January 29, 2009

10:49 p.m.

Safe in West Palm Beach

I'm just about to hit the hay here, but I thought I'd check in briefly. I drove to my bandmates' house last night at the tail end of an ice/snow/sleet/rain storm. The roads weren't bad, but I couldn't get into their driveway as it hadn't been plowed. I parked on the street and stomped my way through the icy crust that covered the whole drive and walkway. It was like a beautiful skating rink. There were deer tracks along one side! After making several trips back and forth, I got all my stuff into the house. The plow guy came, but after we'd gone to bed. Chris kindly moved my car in.

So there was some rearranging of packing, and I set myself up in the guest room downstairs. It's very cold down there, and even though Chris set the heat at 64 (he used to leave it off at night, until family members stayed there over the holidays and they realized I hadn't been kidding when I said it was cold) -- I was still uncomfortable. I put the heat up just in the bedroom, to 66 or something, but my feet were freezing -- I even got a cramp at one point -- and for the life of me I couldn't fall asleep. It's often that way there, the night before we have to fly out. I had to get up at a quarter to four. I was so anxious about that, and concerned about night sweats -- hot bed, cold room, perfect setup for them -- that I simply did not fall asleep until oh, around 3:15.

What are you going to do? Just deal with it. We got ourselves ready, pre-dawn, and headed to the airport. Our flight was a bit delayed but we arrived safely. Carol's sister picked us up. We've borrowed their mom's car for most of this trip so we wouldn't have to rent one. I think we have one next weekend for a gig that's farther away, but it's nice to save the money.

I'm pretty wasted, but man, it was warm today. 75 they said. What a relief! I'd forgotten my enzymes, so Chris and I took a trip to a great health food store where I found what I needed. Then we stopped at Publix for a few groceries. After that we came back to the condo and got ourselves settled in. Carol's sister lives here, and sister's daughter, who is studying to be a pastry chef. They're doing a catered spread for our house concert tomorrow, as a way of advertising, and they've been cooking and baking for days. It's quite exciting.

We ate dinner at a restaurant with Carol's mum, who's looking great at 82. She's quite forgetful sometimes now, but still a character. On the way back to the car we saw the fingernail moon, looking like a basket rim, and some planet like a little basketball ready to fall in. What a beautiful sky. We met mum's kitty, Curious George, who is a handful, and handsome to boot. Then back here, where we've puttered around -- I practiced, good for me -- and now everyone's gone to bed. I should, too. I'm so tired. I hope I can sleep. The pullout couch is fairly comfortable with the memory foam topper that Carol's sister was kind enough to get for it. She keeps the condo very cold with the air conditioning, but we arrived at a compromise that now feels comfortable. There is no reason I shouldn't sleep like a baby tonight.

At least I can sleep in tomorrow. They'll be cooking in the morning again, so maybe that will wake me up. But it won't be at 3:45.