...at least it's been less than two years this time in shiny things

So there IS THAT! I am always planning to write more and get caught up with everyone, and I do not know what happens. This is a really good time to do it, though. At least to SAY I’m going to do it. We’re in a slow period at work, and I need something productive to do. Also my writing group has … not really disbanded but we’ve moved to just meeting up every four months for informal chats and are not really doing critiques. I was sad about it but I’m at a point now where the monthly critiques were not as helpful as they once were. I was mostly doing a whole lot of re-writing, so everyone had already read what I was working on several times, and I didn’t seem to be moving on to the next parts because I was so busy revising. That is something I DO want to talk about later though (hahahaha!!!) so I’ll save it. For now.

One big thing that has made me decide !!!! I WILL WRITE HERE AGAIN !!!! is that Kim and I are making another trip to England in September! And I’ve been reading all my old journals about our past trips, and absolutely want to do that again for this one. I keep a paper journal as I go of course but the ones I made here and for OD are SO much more thorough. Lots of detail, lots of pictures. So, very worthwhile to me, if not for anyone else slogging through them. And if I’m going to do that I need to get back in at least a semi-habit of writing here. I guess. Or not! At least this will be a warning of a gazillion England Entries to come.

Baker B is not coming with us this time, which is sad, but he DOES want to go again after I retire and stay at least three weeks, so YAY for that. And shockingly (also kind of frighteningly) I am planning to retire next February. It is scary because I don’t want to have to move into a cardboard box in a few years, but also I am being way over-anxious since Baker B has been retired 2 1/2 years and we’ve been absolutely fine, and he isn’t collecting social security yet. We have a good pension since we work for the state (kind of astonishing), and our insurance is covered, aside from the small amount that we pay monthly now. In the last 15 years or so the university stopped covering retiree insurance so we got REALLY lucky to have started working here when we did. We’re grandfathered in and get full benefits. So I’m being anxious about nothing, which is typical me. I will say my anxiousness is slowly being replaced by anticipation, since I get to see Baker B lounge around and enjoy life while I have to toil away and (the worst thing for Night Owl Edna) get up early every weekday. BLEH. One bright spot is that we’re still getting to work three days a week remotely so I don’t have to get up nearly as early as I do on Office Days, but it’s way too early regardless.

SO! England!!! Kim and I are going for two weeks as per the usual. The first week we’re staying in the Lake District, near Penrith. Kim has a mostly pain-in-the-ass timeshare that she can’t get rid of and pays a fortune for (and has owned for at least 20 years). This was the ONLY place in England she could switch it to, and she started trying last winter. And it’s the only week she could get it - first week in September. So of course we nabbed it. (Longtime readers may recall our first England trip way back in 2010 involved staying on a canal boat near Nottingham, which was the only timeshare trade she could get then too.) The second week we found a ridiculously reasonable Airbnb on the edge of Bath. The host had only started renting a month or so before we booked, which I think accounts for the ridiculous cheapness. You can also cancel until the day before you arrive and get a full refund, so it was a no brainer. I’ve checked her reviews periodically and they are still fantastic, and it’s been nearly six months since we booked.

I am VERY thrilled and for once don’t mind quite so much how summer is, as always, zipping by. It’s been seven years since our last trip, as crazy as that seems. We’ve been trying to go again ever since but things just keep getting in the way. Hi Covid! That knocked out several summers. Last summer Kim had a wedding in Colorado to go to so couldn’t afford the time off or expenses of two big trips. And now I’m glad since I have it to look forward to soon.

And now I have to go at least pretend to be working. SIGH. If I can still get Flickr to work here I’ll post a picture of my lovely assistant Phillip being VERY helpful.

Oh look, it DOES work, and the picture is so huge it’s like Phillip is actually here with us!