Good Morning, Taylor,

It’s been kind of busy these last few weeks!

I told you last letter that Ragdoll has been letting me do the budget because I’m better at numbers than she is. Well, I’m REALLY good with numbers! I managed to budget a little weekend vacation for he both of us! She needed a break and I was able to manage it!

We went to Leavenworth, which is a little town near here that’s whole thing is that it looks like a Bavarian town. She wanted to have some good German food, and I just wanted to see another town. So I planned out our budget, and she planned out our trip. When it was time to leave, she gave me a list of things to see on the way. And it was so neat! A really tiny church, waterfalls, and so many river and mountain views. It was really beautiful, and I really loved that she made this trip for me. But it was LONG. Three hours of driving. I know she likes driving. But IU got tired after about three. The good news is that just as I got tired, we went into town. I found a place to switch, and Ragdoll had the rest of the evening to herself.

The next morning was all mine. I had breakfast at a place a friend recommended called Louie’s, and it was good. But it was also early and there wasn’t much to do yet. So I went back to one of the bakeries and had a danish. It was so so good! There were a few shops I visited, and the town itself was so cute. I was sad that the museums weren’t open, but that’s okay. The Christmas shop made up for that! Eventually, I bought some cheeses and meats and little bruschetta toasts, and had a charcuterie lunch by the river. It wasn’t anything special, but it was nice.

Finally it was time to go, and I bought some sodas and snacks for Ragdoll, and gave her the evening drive back. I wanted to make her feel loved with the snacks and sodas, because she was going to be driving home in my clothes. She HATES that.

Most of the weeks were spent working on cleaning the house, getting laundry done and attacking the dishes. The house is very much deep cleaned except for hte office, bathrooms and kitchen. The office just needs dusting, but the others rooms need some real care. I’m hoping to have them done soon.

I have been trying my hand and making food and even cooking. I made some tuna melt toasts, pizza bites (Ragdoll loved them!) and some pesto pasta (I made too much pesto…it was tasty but it was also a LOT).

Ragdoll was playing with her shortwave radio, and I was watching. She showed me how it worked, and it was amazing. Connection across the world from just a little wire. Connection. I crave connection. And this could give me a little of that. I’m already wanting to get it set up, and Ragdoll and I have been making a better antenna than she had before. I heard New Zealand! That’s half a world away! I’m thinking I’ll play with it more when I can.

Last weekend I tried to change my schedule a bit. I used to hike all the time, but it’s really cold now and I don’t know if I want to hike in the cold rain. So I stopped, but that also means I don’t go out much. Last weekend I changed that. Ragdoll lets me buy groceries on the last paycheck of each moth, and I decided I wasn’t just going to get groceries, and made a little bit of a night out with dinner. I got some noodles, dumplings and vinegar cucumbers and it was so good. IT made me think that I needed to get out more.

So today, a week later, I decided to go out and make an evening of it. I wanted to go eat at a restaurant, but the weather was going to be bad (below freezing!) so we made it quick…I went to a Wendy’s and got a burger and fries with tea, and pulled into a parking lot and ate it in the car. After that, I went to Dairy Queen and got an Oreo Blizzard.

It’s funny, how different that felt from Leavenworth, but also the same. Here I was, sitting in a car alone, in a parking lot, no one around me…having dinner and ice cream…and feeling just as fulfilled. In Leavenworth, I was part of the crowd. Part of the people parade. Just another person living their life, and enjoying it. Surrounded by people. But today, there was no one, but I was enjoying my dinner and ice cream, and the dark weather, and feeling shielded from the cold. I was just as happy there as I was alone. A friend said that living alone allows you to enjoy solitude. And Ragdoll does that. I never thought I could, but I can see now what they meant. You can be happy enjoying yourself alone without others.

It’s okay to be alone. It can be just as fun as being with friends, or floating around in the crowds.

Can’t wait for your big day, Taylor. 🙂

–Andrea.