~ Jill’s husband has been raising elk for their antler velvet, which has medicinal qualities. This one was pictureworthy, apparently, because it is particularly large.

My sister Suzanne took the digital camera out and got the photo while I went into Jill’s house to help her prepare for the potluck. I’ve seen elk before, so I declined Suzanne’s invitation to go with her. It was too frigging cold out.

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Suzanne’s friend T has recently been to Holland. She said the first thing she noticed there was that everyone is slim and fit. She surmised that it is because, though they eat rich food, their portions are tiny in comparison to the way we eat. And they walk and ride their bikes everywhere.

They serve tiny cups of coffee in the restaurants, and charge four dollars for them. Refills cost the same. She had caffeine withdrawal.

She went to a bar that charged 80 cents to use the bathroom. At the rate she has to pee when she’s drinking, that got expensive.

Their yards are tiny and their homes are stacked on top of each other, she reported. They can hardly imagine the space, the individual personal or family territory, we have here.

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“Annie realizes she’s known for some time, but hasn’t let what she thinks of as her ‘forward’ self know, the self that stands between the world and her inmost needs. What an idea, a forward self that can’t be allowed to know the whole truth, and an underneath, further back self, in touch with absolutely everything” - Secrets in Water, by Barbara Sapergia