Weekend Away

On Thursday night, I realized that I could not bring a poster-sized frame with me on the airplane. The sheet of glass simply would not survive the trip in the overhead baggage compartment or under the seat in front of me -- even if it would fit at all. I sadly removed the photo from the frame, rolled it back up into the cardboard tube, and went to bed, determined to sleep now and pack in the morning. Naturally, my friend Z called about 30 seconds later to speak of cabbages and kings.

I was worried about timing on Friday, but everything went smoothly. I awoke with plenty of time to pack and get to work half an hour early, then made my flight with a wide margin of safety without leaving before the end of the workday. My baggage came through speedily on the other end, and I didn't have to wait long for my ride. I arrived just a few minutes after everyone returned from my sister-in-law's concert and was able to chat with my parents a bit before they drove off into the sunset.

So started two days of bliss, filled with sledding, shopping for skates, strolling, napping, learning about the ocean deep, etc. I also saw my first episode of Leverage (pretty cool) and competed in the Kitchen/Hallway Relay against a wily but irresistible pint-sized opponent. Even got to try some fancy moves (hanging upside down by my knees from a low-hanging trapeze bar) before an audience that was, alas, hard to impress.

I unfortunately did not get to solve the Mystery of the Jumping Pillow -- could this innocuous-looking couch pillow possibly have been filled with Mexican jumping beans? very small kangaroos? teensy people on pogo sticks? -- but remain convinced that the giggles that accompanied the pillow's movements as I tried (in vain!) to nestle into it must have some bearing on the matter.

Monday I was back in New York, celebrating MLK Day in a reflective vein with Theraflu and more napping.

Snowscapes

Brooklyn, New York (one frame from a video clip of leaves scuttling atop the snow):

New Hampshire Seacoast (rocks along the shore):

Home Again

There were some unexpected glitches in my return from Jay Peak, but they were more or less worked out (I'll find out for sure on Monday) and so I am home again. My plant survived the 7 days' drought none the worse for wear (hooray!) and I started the day well in terms of catching up on chores. I unpacked, did two loads of laundry, cleaned up some of the papers from my horizontal filing system, and hung up some more pictures.

The newest picture was a gift from Ruth and Lee Catherine. My niece chose the shells for the frame:
The picture is from our kayaking expedition during Thanksgiving week:


Of course, in the well-deserved glow of satisfaction from making so much progress, I also decided to enjoy the sunshine in the afternoon. I got out my inline skates and went for a 3.5-mile jaunt (feeling gravity extra-strong on the hills), and ending at the library. At the library, of course, I had to return a book, pick up two that were on hold for me, and take advantage of the free internet access. I also took a quick look at the new French-language books, but I already have two in progress.

This all took time, of course. And then when I got home, I was only in the mood to read Stephenie Meyer's Breaking Dawn. Leaving a bit more cleaning/organizing to do.