I realized that I got so wrapped up in the Literature and penny finding stuff in my post yesterday that I hardly included any "life" stuff. I'm just so excited to be back on the computer, since I've had absolutely no access to it for over a month. Ah! I can breathe again. Just kidding. I've actually been occupying my time with much more productive projects. I'm reading more, doing more crossword puzzles, going on bike rides, attending a Bible study and a book club, hence, the reading more. So, as I mentioned, I just got back from a trip to Cleveland. Although non-Clevelanders enjoy referring to my hometown as "The Mistake on the Lake", I must ask of such nay-sayers, "Have you ever been there?" I love Cleveland. There are so many wonderful things about the city. I'm actually from a suburb called South Euclid, which is about 30 minutes south of downtown. The outer parts of Cleveland like Cleveland and University Heights, Shaker, and Chagrin are so charming and truly beautiful. While I was there, the weather was warming up and the landscape was lush and green. Flowers were in bloom, there was a slight breeze, and the air smelled fresh and floral. Here in AZ, there is nothing like it. Sure, we have trees and plants and flowers, but there are no rolling hills of grass or the occasional deer that passes through one's back yard. True story: The house where we stayed is in a suburban neighborhood, but there are woods behind the house. On my last day there, I enjoyed watching a family of deer as they walked through the yard and the youngest decided to take a long nap under the tree just outside the window. During my 10 day trip, we took a drive out to the lake and enjoyed the sounds and smells of the surf. It was such a peaceful, restful day, a nice break from all the hustle and bustle of reuniting with family and friends. My family also took a trip to Little Italy. Back at the turn of the 20th century, my great-grandfather (my grandmother's dad) was quite a wealthy businessman in Cleveland. He owned an apartment building which still stands today. Here are my mom and me in front of it: Once my brother arrived in town, we made our way down to the "Flats" for the annual Rib Cook Off. That night, we took in an Indians game as we are all huge fans. We also spent a thrilling and exhausting day at Cedar Point. As I mentioned before, it was exhilirating to become a kid again, but it really took a beating on my body and by the end of the day, I could barely move. And even though I'm still recovering a week later, it was totally worth it. Brandon and I had a lovely dinner at Pier W, the coolest restaurant in Cleveland. It actually hangs out over the cliff and the whole restaurant is windows so you can view the water, the boats, the Cleveland skyline, etc. And the food is to DIE for. Of course I have to plug the best pizza place in the COUNTRY, my Aunt Frannie's famous Italian Restaurant, Geraci's. People travel far and wide for her pizza, have in Fed-Exed to them across country and rave about it to friends in other states. Of course we had a couple meals there and I gained some weight just from her pizza alone, but my aunt just keeps the food coming, for like hours. And you can't possible say no to such an angel of a woman as my aunt. We travelled to Put-in-Bay one day. As a child growing up there, I never knew there were hundreds of islands out in Lake Erie so it was such a delightful new adventure to take the boat out to one of them one day, attend a wine tasting at a local vineyard there and spend a nice relaxing day enjoying the charm of the tiny town. My great-great aunt turned one hundred while we were there so there was, of course, a big Italian bash. I could get into the whole family tree, but it is just way too confusing. But basically, even though my grandparents (my grandfather being a LoSchiavo and my grandmother being a Roberto) have both passed away, there were members from both sides of the family there. It's really crazy. Everyone is named Joe or Frank, and Martha or Marie. It's a headache to go to those things. As more and more relatives continue to pass on, I have less to remember though(as I can't really keep up with which children belong to which of my dozens of cousins). There were some things that I wanted to do that I didn't get to, like the art museum again, which I guess has been closed for 3 years. I did get to go once a few years ago, but I always enjoy going to see art whenever possible, and Cleveland's is a top notch museum. I wanted to visit the botanical gardens, as it came highly recommended. I spent some time in the area though and wanted to have a nice meal at The Inn on Coventry, but they were closed when I got there. Ah well. Probably for the best anyway. As everyone in Cleveland knows, I would move back there in a heartbeat. There was a concern for a while that the weather wouldn't be good for my health, but as I recently discovered that I never had Lupus in the first place, that argument is futile. Yes, I still have the fibromyalgia, but that isn't exacerbated by the weather, and there's actually a holistic doctor in Cleveland that has cured fibromyalgia patients of the disease. I might have to make another visit soon to see him, but in the mean time, I'm reading his book and recognizing a lot of symptoms and learning quite a bit. I loved feeling "at home" again while I was there. I've never felt AZ was my home and that there was really any reason to stay here. I don't know. Maybe someday I'll find myself back home again.