Posts tagged with "travel" - Faerye Net

Anecdonutal

2011-05-25T21:48:27+00:00

In Chicago O’Hare International Airport, Ryan tried to attract my attention to a question of logistics. I could not answer, I was entranced by a pink box passing near me.

“Look, it’s a box of home!” I said.

“What?”

“That girl had a Voodoo Doughnut box!”

“Why didn’t you knock her down so I could take them?” Ryan said.

“You’re way bigger than me, why shouldn’t you knock people down in this scenario?”

“So I can have the donuts!”

Interlude

2010-09-04T23:19:34+00:00

In case any particularly sensitive information-brains have noticed a downtick in my posting rate, I thought I’d let the blog readership know I’ve been called out of town. Back to Grants Pass, in fact. Nothing serious, but I’m far, far off my normal routine and haven’t been working down the list of blog topics upon which I am burning to opine.

I may be moved to rant about the amount of unwanted junk mail my grandma gets from a political party she abandoned twenty years ago, but that wasn’t previously on the topic list!

(And for those of you who are also Twitter readers: I shall try not to tweet about Scrabble too much. Really, I shall be trying. Even if you can’t tell.)

Day trip: White River Falls

2010-06-28T13:32:57+00:00

I thought I’d post a photo from the trip Ryan and I took this weekend to White River Falls State Park, just a bit south of The Dalles in our fine Beaver State.

As a side note for gadget geeks, this photo (and my other photos from the trip) were taken with my new iPhone 4. Not bad for a phone.

In praise of spontaneity

2009-05-24T15:53:35+00:00

Recently, I have found myself being more impulsive. From small choices, like ordering wild mushroom ravioli instead of something more pedestrian, to things like agreeing to go on a writing retreat in Vermont with a friend, I’ve been making the less comfortable choice. It tends to turn out beautifully. The one time recently I chose the ‘safe’ item on the menu, it was downright bland. And when I decided to jump off my comfy chair and take a bus downtown in torrential rain to catch an author talk at little notice, I ended up getting to chat with Molly Gloss and Ursula Le Guin (not to mention being treated to fondue by my friend Camille Alexa afterward.) I think we have an instinct for when our reluctance is based in wise caution and when it’s based in inertia or self-consciousness and would better be ignored.

Which is all a long way of saying I spontaneously bummed a ride to Central Oregon with my mom, so I’m enjoying the high desert and producing little in the way of blog posts. If it’s any consolation, I’m missing my yard’s most spectacular blooms as well as shirking my communication duties.

Photos from Vermont

2009-04-24T11:42:53+00:00

So I’m back from my little informal writing retreat with my friend Camille Alexa in Montpelier, Vermont, which is not only the capital of that state but also the capital of Picturesque.

I wish I had taken more photos, actually — long streets full of Victorian Painted Ladies and pretty old brick buildings. Even their old jail (now offices) is quaint, and you should see the fire station. A lot of my strolls were in the evening, though — not the best time to get architectural snapshots.

Took a walk every day around the burg, toasted my feet in front of a wood stove, had some awesome meals and got a lot of writing and revising done. I’m back into a big project I’d set aside and I hope to maintain my forward momentum!

On the way back, my flight into Chicago was delayed so I missed my connection and had to stay overnight — so special thanks to EMeta for buyin’ me some Chicago deep-dish pizza. I believe the technical term is “NOM NOM NOM”.

P.S. A story from Camille’s upcoming collection went live at Fantasy Magazine right before I left for VT. Everyone loves “Shades of White and Road” so why wouldn’t you?

For your informedness

2009-04-16T10:26:49+00:00

I won’t be blogging much for the next week or so — I’m on a writing retreat in Vermont and have self-limited (and actually limited) access to the internet. Photos of cute Vermont buildings will be forthcoming at some later date.

Updatery

2008-11-03T09:04:56+00:00

Howdy folks. Just letting you know that, after my big move, I’m now going to be moving in with my grandma for some weeks – she broke her hip but has rampaged through her physical therapy and just needs someone to help her out at home whilst she finishes healing. So I’m off to do the bending-and-twisting-at-the-waist parts of life for her. There should also be much Scrabble, and a lot of time for writing, so, hundreds of miles away from my boxes crying to be unpacked, perhaps I shall blog more diligently. Stay tuned!

Elsewhere

2008-09-22T09:45:32+00:00

I’m on the last day of a long weekend in Portland. I had an excuse for coming here, a high school reunion, but the truth is I missed the place. Missed Powell’s, rain, Schmizza, my friends…I even missed things I didn’t realize were different, like there being squirrels everywhere.

So that’s why I’ve been less communicative than is my wont: I’ve bought half a dozen books at Powell’s (and one at Powell’s Beaverton), eaten lunch at Pizza Schmizza, browsed the stock and watched the letterpress at Oblation Papers, had a pot of tea at the TeaZone, bought necessities at Fred Meyer, had a Porter or two off the nitro at McMenamin’s and another pint at the Bridgeport Brewpub. I have gone for many walks, listened while a rainstorm built from shower to deluge, sat about reading companionably with my friends, taken the bus and the Portland Streetcar.

All this and the promise of a baby oliphaunt…huzzah for home!

One fewer thing of beauty in the world...

2008-04-05T22:22:45+00:00

The City Armoury/Manége Militaire in Ville de Québec has burned down. It had become a museum, and I wished when we drove past it that I had the option of visiting. Now I’ll never get to do so.

Vacation, by the numbers

2006-06-02T22:06:29+00:00

Number of days spent on a train: 3.5
Number of books finished: 5 (Beethoven’s Hair, Band of Brothers, Perma Red, Coraline, The Eyre Affair)
Scrabble games played: 6.5
Highest word score: 82 (STIFLED + 7 tile bonus, Grandma)
Total Scrabble score: 1883 to 1804, Grandma
Scrabble standings: 4 to 2.5, Felicity
Number of miles travelled by coach: 1507
Number of colds contracted: 1, Felicity
Number of states travelled through: 12 (Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York)
Number of provinces travelled through: 2 (Quebec, Ontario)
Number of hotels stayed in: 7 (6 on tour, 1 at the Portland Airport)
Number of Canadian territories I had never heard of: 1 (Nunavut, I’m very ashamed.)
Edit: Number of pictures taken: over 550 (I’ve got 539 raw, of which I like 230 or so, and I deleted scads on the trip.)