Yesterday at 6:54 AM was the full moon. It completely escaped my attention at the time so tonight I was surprised to see the rising moon was on the wane already.

The season turned slightly in the last 24 hours. The air is crisper. Last night we sat on the patio watching the fire die down and Dave went inside to fetch a quilt to wrap ourselves in.

It’s been hard to figure out what to write lately. We have a houseguest — a welcome one who has a broken leg and needs care. The problem has been I’ve been increasingly uneasy lately when friends tell me I’m a saint.

The truth is I’m okay. I’m even pretty nice. But I get tired and cranky, and I crab at my poor husband. I don’t even know how I feel about what we’re doing sometimes, but I know it is the right thing to do.

And it is also the right thing to take our slightly delayed vacation next week. Fortunately we have a lovely friend who is moving in to help out while we get lost in Quebec City.

For a change, we decided to stay in one place for a whole week. Typically we’ll stay one or two nights somewhere and then move on. I’m looking forward to a big fat cafe-au-lait and croissant in the morning, biking wherever I need to go and just sitting in an outdoor cafe watching the world go by. To paraphrase some movie from some other time, is this heaven? No, it’s Canada.