8:25 p.m. - 2007-10-01
Home Again, Home Again
I am coming to you tonight from a space of love called my "Cloffice" It is a cozy space with my favorite colors. It is a place I can totally make my own, filling it with memories of what a great life Diana and I are building together along with some treasured memories from the past. To think it used to be JUST a closet.
That Diana even thought of this totally blows me away. She sees my wants and needs before they even surface in my mind. I'm sitting here now with a wonderful smelling candle, my sounddock and some dreamy Damien Rice music, a nice glass of sweet tea and a really warm feeling. The therapist said I need to journal, and I've been neglecting it terribly. It's good to be "home".
We've had a great few weeks. For my birthday we went to West Palm to see Dave Matthews. He was, as always, wonderful. We checked out the Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood long enough to lose some cash, but it was a great time. Beautiful place, lots of great restaurants and very appealing decor. We finished up the trip kayaking and snorkeling at Peanut Island, near Riviera beach. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the wonderfully entertaining types of fish surrounding that small coquina reef. I could have floated there forever. I did get a scare when I glided over a really large jellyfish and it grazed my hand. I screamed under water but it didn't seem to bother the fish. They still hung there moving in unison with the tide just below a rock. I saw yellow/brownish fish, blue and yellow, striped...so many. I think this was better than Cozumel. The most entertaining fish were the mullet. They were jumping here and there, no rhyme or reason. It looked almost like fireworks. And then there was the Barracuda. That did kind of scare me a little, but it didn't seem too interested in me. It was amazing. A fabulous birthday weekend.
Last weekend we took our first camping trip. It was for the most part relaxing, interesting, enjoyable. The thunderstorm that blew up Friday night provided just enough of a light show and noise to be sexy. Never got the intense rain, thank GOD. Then we heard the steps just outside the vinyl tent. Sounded like someone walking just a few feet away. Then a grunt. Figured it was wild pigs. Diana wasn't impressed. "Should I look?" she asked. "Ahhh, no, I don't think I would" I replied....lol. I knew there were a number of wild animals that might wander up but I hadn't considered a pig.
When we walked around the grounds, there was something blooming that smelled absolutely heavenly. Sort of like orange blossoms. Reminded me of that cheap orange blossom perfume we all brought our moms back from our fourth grade field trip to St. Augustine. We were SO proud...lol It was nice though, to smell it now, walking amongst the tall pines and the jagged oaks. There is an oak tree nearby on another piece of State Park property called Fairchild Oak. It is 300 years old give or take, and quite a sight. My grandmother actually lived on the property when she was a little girl in an old two story house. She lost a brother in the fields there when his tractor turned over on him and burned him severely. Looking at the cleared land with only the Towering Oak and a bathroom nearby, it's hard to picture the way things must have looked back then.
We had a mission, to get a roaring campfire going and it was a huge success the first night. Diana fed it palm fronds and small pieces of wood until it "took". The next night was a fiasco. I ended up smoking the steak instead of grilling it and it tasted really funky. But by that time we were starving and ate it anyway. The fire was so nice.
We finished our trip kayaking but ended it quickly when Diana spotted a small gator. I really don't think he would have been a threat, but she was pretty freaked. It's so lovely there...it's real "Old Florida". Being a Florida gal, I don't get too rattled with any of the creatures. I'm probably a little TOO naive about it all, but I just love being out there so much!
The past weekend I had Zach and Christa came Sunday for dinner. A nice visit for me, but it's always a little tense with Di and I. Diana excuses herself when she doesn't feel like being around them, but it seems to happen more and more lately and I wish it were not that way. I miss that family type gatherings and it's just not the same. Other than that, I am living a life that feels like Christmas morning alot of the time. I am feeling things I've never felt before. I feel like I'm right where I'm supposed to be. And it feels so damn good.
Diana recently got a motorcyle, and wants me to get one. I finally got up the nerve the other night to try a ride and we went to a club about 16 miles away. It was so fun. I couldn't wait to go again! So I think I'm gonna skip my own bike, and just ride with her. Until the bug bites me like it generally bites everyone. I spent the first five minutes letting my mind take me to places I really shouldn't have...like exactly what could happen to me physically should we have an accident. It wasn't pretty. Once I calmed down and got into it....I had such a good time. We left the club around 1:30 and it was pretty quiet on the ride home. Another adventure. It's always something new with Diana and I love it.
Well, I think I'll go rent a movie and finish the evening off watching something I've been looking forward to. If I can tear myself away from my cloffice...lol
