This is what won out. I had the house to myself, and after building a fire I decided I wanted to read right in front of it.  Right in front of it.  But, I also didn't want to lay on the floor.  So I pushed the coffee table over, and moved one of the couches into the center of the room, right in front of the fireplace.  I poured myself a cup of coffee. And began reading.  It was wonderful. When I heard my dad and Katherine get home, I waited with a childish grin for him to walk into the family room and see the rearranged room. He laughed at me. Asked me what I had done. And then, he joined me. I went and grabbed the foot rest from upstairs too at this point and the set up was complete. But, we didn't end up reading much. Instead, we caught up on plenty. And, he showed me twenty-eight apps. Twenty-eight! I made the mistake of showing him my awesome iPhone star app, and he then showed me the five (or six?) star/planet/constellation apps he has on his iPad. It was a bit much. ;) But time with Dad is all too little these days, so I didn't mind (but don't tell him). I love that I can have arguments with my dad over Tolkien, Lewis, Shelley, Rowlings and on! I love that insults from him include accusations about DH Lawrence. I love that he'll remember lines from my blog that he liked. I love that he's waiting for me to someday have a book published, and sitting on his shelf. And I love weekends where I see my family.

When my mom got home, she found the family room furniture all crammed together around the fireplace, and the room empty.  We'd moved to the back patio, and she simply joined us on the porch swing with a glass of wine. After a run with Kate (our gym closes at 7pm we discovered tonight, as we pulled up at 7:05!), we ended the night with dinner and more family videos.  This was a lovely and relaxing weekend and I don't want it to be over.  : /

PS, I think I'm finally starting to like Emma.