There's No Place Like Home

My darling eldest came home for the weekend. To quote her Facebook comment:

"I think I'll be coming home for the weekend. Because I miss you. And to do laundry."

At least she remembered to tell me she missed me first. I was quite sure, once I saw her cargo of laundry, that she's probably trying to save every single penny..er..quarter for the New York trip. (Two more days Jess and Marc!)

It's always nice to have her home. Now that she's living on her own, our visits can sometimes be few, and far between. The truth is, I miss her very much. Her humor and the way she expresses her life experiences just light up Charlie's and my world. I know that when she has what little free time she has, she likes to spend it with her boyfriend Ryan, who also lives and works in Los Angeles. However, Ryan is in Greece right now, basking in the glow of the Parthenon. While Charlie and I are very, very jealous of Ryan, we're also kinda grateful that he went, because he forfeited his time with Averie, and she "awarded" it to us. And our washer and dryer.

Poor Aves. She has lost her bedroom. As I've posted in the past, Ave's old room has become Charlie's and my office. So now, when she comes home for a visit, she either has to sleep on an inflatable mattress, or the couch. She chooses the couch.

This morning, as I walked down the hall with my cup of coffee, I glanced into the living room and saw, over the armrest of the couch, a tuft of hair. I naturally assumed this to be Averie's hair. But as I looked closer, it seemed too dark to me. It was black. Unless Averie dyed her hair after I went to bed, which seems to be a family pastime these days, this was definitely NOT Averie. As I walked around to the other side of the couch where I could get a full view, this is what I saw:



Of course, Ellie was still asleep when I first saw them, and by the time I ran and got the camera, she was awake enough to look at me, wag her tail, and then plop her head down and go back to "sleep". I do notice that whenever Averie visits, Ellie doesn't sleep with Charlie and me. Of course, she does come in and wake Charlie to let her out for her morning lawn-watering. But when Averie's here, she's quite content to sleep on her head.