_bossanova_

Tomorrow I'm headed out to Houston to visit my dad and his wife, and hopefully this weekend I'll be in Austin with my aunt and her family (and maybe a couple of my Austin friends I haven't seen in a few years-I'm keeping my fingers crossed). From what my dad tells me everything's settling down out there, though there are still lots of folks that don't have power. He wasn't one of the people that refused to leave his place; he wasn't in an area that was being evacuated, but he and his wife stayed with relatives further out anyway. I guess there'll still be a curfew, so while I was looking forward to Houston, this just means I'll get to Austin sooner. I see spicy food in my future, and at least one night at the Alamo Drafthouse.

Last night one of my good friends that was in Japan all summer stayed over. She's Japanese, and was visiting her family for the summer before heading to Chicago to work on her master's in neuroscience at U of Chicago. It was really nice to hang out, and she brought me back the cutest little handbag and some very tasty waffle cookies from Japan. My dogs were completely embarrassing hams in front of her, but she was sweet and we got to enjoy the weather with a nice walk to the park by my house. I'm going to miss her, but I'll be seeing her in Chicago in a month.

My cat's curled up against the small of my back right now, and I just heard the honk of a migrating goose outside. It's nice being home when I get to travel.