At 11am I sent out an informal PhD inquiry to a university whose theology and sociology depts I've been interested in for ages. By 12.30pm, they were asking me to come in to discuss it with them.

YAY, Seska!

And oy, Stephanie, on Toby and his wandering ways. We've never NOT had a fenced yard and just spent a metric ton of money fencing in our new yard. It's verra pretty but oy. These dogs ain't cheap dates. I also need to spray some boundary stuff around the decorative pond/water feature. Mooshu fell in it the first day, because he just can't see, poor baby.

I think we will finally go with the invisible fence thing in our next house when we move in June. This area is just not fence friendly (too wooded and hilly) but I just can't have them wandering around like this.

javachick - insent, sweetpea.

Seska, that's awesome!

Kate, understandable! And I am kinda surprised that you haven't had the pangs, hard, already. It's so hard to leave places behind even when the next place is spectacular.

Thanks, javachik. It's not the first time I've felt little pangs of homesickness, but they've been strong these last couple of days. I think having seen lots of friends while I was home over the holidays is making their absence in my life more noticeable now.

So if the aliens were going to create a world for you based on a book, which book would you want them to have?

Ooh, that's tough. But since I'm reading Laura Miller's wonderful The Magician's Book right now, I might have to go with Narnia. Or the Doctor's universe... but I'm half-convinced that's where we live already.

I might have to go with Narnia.

I was thinking The Horse and His Boy - borders of Archenland and Narnia. That being the Golden Age of Narnia, and Archenland being a friendly neighbor, it would be a good time and place.

"Tales of The City" et al.

So if the aliens were going to create a world for you based on a book, which book would you want them to have?

I'd take Muppet-verse. Or Discworld-verse. Or Hitchhiker-verse.

My oldest sister has started a blog about her medical saga. If I haven't mentioned it here before, she was diagnosed with a rare, aggressive form of uterine cancer. Her latest update has her on her 4th week of chemo, and her oncologist is using the word "pleased". As she says, " It has been a long time since "pleased" has been part of a conversation regarding my health." And talk has begun about the post-chemo stage. There hadn't been any talk before now about post-chemo.

My brain has always run to a stuttering halt when thinking about this, but there may be, if not hope, then the potential for something less awful than feared.

Connie that's amazing! I'm glad there's a glimmer of something other than complete dread there.

I hope there's a good long post-chemo period for which to plan, Connie.