So I thought I'd try something different tonight. My wife is at her dance thing, and usually I'd be on my computer playing video games or maybe even blogging. Instead, I grabbed a few of my vices - bread, cheese, wine, a cigar and the laptop - and went out on my deck. I don't use our deck enough. It's not the greatest, but it's big enough, and just the right combination of bright and shade, being on the north side of the house.

In the backyard, a tangle of scrub and viny trees drops down to a swale - a little piece of the country here in the city.

Sometimes, it helps me to level out.

The wine's a Cab/Shiraz blend from Oz. The cigar is from somewhere in Central America - not Belize, unfortunately. The cheese is from Switzerland - which leaves only the bread local. Oh, wait, I just read the label - it's got components from the Mediterranean area.

I suppose that all says something, but I'm not quite sure what.