Somehow I knew that no matter how long the caulk sat beside the shower unit and no matter how long the shower had gone unused in order to thoroughly dry out, I would be the one to strip the old caulk and recaulk the steam shower unit. And so, I have begun. It will be a multistep process because ... that's the way I want to do it. So I stripped--my clothes and the old caulk. So much easier to work in confined spaces without the impediment of clothing, especially since it's still warm and perfectly good weather to be nude. Maybe in a couple of months I won't be so quick to discard them.

Bingo! Found it! The cause of the very slow and very minor water leak on the outside of the unit. The only evidence of any water escaping the confinement of the acrylic unit was a small rust-colored "tide" mark on the drywall just beyond the unit. Now I feel much better about having undertaken the project myself. Most people wouldn't have found the source of the problem and the whole job would have needed to be redone. One thing I know about water: even if it's a small problem, don't ignore it or it will cause you big headaches. I know this not from my own experience, but from others'. I'll let the area dry out a bit more, maybe spray a bit of bleach to kill any mold, then recaulk it. I am happy!

Sitting here at my keyboard, I feel the cyclical action of the fan blow across my skin and wish I were naked. My housekeeper has come for a few hours so I am not at liberty to stay naked. The other day, I closed the curtains, went outside and lounged in the chair on the back deck under the sun, naked. I saw the curtains rustle at one point after she arrived but I never heard from her ... maybe she saw me, maybe she didn't--I'm happy she left me alone.

And so I think ... about far away places ... about far away people ... friends, family, lovers ... and I am grateful.