Right on schedule...

I like those words. They symbolize accomplishment, which is how I'm feeling.

Today was a productive day in some unusual ways, including the fact that I haven't left the house at all. Yet a lot has gotten done. And the TV hasn't even flickered on at all.

First of all, I am deeply immersed in the book I bought yesterday: Belong to Me. I told myself I would read 65 pages a day to be done by Saturday and I'm on page 131. I like it, it is very readable, but I also like it because the author writes as if her audience is intelligent. I respect that. Books like the Twilight series, yeah, they're fun, but they don't treat the reader as intelligent. And forget about Nicholas Sparks. He treats his reader like she is a sentimental airhead.

The book I'm reading is about suburbia. I guess it could be any middle-class suburb, but this one is a Philadelphia suburb. It focuses on the lives of 4 different families, and how they come together at times and what they go through in the privacy of their own homes. Basically it proves a theory I have operated with for years, which is: No matter how much you think you know people, you never really know what goes on behind closed doors. Not that that's a bad thing, but it is a simple fact that even the most genuine people have a public persona and a private one.

Other accomplishments today stemmed from an "appointment" that my mom and I made with each other this morning. There were things that we needed to do together that were getting brushed aside, and would continue to be so if we didn't focus.

1. Discuss the design and poem that is going on the headstone for the family plot that we recently purchased for my grandparents and 10 other--as yet to be determined--family members. I have the honor of writing the poem, but, as I explained to my mom and she understands, creativity and inspiration are not made-to-order. So we talked about some ideas and I'm going to hope that the Spirit moves me--soon. And of course there is the added pressure that THIS poem will be immortalized forever on the back of a very large headstone, whereas 90% of the others I've written are neatly tucked away in notebooks.

2. We also picked a place to go for a last-minute end-of-summer trip. We're going to Solvang, a little Danish-inspired town about 135 miles north of Los Angeles. We found a really cute B&B a few minutes walk from the center of town.

How cute is that? This is where we'll be staying. The Solvang Gardens Lodge

And this will be our room: The Rose Haven Room. I like it when the rooms have names. Looks cozy! Lots of places to sit and continue with my book...

Of course, going away means having to find a housesitter. Our regular housesitter is in the middle of finals right now and had to decline. So we hired the kid next door to me--a recent college grad to take care of my house and my mom's house. I hope my dog doesn't go nuts. He doesn't do well when I'm away. It's only for 2 nights, though. He'll survive.

And, last but not least, I got a hold of my official "Classroom set-up helper," Altagracia, the older sister of one of my mom's former students. We're going on Monday to begin the task. Some teachers are already at school this week (we don't get paid until next Wednesday,) but Alta is such a fantastic helper that things get done very fast. We work as a great team. Besides, I'm not quite ready for summer vacation to be over just yet.

So, everything seems to be in place for these next few days. A nice feeling.