon need to begin planning for a return visit to Scotland. Once we’ve settled on the where of rebuilding our lives and community, we’ll be able to determine the when of spending a month or so back with our folks Glasgow. We’d prefer to visit when it’s not snowing, of course, but as we’re going to be planning partially around chorus stuff and partially around D’s work, and Glesga has had nothing but rain and increasing cold… well, we’ll see what happens.

Dear friends in Scotland, it’s 93°F / 33°C outside, and sunny, with a light 20% humidity. We think there may have been a tiny bit of rain last week, during the night, but we’re not completely convinced about that – it could have been a sprinkler malfunction. But – we digress. Finally our ducks are lining up, and will eventually be in a row (for all the good that does ducks). The countdown will soon commence for another launch… soon.

Continuing to plan,

-D & T

4 Replies to “California Scheming…”

  1. Well you’re experiencing much warmer weather than we’ve had at the other end of the state. Lots of sun, yes, but without the heat which is fine by me. Glad you’re making progress — you certainly seem to be handling the situation much better than I would! I’ll be up in SF to drop my son at school in a couple of weeks and wondering if coffee/lunch would be possible? Would love to say hello in person!

  2. LOL! Enjoy it while you can jet-setting world Traveler’s. See…we can call you that since you were in Scotland, Iceland, the US, and PR with a two month time frame. 😉

    Ooh…as for T’s research, that house on my Flickr account was Stephen King’s in Bangor, ME. Though I do not recommend watching ANY of the “Saw” movies. I know how much you guys don’t care for those movies. And the “Saw” ones are very unnerving.

  3. Wow, this is one of the most peace-filled posts I’ve read from you guys in awhile. It’s good to see you settle in a bit and rest while you prepare for the next adventure. Can’t beat California nectarines, homemade pizza, joy.

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