The places we have been and the places we are rushing towards. Sometimes I create a mental map and trace my life from one place to another, chasing old dreams and exhuming buried memories, both painful and beautiful. The layered shadows of self blur, bleeding into each other like ink into paper. A scent from long ago lingers.

Also wishing for a box of assorted chocolates. Truffles, peanut butter cups, orange sticks, mint sticks. Raspberry cream enrobed in a thin, rich layer of chocolate. A bite of rich praline chocolate accompanied by the crunch of almond bits.

Sigh. =)

My sister brought back the most delicious chocolate waffles from Paris. Even now, thinking about those decadent mouthfuls makes me wish for more.

Wishing for a small tea cake, perhaps raspberry flavored, served on delicate blue-and-white china. I like the idea of teatime. :)

It is so misty outside. Reminds me of a scene from Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights, the same sort of dreary whiteness, the same muted colors and tired-looking trees. Yet there is a certain charm in seeing everything blanketed over.

I do so love vacations and sleeping in and lazy hours spent on the bed watching movies and reading books. =)

I love animals so much.

Dogs -- the kindness in their eyes, the way they are always happy to see you, the enthusiasm with which scratch at the door when they hear you walking up the front path.

Horses -- their freedom, spirit, how they carry our burdens so swiftly and strongly.

Koalas -- their happiness, their sleepiness, their lazy lifestyle, the way they cling onto trees without a care in the world