I arrived in Portland after a week+ of family reunion to find all the signs of home: shaggy lawn, shaggy Bonita, clock radio 3 hours ahead from Bonita's usual perch, lots of messages on the answering machine, and too many e-mails to even begin to look at.
The huge house ("The Blue Monkey"), right on Holden Beach, was fabulous. We all gained 10 pounds and got tans. (Though my "tan" means I am only slightly less reflective than usual). There is something I love about having a bathing suit tanned onto my skin. I have no idea why I like it so much.
Now, back to real life.