Sunday Salon: I left my heart in St. George

Actually, my heart was still there from when we went three years ago, but I left it again this time.  It has set up permanent residence.  As we drove away, I had a gigantic lump in my throat.  I love this little island so much.  I know we'll be back, but I will miss it. Even my husband commented on the drive home that with every visit, we love it just a little bit more.   

I love how the kids discard their electronics and their addictions to the movie theaters and the malls, and head to the beach to go for a run or walk, throw a football, or build a fiefdom in the sand.  Our rental house is within walking distance of the handful of businesses on the island, such as the local fisherman selling his hours-old shrimp or oysters, or the spice shop that bakes fresh bread on the hour and holds wine tastings.  We had our own wine tastings overlooking the ocean each evening at sunset.    

A new activity for the Nawrots this year was to rent bicycles and explore the island.  We thought we'd seen everything over the past 7 visits and 12 years, but on a bike, so much more is accessible.  On one adventure, we found a hidden little bird estuary on the Apalachicola Bay.

Typical for my daughter, the cat whisperer, we attracted a hungry and homeless but very sociable cat within 15 minutes of our arrival.  We fed him shrimp and scallops and cat treats and he hung out with us like he belonged.  It broke my heart to leave him but we SO did not need a sixth cat personality in this family. 

Because this trip was all about spending time with family, I didn't do as much audio listening as I thought I would.  (Really, I should know better by now!)  I got through about half of Patrick Ness's "Monsters of Men", which is really good and I'm totally twitchy to finish it.  Soon! 

In print, I finished "The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus" by Sonya Sones and LOVED it.  Then I read Brian Selznick's "Wonderstruck" in an evening, because his books are just that way.  Magical.  I am about 2/3 of the way through Yrsa Sigurdardottir's "My Soul To Take", an Icelandic murder mystery.  Having fallen in love years ago with "Smilla's Sense of Snow" and the whole atmosphere of Iceland, I grabbed this.  Can't tell you yet if it is working for me though.  I have mixed feelings. 

I am hoping that today I will accomplish two things:  putting up my inside Christmas decorations, AND seeing Hugo at the theaters.  My sister loved it (not something that happens often with big budget mass-marketed flicks) and so did Ebert.  The kids and I have all read the book and seen the automaton at the Franklin Institute, so it should be extra special!  You'll know whether or not we saw the movie if you see a review of it tomorrow!

Hope you all had a wonderful, relaxing Thanksgiving weekend!