February 13

Back at the homestead in Hidden Springs.



I've graduated and haven't a clue what to do, honestly.
"What do you plan on doing now that you have your arts degree?" Mom asked over salad.
The funny thing is I'm actually thinking about going BACK to school to finish my coursework in environmental sciences and veterinary medicine. Of course, I didn't tell her that -- yet.



Speaking of which, I caught Mom with her hand in the cookie jar. She looks like the cat that ate the prize canary!



Grandpa Plumb has a legendary sweet tooth and eats cookies for breakfast. Mom said he used to have his butler make batches of cookies at a time so he'd have them at the ready.



Poor Satis is stuck at medical school for at least another semester. And she has to complete her residency. Satis is so beautiful, she should have a line of guys knocking on her door to date her.



But things are starting to look up for her. Eddy Mullis (that cute goth guy I had a couple of art classes with) asked Satis out... and, well, you be the judge of how it went...
Actually I'm happy for her. Even though Eddy isn't the type of guy I imagined her with, she seems happy with him, so if she's happy, then I'm happy.



And suddenly Sierra, my surly sister, is blissfully happy. I suspect the main reason is her new girlfriend, Lily Richards. Lily has an interesting background. Her mom is from Shang Simla, China, and her dad is Chinese and Irish.
It's like this huge weight has been lifted off of her shoulders.
My theory is that she was worried about how we'd think about her being gay.
Fact is, we don't. We love and care for her regardless. So she likes girls. So what?



She even babysat Sawyer for a little bit the other day. You KNOW that's a small miracle. Getting Sierra to do ANYTHING with us is pretty much like pulling teeth.



And the other day at the graduation she tried to show Grandpa how to work a smartphone.



We've seen how the Queen and the palace are all twisted up in knots over Princess Alexandra. Mom and I don't agree on a lot but we do agree on that.

Dad, well, he's Dad. Nothing bothers him.



Skylar has a dance recital and is starring as Annie in the school play. She wants to be a vocal legend like her idol, Uncle Bassy's ex-girlfriend Madison Avenue. I've heard her singing in the bathtub. I think we have a little performer in our midst.



Mom has said that she will not push Sky into show business, it has to be Skylar's decision and not hers or Dad's. However, Mom says that when Sky turns teen she wants to put her in Le Fromage Arts School to further develop her skills and abilities.

This morning Mom was VERY upset when she hung up the phone.
"Who was that?" I asked.
Mom let out a deep sigh. "That was the university. They want me to come back to teach another semester."
"Well, that's great, right?"
"No, not really." Mom shook her head. "Actually, I was planning on going back to China to retrieve Pangu's Axe. You know, finish what I started."
"Oh. I see."
"I really need to get back to adventuring. Something about the adrenaline rush I miss."
I laughed. Mom is not going to change. I get the feeling she's going to be a little old lady running around in the tombs.



Meanwhile, AJ's got himself a stalker. Rather, an obsessed fan. Juliet Roach hangs outside our house pretty much all the time. She says she's a member of the royal press corps but the palace reassigned her to us.



It was pouring rain outside, so I invited her in for breakfast. See that redhead at the table? That's Kyle. He paid me a visit. We were talking about school and fishing and gardening and pretty much everything else.



Kay came over briefly before her plane left for Appaloosa Plains. I was crying as I hugged her tightly and wouldn't let go. I got the feeling it was going to be a long time before I saw her again.