Suzie, that sounds awesome.

I am posting from the spa at the Claremont Hotel, which is a ridiculously posh 19th century hotel, a great white palace on the hill above Berkeley. Got a 90 minute massage, sat in the hot tub with a view of the bay, and now I'm lounging until I'm dry enough to change and go home to my pedestrian life where nobody gives me a fresh warm robe when I get out of the shower...

I don't often think of the Grand Canyon, but you have represented it beautifully, Suzi.

Consuela, do you want a stranger standing in your bathroom? Maybe they were warming the robe by sitting on it? Or wearing it?

Well, hey, its's ita! Lovely to see you again!

And I am not the only person to wear nightgowns out! HA! The one I wore out most often is pretty damned threadbare now, so it's demoted to around the house wear, and fast-food runs.

Do any parents use Khan Academy?

Mac is about to start a homework tutorial program he is going to HATE, but he is failing 4 classes as of today and I am done with it.

Oh, that sounds amazing, Suzi!

Oh that was beautiful, Suzi! The last time I was there I was pregnant with one of the boys, so clearly a long time ago. Must go back.

I have to share my favorite Grand Canyon story. On one of the lookouts there was a couple maybe in their 60s. She grumpily complained to her husband, "do we have to stop at every lookout, this is monotonous." I swear everyone's head turned and looked at the poor man with pity. And surely would have looked the other way if he tossed her off the edge. How do you please someone who finds the Grand Canyon monotonous?

Also jealous of Consuela! And delighted to read of people enjoying life. Well done.

Typos!

People's bedclothes dilemmas always intrigue me, because I don't bother with them. I've got a robe handy if I need to interact with someone who's not a cat or Hubby, but otherwise my nighttimes are clothing optional.

I didn't wear nightclothes for years, but I think I started when DH's grandparents lived with us for a while. Then the children were getting older and I just got in the habit.

I vary the night clothing wildly, depending on mood and weather and sleeping patterns. Most usually it's panties and a tank; when I'm sick, it might be full-on flannel granny nightgown, and when I'm all freshly showered and lotioned, I might slide into a nice nightie.

I have a lot of flannel PJ bottoms, but I wear them around the house, and ditch when it's time to go to bed. I can't sleep with too much fabric. And when it's hot out, it's just underwear.

ita! ita!ita!ita!

Happy to see you!

I don't take the Grand Canyon for granted, per se (I'll ask people to look out their windows when flying over it) but I honestly can't remember the first time I saw it, I was probably wee. Last was 1996, that I know. But we went there pretty frequently, and while it never fails to strike me as incredible and result in a lot of mind-meanderings (so many things to think about: the geological scale, the time scale, life of the people on it, what people thought when they first encountered it, etc.) I never really got that first-time wowza. It was fun to read Suzi's.

Y'all. All the posts have their first coat of varnish. The only coat with a sensitive dark stain. And I'm very happy with the results. The next 2 coats (3 on the rail) will be a summer oak to add extra warmth, but I won't have to worry about brushmarks or too thickness or whatever. Should get done this weekend.

I'm NOT happy with my ability to take photos, because the flash seems to emphasize imperfections that you don't see, the color is wrong (there's one where post matches stairs. Um, no!) and ups the contrast so that it looks blotchy where it isn't. But still, proof I did something: [link]