Too busy and traveling

Sorry for the silence. I helped run a workshop in India, then was in Delft for a week, and now am back in the US, where I'm rediscovering lost pleasures (some that aren't really pleasures, but just dependable and familiar smells, sounds and tastes. Today went shopping at Trader Joe's and bought some fruits and vegetables that I hadn't seen or tasted in months. Yesterday I drove -- yes, drove myself in my own car, at my pace -- to the post office and drug store. The smell of the drug store up the street was oddly comforting. The smell and feel of waking up in Niagara Falls in the morning brought me back to growing up as a little girl. But some things have changed. I went to get my hair cut (now very short), and listened to the discussion at the beauty parlor -- women talking about how exciting it was to have President Obama throw out the first ball (and how wonderful a speaker he is) at the MLB all star game the night before, how the weather seems so unpredictable these days and months, how good naan is (these were all older Italian-American women talking about different varieties of Indian breads!), and how depressing Slumdog Millionaire was.