Di took the train to my corner of Belgium to spend a few days pursuing creative projects and sharing secrets. After an entire week of heavy clouds, rain, and wind, the sun kissed the blue sky good morning and stayed all day.

We walked along tree-lined paths in the park until our knees hurt, sipped tea, had a late lunch and listened to the children re-cap their days and work on maths. After dinner was served and the darkness stuck to the windows, we lit a fire, and looked at books and checked our e-mail and read our blogs.

When the kiddos were off to bed, the wine came out and the conversation deepened, and we spoke of the people we love and the women we want to be while the cat watched the fire burn down and the hands on the clock pushed the night toward morning.

After midnight, the chips and salsa made an entrance and the wine made an encore and I sent Peter a "wishing you were here" e-mail. When I stumbled into the shower and fell into bed with wet hair at 1:30 a.m., Di was tucked into her attic bedroom under the stars, tapping away on her laptop. Ah, the writing life is a good one.

Today it's cold but the sun is shining and there's snow in the forecast for tomorrow. I'm warm inside and out, lapping up the sunshine and the company.

November 15, 2007