I'm just awakening at an old white farmhouse, which is unfamiliar from real life. I come down the stairs and through the kitchen, picking up a large piece of cake from the table as I pass, the last piece. Some of my relatives are seated at the table, including my aunt(?) Vickie, and her sister. The two of them are almost indistinguishable, and I am concerned about confusing them. I think one of them says good morning, and it makes me feel awkward because I don't know who I'm greeting.

Without stopping, I pass with the cake out the door, across the porch and down onto the sunny lawn, where I start eating the cake from my hands. Then I feel awkward about that too; shouldn't I have asked someone before taking the last piece of cake?

My nephew Torrent, who is less than two, comes down to me and starts talking to me in big, complete sentences, which are amazing given his age. He's telling me about going to OMSI, or some related museum, and all the fun he is going to have. I'm astounded by his literacy.

(a woman named Vickie had her 60th birthday party at work this week. Not very relevant to me, but there was also cake.)