I need a change of scenery

"I need a change of scenery" is pretty much the most (only?) pick-outable lyric in The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - - my favorite song to bike to. To which to bike.

That line isn't why I like the song, nor is it the reason why Stacy kindly put it on the video she very, very kindly pulled together of my September San Francisco/wine country bike ride, despite it being quite a change of scenery. (Thank you, Stacy!)

But it fits for the video. It fits for bike riding. And it fits as an explanation of the inside of my head the past month or so.

I visited my Beth (I hate qualifying my relationship with half of my parents and siblings with the word "step"). I got to go for a chilly, pre-snow ride with my friend Matt followed by a good Korean dinner, and now I'm visiting my mom and Terry. On the horizon - a mix of family and friend gatherings for Thanksgiving and a December trip to Nashville.

I thought I'd throw in some random photos that illustrate either a change of - or a need for a change of - scenery.

I had to work in the dining room for a week
because an injured Piper needed monitoring
and she couldn't go up/down stairs. Wearing
a sweater that Beth and my dad gave me
for my birthday last year, I enjoyed
working in a room with much more
natural light than my office.

2+ weeks after her injury, and largely better,
she snuck upstairs when I was in my office,
sliding the barricade out of the way. She
also needed a change of scenery!

I was considering having cocoa
instead of tea while typing this
(it is cold here in the northwoods),
but decided to have the best of both
worlds: a handful of stale mini
marshmallows while my tea heated up.

I made a survey for my siblings to assess
our plans for exchanging Xmas gifts. I
put a picture next to each option, including
this totally bizarre image. Evidence
of a needed change of scenery?
Regardless, I love the Internet.

My sister Molly went with me to visit Beth. She
really pushed to pull out the lawnmower, which
she'd never driven before. I guess she needed
a change of scenery, too.

Not a change of scenery exactly, but a change
of perspective. Since when is a neck a butt?
When the phrases "pain in the butt" and
"pain in the neck" were created, did
they mean the same thing?