Good Morning, Taylor.

I’m sitting here after a very long day of work with a mug of hot chocolate, and some Girl Scout Cookies the Ragdoll bought for me. They’re good! I have some time to really sit down and write a letter to you.

I’m noticing that I don’t write as much as I used to, and I think a lot of that is I have a few friends now I talk to…so I’ve already said what I want to say and writing a letter feels like just saying it again. But I haven’t said it to YOU. So I should write a letter anyways. 🙂

I actually wasn’t out much this month, mainly because of a problem Ragdoll ran into. She hurt herself pretty badly and had to go to the emergency room to take care of it. We were in a lot of pain for the next week. And, well, I didn’t come out. I feel bad about that – that I didn’t share the pain with her and lift it. But pain hurts, and I’m kind of scared of it. She told me not to worry about it, she’ll take it for me. But I still feel guilty. She did see her doctor a week later who cleared her for work, and I got bingsu ice cream. I felt guilty for that – I know she did it so I wouldn’t feel bad, but I’m getting a treat even though I hid for a week.

Since we couldn’t put out the bird feeder for a week, we just kind of threw the seed into the backyard. But at one point, we put some peanuts on the table where I eat out on the deck. Just to see if a crow would dare to sit at my table. And he did! He jumped over, grabbed three peanuts and left! It was neat to see him doing the calculations in his head. “Okay, do I hop? Jump? Fly? Will the table hold me?” And he took a chance and he landed perfectly.

We’re getting a lot of birds at the feeder now. Ghostie is a new one. He’s a leucistic junco who looks like a little ghost of a bird. We’ve been invaded by red winged blackbirds. They’re pretty sounding, though. But there’s a LOT of them. The area is really hopping with songbiord sounds. It’s lovely. I hope it’s not too much, though.

I’m cooking more and more now. More complicated things like Mediterannean Pork Patties that were so so so good. I’m helping Ragdoll make some steaks tonight. I got the marinade made for her to cook tomorrow. I’ve also started making bread, too. I baked some white bread and it’s really good. It’s not as soft as I would like, but I’ve heard most homemade loaves are a bit dense. They taste great, though. Just a touch of butter and honey! We have a recipe for Japanese milk bread which is fluffier, so I might try those next.

I’m currently reading Luka and the Fire of Life. It’s the sequel to Haroun and the Sea of Stories. I’m having troubler following it, though. It doesn’t feel as faniciful as HAroun. I’ll give it a few more chapters.

I was playing with Ragdoll’s VR setup and found her Google Earth VR app. I went to Kyoto and chose a random neighborhood to walk around in. And I came across a shrine with a festival! Anrakuji Temple. I’ve decided I’m going to go there one day. Just to see it in real life. Ragdoll is making plans to visit Japan one day, and she’s said I can absolutely go there.

Because it’s getting lighter in the mornings, I’ve decided to start hiking again. I stopped because it was too rainy and too dark…but our doctor wants us to get more active, and I like being active, so hiking we go! I hurt Ragdoll, though – I hiked too much our first time. 300 foot elevation change. I sometimes forget she’s old.

It’s been over a year since I came out. I’ve moved from discovery to exploration. Now I think I’m moving form Exploration to Routine. I don’t think that’s bad or boring – it’s just that I’m settling into a routine. Of Discovery and Exploration. 🙂

Miss you,

–Andrea