fivecats journal

Friday’s Night Sky
November 2006 Chapel (Can’t Buy Me a) Thrill, NC
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So the past week has been busy. Very busy.

The homelife has been filled with Travel Prep Events, which has involved lots of shopping (yuck) and running errands getting things set up for us to be able to fly out on the evening of the 14th.

Last week included one of my least favorite events: clothes shopping. For me. My philosophy in clothes, my very Non-Queer-Eye philosophy, is “If it’s comfortable and warm, it’s okay by me.” Of course, not only is this the same philosophy I’ve had since I started buying clothes for myself in my late teens, and -- surprise -- I still dress much the same way as I did back then.

Bonn wisely started the evening off by taking me to a local outdoormen’s store and getting me a good pair of hiking boots. I don’t ever recall falling instantly in love with socks before, but I could have happily stopped with the merino wool blend hiking socks I put on before I even tried on my first pair of boots. Suddenly I had that warm second skin on my feet that I’d been missing all my life.

(So, how’s that for shallow, eh?)

I cried “uncle” long before Bonn would have, but I’m a lousy shopper so it wasn’t all that surprising.

So far we have luggage taken care of, automatic cat feeders & waterers, cat litter, books to read and traveling clothes as well. Now, if we can just get through the parties this weekend (yes, we’re actually being social both Saturday and Sunday) and the rest of the last-minute errands we should be able to fly away just fine.

At werk I’ve been wrestling with a series of web pages that should have been much easier to deal with then they have been. That, along with a series of mishaps from our last export of the database to the web (don’t ask) has kept me busier than I should be putting out minor fires that have been politely pointed out by various authors.

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Bonn has been busily setting an agenda for us for the trip, wanting to give us as many options as possible. We know, for instance, that we’ll be in London for the 15th and then taking the train down to Edinburgh on the 16th so we can pick up a car and drive to our timeshare location for the week. From there we’re driving back up to London and staying in a flat in Kensington for a week before heading to what sounds like an impossibly small room for the last 5 days. What we’ll be doing during those days have been her toys for the past several weeks. We have several possibilities thanks to The Google with only Christmas and Boxing Day to contend with as far as activities and food. (Luckily Seren’s fiance is bringing some of his favorite board games, so he and I should be just fine for the day)

Bonn has asked me several times what I want to do or see. My list is fairly simple.

I’m a long-time Sherlock Holmes fan, so the kitchy 221b Baker Street (even featured in The Amazing Race) goes on the list. The ruins of the Crystal Palace (since it figures predominantly in the second of the Victorian novels) and some Victoriania museums are among my few requests.

Two other requests feature predominantly for me:

It’s looking like we’ll be meeting up with new_brunette and margo31 on either the 28th or the 29th -- as well as (crosses fingers) nalsa and vorno. We’ll be taking the train up from London to Cambridge to meet up with them and, hopefully see some of the great areas new_brunette has photographed -- or, at least, sit around at a pub and talk, laugh and drink together. Along with meeting ruralrob, smileyfish and drood, meeting up with new_brunette is tops on my list of LJ people to actually meet face-to-face. Having nalsa and vorno (possibly) there only make it so much the better!

Many, many years ago, back when I was but a mere sprout of an obnoxious lad I was in a local Awful Department Store (nearby to where sakkijarvi lived, if I’m recalling correctly) wearing a tshirt with a bold emblem of a Union Jack. An older woman came up to me and pointed a bony finger at my chest.

“Are you from there?” she asked in a Cockney accent.

“Um, no.” I sputtered -- thinking better of trying to affect a British accent.

“If you do ever go,” she said, looking me full in the eyes, “You must go see the horse stables behind the Buckingham Palace. It’s my favorite spot in the world.”

“Okay,” I said, not sure what else to say.

Now, almost 35 years later, it’s time to make good on that promise.

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