Often I get to this point in the year and I’m just beyond thrilled to be done with school. I’m not there right now, and I could attribute it to not having been quite as busy this semester, or it might just be that the funk that I fell into when Miles went missing overrode any other emotions. He’s still gone, and I’m guessing we might not see him again. It’s been quite difficult to deal with—losing a pet with such uncertainty is a real challenge. I feel like I’m coming out on the other side, and (of course) I would be thrilled to see him again…we’ve still been occasionally putting up more signs, walking around looking for him, checking online daily, but the feeling is turning more into a feeling of…not hopelessness, but sort of a futile-ness behind the whole thing. Surely if our actions were going to bring him home they would have done so by now. We’ve learned about numerous other black cats living here and in nearby neighborhoods, but none of them seem to be Miles. It’s still possible he’ll show up or get picked up, but it just seems unlikely. I dream about finding Miles, and about how cute and bitey he was, but during the day Muriel doesn’t seem too bothered by his absence, and there is just no sign of him ever having been back around.

So there you have that. On a brighter note, I’m playing with The Who this week, so that’s fun. I must admit my complete ignorance of pop culture and bands and such, especially from when I was younger. When I got asked to play with the group (they are doing a concert tour with orchestras), I asked Louie, do you know the band The Who, figuring he did as I’d heard of them, but not really knowing how big they were. He started laughing at me.

I’m also just waiting for my nephew to arrive—he was supposed to make an appearance today, but you know babies—they are never prompt. I’m sure my sister and her husband are even more eager than I am!

This week is a short week: three days of teaching, one with The Who, and then 4 days off for the holiday weekend. We are headed to Eureka Springs to spend a few days relaxing and sightseeing with friends. We’ve booked a little cottage through VBRO and are really looking forward to a few days away. I haven’t had a day off since late-March, so to say this is a well deserved break would be a bit of an understatement.

Louie and I did manage to get out for a hike yesterday. OH and Louie got a new car. It’s our car and his car, in that it’s his day to day car, but it’s our car to take on road trips and such. We got a Subaru Forester, and it will be invaluable on our camping road trip this summer!

So we took the Forester and went for  hike on the Lime Kiln Trail at Rockwoods Reservation. We have hiked that trail several times in the past, but not for a few years. It was nice, but I did get a few bug bites…I guess it’s time to start putting on the spray.

I’m deep into wedding season and the summer is looking pretty good as far as gigs. I’m also trying to get my students as organized as possible, but that’s always difficult! (So many moving parts!). I have been running regularly, albeit quite slowly, and I think that’s really been helping with my sleep. I’m happy to be off from my college teaching for a few months and have a little more time to do other projects I’d been putting off. I also took some me time today and got a pedicure—my first for the summer season. I tried a new place that had opened recently near my house and thought it was just fine, so I’ll probably return.

Muriel really enjoys boxes. This one in particular seems to draw her in and she has spent quite a lot of time in it. Her other favorite place is standing on top of a router in my living room. I think it’s because the router is smooth but warm.

I liked this picture because she looks like she is just taking a little break from reading. I’ve got a stack of books I’m hoping to get through over the summer, and this Bill Bryson is one of them. It’s not my favorite of his, but I’m learning quite a lot. I got it and a few of the other books because of the History Chicks podcast, which one of my students turned me on to. I highly recommend it! Speaking of, I’m looking for new podcasts—any suggestions? I’m not interested in politics podcasts, but anything well done otherwise?

My grades are in for the semester so I’m officially unofficially on summer vacation. I put it like that because I’m still teaching my private students, of course, but between the quartet being on break due to a member having a baby and not having college lessons, I have much more free time. Well, I will after this week and next week because I scheduled all manner of appointments that needed to be done (doctor, dentist, etc.). And of course wedding season is in high swing-I have a lot of double wedding days this month for which I am thankful, but it also makes things busy…and my band did a recording and we are meeting again for mixing.

Okay, so I’m still busy, but I’m pretending I’m not. I’m less busy though, I swear! I’m planning to spend the summer reading a lot, going for runs, doing a few projects around the house (I’m still in the middle of a music organization project which I started in the fall or maybe before and I need to finish it), and…maybe that’s enough. Oh, and practicing the mandolin. I bought a mandolin back in January to learn, and I put it on the side burner. I’ve been practicing several days in a row now so I’m definitely creating a habit

Miles, my cat, is still missing. I can’t be too sad about it anymore, because I just don’t have it left in me. I’d be thrilled if he returns, but I just don’t know where he is. It’s been very hard, as you might imagine.

Muriel really enjoys sitting on that router. She is drawn to things that are hot.

We’ve been trying to catch up on our rewatch of Game of Thrones. In January or so Louie and I decided we wanted to rewatch the whole series before the last season came out, and we still haven’t quite caught up. The spoilers have made it challenging, but I’m convinced I’ll appreciate the new episodes more really knowing who all the characters are and remembering their motivations and such. We only have three more episodes to rewatch, so by NEXT Sunday we should be up to date. I plan to immediately go on facebook and twitter and give details.

I feel like life has been kind of blah and in a holding pattern lately. I thought once the semester ended things would be all bright and flowery, but with Miles missing it’s been hard to find much joy. I feel that things are returning, and we are hopeful that he has returned to his feral roots and is living an outdoor cat life…maybe he’ll return someday. Everybody has their stories, and I’m still checking online, looking around, keeping up signs, all of that.

But there are exciting things ahead: my sister Leslie is having a baby very soon, we have several fun trips planned, we are seeing several operas in June, seeing other family members, all kinds of fun things coming up. I’ve got a large stack of books to work through and I really do intend to read more this summer than I did during the year (and this during a year where I did bump up my reading). Oh, and Louie and I might run a 4th of July race. We’ve both been running more than we had been and thought it might be a good motivator to continue as the weather gets hotter.

I wrote and rewrote and then deleted a whole paragraph about health care. I had to establish care at a new doctor yesterday because mine moved away awhile ago. I’ll just say this: the insurance industry is a racket and the whole thing is completely unfair. We as a country can do better.

Anyway, I’m off to work out and then some business banking errands to do. I am revamping a few aspects of how I take payments and need to make sure my bank account is right for my needs. I might hit up Target as well for a few items, and then I have a full afternoon and evening of private students. Such is the life!