Where, you ask, is Perry, Kansas? Go about 30 minutes from Topeka and you'll find it. There's a lake and a state park. Why, you ask, am I in Perry, Kansas? Well, I had about a week of vacation time I wanted to use, and I figured I could use some extra sleep. Perry is where the parents live on their farm with assorted animals (dogs, cat, chickens, I'm pushing for a llama) and where I spent the past week. It's odd to be able to go outside, sit at a table and just hear. . . well the trees are rustling, the hummingbirds are arguing over the feeder, and the chickens are squawking below me. 

Regardless what anyone tells you, it's not that the country is quiet--it's just a different kind of noisy. Out here, I won't see another human being that's not family unless I actively look for them by going down the half a mile driveway.

Back in the apartment, in Chicago, I'd hear the neighbor's shower, another banging up and down the stairs, while a siren screamed by. Different. 

Whenever I come to Kansas, I always feel a couple of layers are stripped away, and I can just take a few breaths to chill out a bit. 

Kitty and I wish you happy writing!