Northern New Jersey escaped the blizzard that whalloped the Mid-Atlantic region two weekends ago, but we couldn’t get lucky twice. We had to suffer right along with the rest of the region, which got 17 inches of snow in some places. Anyway, after a day of juggling take-home work and Baby, whose family daycare center was closed, I’m still unable to wind down and go to bed. So I rummaged through a few old digital files, pulled out my YouTube account and blew the dust off of it. Hey, it’s been so long since I’ve posted to YouTube that there is a blizzard of dust on my account! I made some changes to my membership, so I could link more videos to this site.

For those of you who like animals, I found this home movie from a visit to the Bronx Zoo in Summer 2005. That year, Mother and Little Sister visited Hubby and I shortly after we had bought our house.  Little Sister doesn’t appear in this film—otherwise, I wouldn’t have posted it. Don’t tell Hubby I said this, but I think gorillas are amazing and complex creatures, and I wouldn’t mind seeing a few one day—from the safety of a well-armed safari vehicle, of course. (I convincingly project the image of a city girl who thinks nature is terrifying and loathsome, so Hubby would get a kick out of word that I like gorillas.)

Although this winter is not so bad, and I don’t mind the snow,  I feel the dryness and the cold acutely because it’s been several years since I’ve traveled outside the United States. Feeling confined, domesticated and parochial, I believe a visit to Africa sounds romantic and adventurous right now. I would do one of those safaris where you stay in a luxury tent in the evenings and see the animals during the day. Or swing into Capetown and do outdoorsy things during the day while spending the evenings at restaurants, boutiques and cultural places.

Again, don’t tell Hubby I said these things, otherwise he’ll sense an opening, and rather than offering a trip to a world-class city, where I can see stunning ancient architecture and relax at spas, he’ll pursue me relentlessly about the quote-unquote joys of camping in a Nevada desert and skipping hot showers for several days.