Hives?

Last night I dreamt that I was over at Sookie's house with Sookie and Lorelei from Gilmore Girls, along with my pal K, who was also there for some reason. Anyway, I am over there baking cookies and visiting. While I am talking to this young man who has a heart necklace (which I recognize as like my own as a child) linked onto his leather jacket, one side of my mouth goes numb. It feels so strange, because I can't talk anymore. After a few minutes, the swelling goes down, and I start itching. I look in the bathroom mirror and see red welts all over me and realize I have hives. Of course, I then wake up feeling itchy. As far as I know, I've never had hives before. What does it mean that I would dream about having them?

This week is crazy-busy. I am doing extra work at home, trying to finish the job at least half-way before I go out of town this weekend. I am going to visit J and we are going to the Galleria. And she mentioned taking me to a spa, which seems like such a perfect idea now.

**BOOK NOTE** Yesterday I finished reading The Known World and I cannot recommend it enough. It is far from easy reading, but it is so well-done. The only complaint I have is that there are a few too many characters; I was almost done with the book and still getting names confused. Overlooking that, though - it is well worth checking out. It is basically about the legacy of a black man who ran his own plantation and owned his own slaves. You learn about his wife, his parents, his slaves, the town sheriff, the man who used to own him, the man who used to own him's progeny, etc. There was one spot especially that touched me so that I had to put the book down for a bit and think on it. Go check it out! The reason I did is because it is a National Book Award finalist. And I had read an article about the author in the NY Times (which I was going to link to, but I can't find it).

edited because I found a link to an interview with the author!!
Jeffrey Brown talks with National Book Award winner Edward Jones about “The Known World.”