infryq | Entries tagged with travel

Yesterday the taxi picked us up at 8:30. I took my meds, we had an uneventful two flights. I read some of Gideon the Ninth and made a bit of progress on the final handkerchief but mostly napped. I troubleshooted a bit with F some problems she’s having with the user study environment, but it’s not fixed yet so there’s more to do. We got home to our correct house with correct silverware and correct pots and stove and oven and correct bed and it is good. I put together a shopping list and we went to geagle. There were many packages waiting for us, as I’d told the post office to hold our mail and deliver it all on the last day. There was a nice card from F&A, along with a fun book on historical playing cards. The calendar from grandma arrived, along with a pile of cotton yarn for dishrags. A shipment of apple chips, which I need to put a stop to until I start eating them again. And.... a mixed case of wine from my folks! I can’t believe it both made it through PA nonsense and that FedEx dropped it off (when? who knows! & nobody stole it!) without the required signature. It’s all CinqCellars stuff, mostly 2015 vintage. Very exciting.

Early dinner, crossword, Voyager, snack, more Voyager, more snack, correct bedtime bathroom routine, sleep, on correct pillows and correct Monster and everything. I love seeing P’s folks but it is so so soothing to be home again.

Yesterday was air travel day.

I baked the nut and seed bars, finished packing. I did not remember Travel Monster or my passport, but neither is strictly necessary. I took my meds, which made everything more manageable. It’s kind of like being outside on a windy day and trying to stuff things into a bag, and without meds you’re stuck with a flimsy plastic grocery bag, and with them you get a sturdy canvas bag. Everything is still blowing all over the place, but having even just one anchor that’s not fighting you is as much help emotionally as it is physically.

Two flights, a taxi, hello time with P’s folks, dinner, sleep. Dark earlier; but also light earlier. Dreamt of fencing class (I was good) and teaching lindy (I was ...not good).

Yesterday I had breakfast, shower, finished packing, took Ativan. Called
gma to see if she was up; she was, so we stopped in to drop off the stuff
from aunt K and say goodbye. Then, airport. First flight was fine but
delayed. We had a long enough layover in ORD that we were fine for the next
flight, though P didn’t get to go to the tapas place he’d been looking
forward to. Second flight was fine. Listened to a bunch more Space Opera.
Drive home had some weird traffic at Carnegie but was ultimately fine. Took
in the mail, which included my passport! Very exciting; now I can go to
Canada again without having it be a one-way trip. No snack, just sleep.

Yesterday we hung out with uncle D and aunt K at breakfast to see them off,
and heard stories about nuclear waste facilities. I finished the
shirtmaking book. Grandma called and recommended we go to Kingston instead
of sticking around to visit with her some more, but I didn’t have the
spoons for both that and three airports the next day. Instead, we drove
over to alki and walked the beach. It was good. I took P to Spud for lunch.
Got some snacks for the plane at the Metro Market on Admiral Way. Some
quiet time in the room until housekeeping came around, then we walked over
to California Ave and went through an antique shop and Pegasus. P found a
book on the history of the alphabet. Snack, packing, crossword, then P
worked on grading while I commissioned some art I’ve been dreaming of for a
bit on a hot springs/geysers version of the mythical
salamander-as-fire-elemental. Chaco for dinner; I had a mushroom and red
pepper sandwich that was really lovely. By 8 I was starting to pass out so
I just went to bed.

Yesterday I dumped out my purse and darned a patch on the worst hole by the
zipper. Then I re-packed it sans pocket knife/random receipts/salt
shaker/other non- travel-appropriate stuff. I packed food, diversions (that
book on shirtmaking, a new release from G Willow Wilson, and some ancient
sock knitting), and the traveling version of the stuffed monster friend
that doubles as a bolster pillow to assist my various sleep postures.
Shower, packed toiletries, snack for lunch. Moved the ant-plagued lemon
trees outside. Washed the day’s dishes, wiped down surfaces. Took an
ativan, and then we left for the airport.

Airport was fine; both our bags got flagged for secondary screening because
of ...nuts? Bought a seltzer that turned out not to be twist-off. What the
actual fuck is Breugger’s doing selling 16 ounces of mineral water in an
AIRPORT that requires a bottle opener and cannot be reclosed. Ugh. Flight
was fine, in spite of some grade-2 turbulence heading out, which was
expected on account of the rain. Space Opera is a little manic but good.
Landed a half hour early, picked up the car, touched base with mom on
routes, and met up with them at the hotel. Walked to Trader Joe’s for
dinner supplies. Mom and I hung out while dad and P found a drug store,
then we all ate and talked on the patio. It was nice. I devastated the
tiniest wheel of brie in all the land, with sweet potato corn crackers and
plantain chips. P had a very standard pita with hummus, baba, and tabbouli.
Turned into pumpkins around 9 and went to bed.

Yesterday I finished reassembling the pocket. I stripped our bedding and P
helped flip the mattress. I did not put the new linen sheets on the bed,
since it’s still been chill nights. Banking on remembering to do that
between now and July when it gets hot. I finished the pink petals on
Gerty’s embroidery project, and started the purple ones. I did two loads of
sheets and towels and one load of socks and silks. Mom called at lunch to
get updates on travel plans. We’ll be staying at a nice place near my
grandmother, with mom and T for the two memorial days and then just us the
rest of the week. It’s walking distance from everywhere, which is good. P
is worried about being able to get all his grading done, since there won’t
be enough time between when we get back and when they’re due. Hopefully
I’ll be able to help him balance between hanging out with gma and holing up
in the room or a coffee shop marking.

Hallowed has, hopefully briefly, become an excuse to data dump the author’s
worldbuilding notebook. I’m not really a fan of milieu stories so we’ll see
if I manage to slog through it.

No Flash; too busy figuring out hotel and car rental. Have started maybe
daydreaming about sewing some loose summer tops though.

Yesterday was a bit better. I finished the waistband and put on a hem. I’ve
been reading Gentleman Jole And The Red Queen and am completely smitten. I
picked up Gerty’s embroidery project and put in a few more flower petals.
Mom called and delivered the details about the memorial; May 10-11. We
researched flights and should be able to make it work. I need to call the
Wooster b&b and cancel. Instead I think we’re going to go to central PA for
a pottery workshop after midsummer. There seem to be good options for
lodgings and food, walking distance even.

Yesterday we came home!!! We went to the airport around ten in hopes of
getting on an earlier flight and were successful. I knit in the airport and
slept on the plane. Some surprise traffic on 376 but P was a champ. We’re
both exhausted. Travel sucks.

We went through the mail, did laundry, rescued the houseplants, and then I
sat in bed flipping through seed catalogs until dinner. P made a quick
grocery trip and picked up food for him from Babylon. After we ate, P drove
over to Braddock to pick up all our glazed work, and I pruned the pepper
plants. When he got back, we pulled everything out and went over it with a
strong light. Unfortunately tons of crazing casualties; the white liner
appears to be seriously temperamental, and some of my experiments including
the last-minute wipe of the shino from my small bowls didn’t work out.
We’re going to test the liner crazes with food coloring today to see if any
of it is salvageable since almost all P’s mugs were affected. Otherwise
stunning effects for the White Salt over Candace Black: satin metallic
gunmetal in some pieces and a delicate froth of snow over glossy black in
others.

It turns out P’s phone wanted its own pottery studio solo adventure, so
we’ll be going back today to fetch it.

Crossword and sleeps! My bed! My normal toothpaste! My pots! My spoons!
It’s so good to be home.

Yesterday got up early and muzzed myself through the rest of the packing.
We drove to the airport, said our goodbyes, successfully flew to DC. Our
connection got delayed for mechanical failures and then cancelled, so we’re
stuck in an airport hotel on United’s dime. P was a very very good support
person and walked to a convenience store to get me seltzer and corn chips
so I could stop travel fuguing quite so hard. Crossword and scrabble and
sleep.

Yesterday we were too amped up to sleep to our normal time and were awake
at 5:30. P showered and made coffee but I tried to keep to my normal
schedule as much as possible and did not make breakfast. Did take my meds
though, plus a beta blocker. We left the house at quarter to eight, and
after traffic and security had about a half hour wait before boarding.
Flights were uneventful, but my period kicked in right on unfortunate
schedule so I took an aleeve around noon. Modern medicine is amazing. G & D
picked us up from BDL, and D and I hung out and chatted about academia
while P and G went out for a few dinner ingredients. Early dinner around 5,
quinoa rice and carrots-peas-cranberries for me, and that plus ful (favas
with parsley sauce) for everyone else. G & D left around 6 to pick up M
from the airport while P and I did the crossword, and I got in an extra
snack just before they got back. Lots of stories, then bed around 9.

Yesterday we had a really great breakfast chat with the other guests in the
B&B, covering biochemistry, seminary schools, how church buildings are
being repurposed, weaving and spinning and how they interact with
analytical vs creative temperaments, NASA engineering and astronaut health,
and how writing skills have changed as we’ve shifted from letter-writers
through telephone-users to microblogging. Fabulous folks this year.

We made good time driving home, unloaded the car, and P got the sharpening
wheel disassembled enough to move it by himself while I spread out and
skirted and sorted fleece. Took a rest to cool off, and then I cleaned out
the Nest sufficiently for P to maneuver the AC into place, and we tinkered
with the brick support situation a few times to get it stable and sealed
properly. It’s supposed to be 90 and humid today, so we’ll be glad if the
effort.

Cooked up a batch of rice and lentils, then dinner, crossword, and bed.

Yesterday we drove to Wooster! I did spin a bit in the morning, finishing
off the grey Gotland singles and starting a 2-ply. We struck off after
lunch and made reasonably good time, some mild travel anxiety for the first
half hour or so but nothing requiring meds. We took 22/250 down and will
probably take 30 on the way back. Checked in at the B&B, which is under new
ownership and it sounds like Jane did not leave notes, so going over the
dietary stuff was a bit of a chore. Oatmeal is always acceptable though,
thank goodness. Ate at Spoon, where I forgot how custom sandwiches worked,
but the attendant was kind about it. Picked up beverages at the store on
the way back to the inn. I love this place.