Lida Rose, I'm Home Again

So my brother and his wife and daughter drove me to MSP in a rainstorm and I caught my PDX flight an hour late, coming into Portland at 12:15 a.m. with a hundred pounds of luggage that the nice shuttle driver hoisted aboard for me. And then I found the Honda and the security guy drove by three times while I was trying to stick my luggage inside while the hatchback kept dropping down like a guillotine, but he never stopped to help, just made a note in his log book: "Mennonite lady still attempting to load large suitcase. No obvious terrorist threat. Recommend she repair trunk props."

Then I drove home, feeling a need for angels around me, and stopped north of Albany to sleep for half an hour at a rest area, and came home at 3:30 a.m., and found out later Paul's mom was praying for angels around me as I drove home.

Sometimes the family is very smooth and efficient while I am gone. Sometimes not. This time was Not. The throw rugs that were hung on the line the day I left were still out there. Sigh. But one and all acted relieved and happy to see me again.

I slept and made a nice hot supper complete with cherry coffee cake and canned 15 quarts of grape juice. And I prepared a little speech and handout for tomorrow.

Yes, tomorrow I'm off again, crazy as it sounds. I was one of 20 Northwest authors chosen to present our wares to a bunch of bookstore people at their annual banquet at the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association convention in Bellevue, Washington, near Seattle. Actually we'll be roaming entertainment, spending 20 minutes at each of 6 tables. I am honored but dreading it like everything, mostly because people across the table can never hear me if there's any sort of background noise.

My friend Rachel was going to go with me but had a babysitting conflict :-( so Emily will be going instead which will also be good I'm sure. :-)

I told Paul it wouldn't take much to make me stay home, since I am feeling quite tired and guilty, but he emphatically said, No, you need to do this, and then just don't sign up for anything extra in November and December. A good man, that one, who is more determined than his wife to make sure she's successful.

After I get home on Friday I want to stay home for a long, long time.

MN trip reports still all tangled in my head, to be untangled as time goes by.

Quote of the Day:
"And just how many people are travelling here?"
--my brother Marcus, unloading my luggage