Bike-riding regularly is the secret to happiness.

I was off today, and the weather was actually nice – a miracle, I know. The sky was blue, and the sun was shining. I gave Sable a bath and washed his bed, which he hated, and took him on a long walk, which he loved. He loves rolling around in warm sunny patches of grass, kicking his legs in the air; he could've done it for ten minutes solid today if I'd let him.

This afternoon Sara and I drove with the windows down to the cemetery I've been meaning to visit. We walked around, reading inscriptions, her looking at the names, me taking pictures. That cemetery is one of my favorites. It's so well-kept and always full of flowers.

When we got home, I went on bike ride and collected cans. I haven't done the latter in a while, so I got almost a full bag of cans before it got too chilly and Rebecca started wheezing. I rode my bike to Grandma's house and visited with her and Aunt Carla before heading home. I understand now how Sara when I was in France and the first thing Grandma always said when she saw her was, "How's Rebecca?" Now every time I see Grandma, we always have this exchange, word for word: Grandma: "Have you heard from Mom or Adam?" Me: "No, haven't heard from them."

This evening I watched The Secret of Roan Inish, which I bought earlier this week as part of a double DVD with Whale Rider. At first, I couldn't figure out why they were packaged together, since one was about Ireland and the other about New Zealand. But after watching Roan Inish (which, by the way, was very good, much better than I had expected) I see the similarity: they're both peaceful, atmospheric films about young girls who live with their grandparents and learn the legends of their families and their islands.