We flew from Detroit to Fort Lauderdale yesterday, and even with Michigan's bizarrely high winter temperatures, it was an amazing contrast in climates. Stepping outside in Florida for the first time felt like stepping into a warm bath. I took off my winter coat and my sweater, changed into a short-sleeved shirt, and luxuriated in feeling warm air against my skin for the first time in months. Delicious!

I'm typing right now in a café near my great-uncle's house, surrounded by palm trees. Fort Lauderdale is full of massive streets and far, far too many cars, but it's also full of palm trees, beautiful, glittering canals, lush vegetation and - so I've heard - really lovely beaches, which I can't wait to explore. We'll be here until next Thursday, and I'm loving it so far. There's no internet access in the house, unfortunately, but there are plenty of local cafés with free wifi, so I won't be going back into internet withdrawal anytime soon. :)

I'm nearly finished reading Sarah Monette's The Mirador, which is also lush and beautiful. This series has always reminded me of dark chocolate or 19th-century opium - delicious, addictive and with the feel of a vivid, disturbing and utterly compelling dream. The plot of this one is slightly less gripping than the first two novels in the series, Mélusine and The Virtu, which together formed one unified plot arc, but the fantastic characterization and setting in The Mirador make up for any lessening in plot urgency, especially since Monette's made me very happy by setting a third of this one in a theater. So much fun!

Now it's about time to trade off the rental car with my dad, so that he can drive in to the university and Patrick and I can settle down to some fiction writing. I'm planning to do it while sitting on the porch facing the canal. Yay for being in Florida!