Yesterday's high point was Ray's birthday dinner at Last Resort, with the Captain and Vanessa and Becky and Kent. It was really fun; I'm not sure how we managed to spend so much, even with a $50 gift certificate. Ray had a drink and steak and wine and dessert. The tiramisu that Vanessa and I split was possibly the best I've ever had. At the end of the evening, the Captain and Becky were singing old songs that they both remembered the words to. Ray enjoyed himself and went right to bed. He really liked some of his birthday presents, especially the shoes Molli and Amelia (and Adrian) got him. They are slip-on shoes that are good for walking. (I was concerned because he has been walking in his boat shoes, rather than take the time to lace up his hiking boots.)

Other than that, I worked some at ALT, went to lunch with Becky and enjoyed the last meeting of the writing workshop--for now. Another one starts in 4 weeks and I am currently signed up for it. Hopefully, I will write some between now and then. There were some amazing things shared--including a woman who wrote she had been locked in a closet and tied to a bed by her wrists--I think as a child. She is a calm and dignified person--it is hard to imagine these horrible things were done to her. I urged her to share them with Project Safe. There were two or three works mentioning homelessness.

I spent some time nearly booking a flight to NY for spring break, leaving in 4 days. There were some fares that were a little less than what I originally found. But it seemed stressful and expensive and Ray needs to stay here and rest. Our chickens and our garden and the spring weather are all good reasons to stay close.