Getting ready

We're heading across the pond in a few days, so I'm trying to get ready. I've been trying to figure out what clothes to bring, of course. We'll be taking public transport--no driving on the left for us--and changing locations, so I'm really going to try to pack light. But I can't really plan my wardrobe until I consult the weather predictions closer to our departure date. 

I'm also trying to figure out and update my gizmos. I've loaded train schedules on my iPad and now I'm trying this new blogging app on my phone. Depending on Internet service and on how beat I am at the end of the day, I hope to share some pictures here and on my Facebook page. 

And now I'll try uploading a picture of my buggy pal that kept me company for a while as I was working on Ash's edits. Second son says it's a dragonfly. 

Taxes and travel

Things are a little topsy-turvy at chez MacKenzie at the moment. Important papers have mysteriously burrowed away somewhere, so we are on a hunt to find them, and the receipts I've been saving all year don't seem quite so clear now that it's time to order them for the tax man (or woman). Hmm. But Mr. M. and the accountant will bring order to it all, and I'll resolve to keep a more orderly filing system next year. Which is this year from a tax point of view. Oh, dear.

I can't leave all this paper wrangling to the last minute as I am off to the Romantic Times convention next week. I'm excited--and unsettled. I have errands to run, things to mail, things to buy. I must study the weather reports to figure out what clothes to pack. And where are my conference clothes, I wonder?

I like going out into the world, meeting readers and seeing writer pals, but I'm also very much a creature of habit. I like hiding in my writerly cave and following my boring routine. (I even eat the same thing for lunch every day!)

So I'll be running around this week. Next week I'll try to post some convention pictures here--and if you're my Facebook friend, you may find some pictures there. If you're actually at RT, please say hi!

Flying solo

By the time this posts, I should be off to the airport to fly home to D.C.

I've often told people I'm used to traveling by myself. This is technically true. Most of my trips during the year are to writers conferences, so usually Mr. M stays home. But this trip to Boston reminded me that while I usually travel alone, I am anything but alone when I arrive. I almost always room with a friend, and I have plenty of friends to hang out with during the day. I love seeing folks and catching up with them at workshops, over a meal, or at the bar. And I often meet with my editor and my agent. Writers conferences--at least romance writers conferences--are noisy, busy, crazy, people-filled events.

This trip I'm much more alone. Yes, I saw swimmer boy--and other swim parents I've seen over the four years swimmer boy's been on the team. I even got a chance to see my writer pal Caroline Linden and her family. But I spent a lot of time by myself. Not that I don't spend a lot of time by myself at home, but that's different.

So while I was glad to come, I'm glad to go home, back to the familiar surroundings, familiar routines, and, yes, Mr. M.

Security

No, not airport security--walking around security. Keeping your stuff secure and out of pickpockets' hands.

I think I may have gone overboard with this. I got talking to a clerk in a travel shop, and he persuaded me it would be a good idea to take precautions. I bought a waist wallet and a special purse. I even convinced Mr. M to get a man bag. That was a bit of a hard sell, but I told him to think of it as a camera bag--and he did carry his camera in it.

Did we need this stuff? Not sure. I did pick up a brochure at St. Paul's that warned about pickpockets, but I didn't feel any more at risk in London than I do in D.C. or New York. I didn't bother with the waist wallet, but I was happy to have the purse. It wasn't at all stylish, but it gave me piece of mind. It had a handy exterior pocket for my Oyster card and was big enough to hold pretty much everything I needed--camera, scarf, gloves, sunglasses, and most of the research books I bought.

And now that we have this stuff...I guess that means we need to take more trips, eh?

Laundry day

The last load is in the wash--hooray!! Going off on vacation is great, but coming back is a lot of work.

Whilst the washer and dryer have been doing their thing, I've been trying to catch up on all the email I've let slide. I think I'm closing in on that goal, too.

Meanwhile, I've been over on my Facebook fan page trying to put commentary to my pictures. Oh, my wretched memory. I knew exactly what I--or Mr. M--was taking pictures of at the time, but now... I may have to wait for his help on some of them.

Home Sweet Home

We're home, back in the hot, humid D.C. weather. The flight was fine--except for the detour to Newark due to storms around D.C., but even that wasn't so bad. We ended up being only a little over three hours late. When we landed in Newark, I was imagining all those horror stories of passengers kept prisoners for hours in grounded planes, but thankfully, all was as well as could be expected.

We switched our watches to D.C. time as soon as the plane took off from London, so I'm not even feeling as exhausted as I probably should be.

Tomorrow--laundry.

Leaving on a jet plane...

It's September 11, and I will confess to being less than wild about flying today, especially as we'll be leaving from one of the airports involved in the tragedy nine years ago. That was a terrible time. But life goes on, and none of us knows the future--or at least I don't--so I'll climb aboard and hope for the best.

On a cheerier note, I want to say thank you to whoever invented the rolling suitcase.