last day of dissertation vacation

Okay, it wasn't a vacation from the dissertation. It was actually a vacation (and I use that word loosely) to work on my dissertation. And it went well, but I am missing my family and home a great deal.

On the plus side, since today is the last day I am really just wrapping things up and not trying to accomplish anything new; that frees up some time to run a few errands and plan a delicious "thank you" dinner for my uncle and his wife. (The dinner, incidentally, will be: Grilled Chicken Breasts in Spiced Yogurt, Honeydew and Cucumber Salad with Sesame, and Quinoa with Mango and Curried Yogurt.). Also joining us for dinner will be my cousin, who I am so glad to have a last chance to see.

An observation about my visit: From time to time while we were out and about we would run into friends of my uncle and my aunt who passed away in 1997. By way of introduction it would come about that I was her niece and the comments were always the same: "I can see the family resemblance." "She was so beautiful, you look so much like her." It was such an odd feeling, because I had, at various times, met all the people that I was re-introduced to, but it had been many years since we had seen each other. It made me wonder exactly how much I take after my aunt, and it was also a very warm and welcome compliment.

I don't know if I mentioned in an earlier post that my uncle's home has the most amazing view. When you sit at the kitchen table looking west the view is a panorama of the San Francisco Bay, complete with the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. It is absolutely beautiful. We have been fortunate, this August, to have wonderful weather with very little fog. Although the city was obscured by fog this morning, it is now gleaming brightly across the bay. The Golden Gate is just beginning to peek out above the cloud bank and I am certain we will see it before evening. I've enjoyed this view for many years as a guest, and this year was no exception.