Another Birthday Adventure

        I got so caught up with the holidays this year, I missed a week, or maybe two.  But I'm back online now.  This season has been pretty cloudy, making solar living a little difficult.  My desktop computer uses quite a bit of power, so I don't turn it on everyday, and I can only do so much on my phone.  Today, there are actually blue skies out my window, and it is warm enough to not even need a fire to warm the house.  We heat with wood, but the house is built with structolite panels.  These are pre-insulated with solid foam, plywood on the outside and sheetrock on the inside.  They have brackets installed that lock them together so tightly, there is no leakage.  With our large south-facing windows and stone floor underneath, on a clear day, we have no need for other heat until after the sun goes down, and sometimes not even then.  Because the house is so massive, we also have small propane heaters in the third-floor studio, for the comfort of clients, and in the addition, which doesn't get the heat from the wood stove.
        But that wasn't what I wanted to write about today.  My granddaughter's birthday is on Christmas Day.  She turned 15 this year, and my gift to her was a trip to New York City.  We didn't have any grand plans, but we did go to the Museum of Modern Art where we met some friends briefly.  Mostly, we walked around looking at the store windows all done up for the holiday.  Then we walked down Broadway and ended up in TImes Square.  Other than the parking garage, I spent little money, mostly on food, and we all just enjoyed the experience of being together.  It didn't seem very exciting to me, but I think that's okay.  While we were there, I remembered that on my grandson's 15th birthday, I took him to Niagara Falls.  He had always wanted to go and hadn't yet made the trip, so off we went.  We had a great time, but it didn't seem very exciting to me.  Again, it wasn't ridiculously expensive, but it was an adventure, and I'm all about adventures.
        I think that too few of us have grand adventures anymore.  We get all caught up in what we are supposed to do and forget what we'd like to do.  I have adventures all the time, little ones and big ones.  Sometimes, on my way home from work, I'll just take a detour because something imspires me to do that.  Or, I'll try a new way home, sometimes getting lost for a while, but then I see sights I wouldn't otherwise have seen.  I've been known to decide to drive 3 hours to the ocean for a day because I haven't been there in a while, or just go for a ride, picking a random direction.  I used to take my older son for those random rides as a way of keeping him captive for important talks.  He loved the adventure, and was more open to hearing what I had to say and sharing with me.
        A friend just recently went on a cross-country trip.  She posted something on Facebook about her return.  There were lots of comments saying welcome back, we missed you, great to have you home, etc.  My comment was, "I can't wait to hear your stories!"  That's one of the best things about adventures ... the stories.  I can't wait to hear what stories my granddaughter has about our latest adventure.  Maybe she'll tell the one about my partner scoring two free CDs from the street hustlers.  All in all, I thought it was a pretty uneventful time, but we all have our own individual take on the same experiences.  It'll be fun to find out hers.  Meanwhile, I loved spending time with her in her favorite city, the city of her dreams.