Of This and Other Worlds

So it's looking more and more likely that our last-minute family vacation this summer will take us to Chicago. My husband has driven through the city any number of times but never actually stopped for a visit; I've stopped once overnight on my way to somewhere else, but arrived late and left early without doing any sightseeing, so I am as clueless as a clueless thing. But several people I know strongly recommended Chicago when I asked for suggestions, so here we are.

Which leads me to ask, is there anyone still following me (ha ha, like anyone is still reading this) who lives in the south-central Michigan or eastern Illinois ballpark (or Chicago proper) that would be sad to hear I had passed through without stopping to connect? I'd be up for lunch or coffee if anyone is interested!

And also, as folk who know and share my interests, is there anything in the Chicago area that you'd particularly recommend I check out? I've already had one person alert me to the current Inklings exhibits at the Marion E. Wade Museum, which I'd love to check out even if I have to dump my husband and sons and go all by myself. Other than that, though, I've just got the usual "Things To Do and See in Chicago" guides to work from, and I'd hate to miss something of particular literary or fannish interest just because it isn't on the list...

Otherwise known as my "hey, I'm back from camp and I feel like a zombie" post.

Why a week away from home with no cleaning duties and three delicious meals served daily should prove mentally and physically exhausting, much less feeling like I'm about to get the mother of all colds, I cannot tell you. Suffice it to say that it is so.

I was also hoping that the week away from home would persuade my brain to stop going all OOH SHINY over Touching Indigo and prudently switch gears back to Wayfarer, which is after all under contract and therefore the more needy of my attention. Unfortunately, this did not happen, though I have confidence that it will once I get to know Timothy and Linden better... which, despite all my note-taking and emotional mapping and poking about on Getty Images looking for lookalikes, is not going to happen until I start actually writing them.

Some good things happened while I was on vacation, however: I got passports for myself and three kids with zero waiting time (thank you so much, risti, for the suggestion about doing the online application -- I think it made all the difference), I had Bubble Tea with erinbow (who is probably still laughing about the O_O face I made when the first tapioca pearl came up the straw), and we successfully converted my crib-sleeping toddler to a bunk-sleeper with nary a hitch.

Also, I came back home to find that fuseno8 had posted about our meeting in her blog, with a nice picture of the two of us and everything. Thank you, Betsy! It was a pleasure, and if you should return to town I shall take you out for cream tea.

Well, the house is woefully a-clutter since we have been moving Oldest Child and his enormous collection of toy farm equipment into the room that used to be the baby's, plus trying to unpack several suitcases and do two loads of laundry at the same time. So I must stop trying to catch up with my F-list and get to work, which means I am about to borrow a page from kalquessa and make this general appeal:

If you've written (or found) anything in the past week that you think I should see, please put a link to the relevant post in the comments.

That would help enormously, thank you.

Oh! And one more thing. I re-read HP Book 7 while I was gone -- taking it slowly and carefully this time, with particular thought given to criticisms I've heard from other readers, as well as my own initial sense of dissatisfaction. And I am happy to report that this time around, I thought it was brilliant. More about that later, when I am no longer surrounded by guilt-inducing household debris.

*hurries off*

Oog, I'll be glad when all this travel and bustling about is over and I can get back to some semblance of normal living. Anyway, we're heading out this afternoon to visit relatives and friends in various places, and won't be back until Wednesday night. Take care, all!

P.S. to yahtzee63: I sadly fear that this means no fairies for at least another week. But leaving you stuck with the Chapter Four cliffhanger would have been worse, honest. :)

I'm going to be away for the next week. Try not to have too much fun without me. :) More details are in rjanderson_blog, or will be as soon as the feed from the source blog updates.

Yep, this'll be my last post for a while since our family's going on a week's vacation (our first in nearly five years!). So if you're wondering where my "Reading OotP Aloud" essays have gone or why I haven't responded to that brilliant comment you posted to my thread on snapesupport, you'll know now.

I should be returning in the afternoon on Saturday, August 23rd. See you then!