a happy place

I came back from our South American vacation with a cold.  A bloody cold.  My second one of the calendar year, to boot.  Even as I write this two weeks after our return, I have a lingering cough.  Ugh.  Colds.

Thanks to the cold, I missed two days of work.  I had only been into the library one day in the previous three weeks, but I didn't want my cold to be the souvenir I gave to others.  I stayed home, fielded emails somewhat, did a couple of online meetings as best I could, and then on the Thursday hightailed it down to the desert.

It's funny.  Had you told me when I lived in Chicago or even when we moved to Pasadena that I would be down in the desert so much, I would have scoffed.  Not me, no - I prefer cool weather and even rain and grey skies.  But we have Van in our life (hooray!), and Van bought a house in Rancho Mirage.  We can't use the Vancouver condo for short or long escapes, but at least we can drive down to the Coachella Valley.

It's a happy place for us.  We've spent many days there, especially during the height of the pandemic when we worked remotely there.  It's a big home, but one we're very comfortable in.  And it's a handsome home - Van has terrific taste and style.  What's most important:  it feels like our home.  All of ours.

So we arrived down there, and it was lovely to see again.  Yes, it was chilly, but we braved it outside for a bit while having a cocktail. 

The vitamin C helps, right?

And, of course, that gorgeous little girl was with us!

As I said, it's a happy place.  I love Pasadena - our home and Van's (and one day, perhaps, just the one home shared among the three of us in our city), but I so greatly enjoy getting away from it all down in Rancho Mirage.