It must have improved greatly for Amelia to be talking about it so openly. Adia is happy to hear the pride in her friend's voice. "I look forward to seeing it again. Hey, what kind of vacuum did you end up getting?"

"A vacuum." Caspar sighs wistfully. "That'd beat out a broom any day."

"Our electricity grid can only handle so much, so we try to stay low-tech where we can," Adia explains. She doesn't seem to mind, but then again, she's not nearly so desperate to keep every speck of dust out of the house like Caspar is.

As for where Zelus would like to rest his feathery head, he peers down at Amelia, then pecks at his roost. He has the perfect place already. At least, when it isn't raining.

"Oh, all kinds of things," Adia answers in regards to what they grow. "Carrots, potatoes, onions, peppers. We have a raspberry bush that keeps threatening to take over the entire garden. I grow herbs, too, but only a few kinds. I've been looking into medicinal properties for some of them. That's our biggest gap right now, you know. Trying to replenish our medications. If there's anything natural we can use instead, we've been trying."