Priorities*

We have come to accept that, during the holiday season, we won't be able to get a whole lot done toward opening our cafe. Our excitement over this new venture is not shared by the various bureaucratic agencies through whose hoops we are required to jump.We're waiting for our FEIN; they're kvetching over their chintzy Secret Santa gift.

There is another dark cloud  tempering our enthusiasm -- I need to find housing closer to the cafe. Rentals, even for the most pathetic hovel, are exorbitant and, even in a rural area and with dogs as wonderful as mine, it's hard to find someone to rent to a pet owner.

This is not the cabin, only a facsimile of where I may be spending my off hours

Still, we soldier on, which lead to the following e-mail exchange between me and Dark Garden, who you need to know is a captain in his county's sheriff's department and their head investigator.

Me: Come whenever on Christmas. I'm doing a ham and it'll just be an all-day buffet.

DG: Don't know about this weekend right now. Caught a murder this morning. Old, rickety cabin -- two-week old body was found (what follows is a stomach churning account of smells and fluids that DG can't help but go into detail about, but that I will spare you the detail of)...so this place is falling apart and we had to pull the body out and...(more details of limbs and corpse transportation). I'll let you know later today.

Me: So...........................................................................................................................................................
..............................................................there's a cabin available?

*I'll bet you thought this post was going to be a lot deeper.