in which all is revealed

Okay. I don't know if this quite counts as "settled," but I am done traveling for the summer. That means that it is officially time for me to spill the beans! I will be spending the summer in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. As you may recall, my family has been vacationing there for many more years than I've been alive, and I love it. You also might recall that on our last trip down, I fell in love with The Whalehead Club.

I haven't yet decided whether I'm going to write a thesis or not (it's optional in my program), but about midway through the year I realized that the thing which interested me most was Whalehead. So, I got in touch with the curator and started begging. She took pity on me, so I'll be spending as much time as I can getting to know the place a little better. Several members of my extended family have relocated down here during the last decade or so, and I'll be living with my aunt and her four dogs (ranging in size and age from a Maltese recently rescued from a puppy mill to a Rottweiler with 2 replaced knees--expect many photos), as well as working at a local bookshop.

I drove down yesterday and spent today doing scads and scads of glorious nothing. I would have liked to have gone to the beach, but (whoops!) I forgot to pack suits. They're winging their way towards me as I write this. Deprived of that, instead I (1) ran errands, (2) took a long walk, (3) made a pitcher of sweet tea, and (4) read a book. It was heavenly, I tell you! So, now that I have revealed my secrets, I will make dinner and then maybe read another book. Oh, summer, I do like you.