Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Rainy Wednesday

How I love the rain (maybeI should live in Portland, OR???), and waking up to the sound of it on the roof always makes me smile. That is how I woke up today, the rain beating rhyme and waking me. My jet lag isn't bad at all. But I find I'm waking up much earlier than usual (4:30 or 5). So I am making the most of it by actually getting my coffee and catching up on all the things that need to be caught up on. a rainy day gives me the excuse to stay home and really catch up!

I had a lovely book club visit last night, and another tomorrow night. But otherwise I am blissfully free to think about stories and such. I will be at the Barnes and Noble in Warwick on Saturday at 2 to sign THE TREASURE CHEST. From there I am off to Ithaca to hang out with Sam for the weekend, since I spent most of his vacation in the stans.

Annabelle and I have been getting ready for our trip to Alaska, hitting the REI sale and stocking up on all things hiking. We leave on June 13 and spend our first days in Homer, where I'm teaching at the Kachemak Bay Writers Conference. Then we head to Anchorage and on to Denali National Park and our little cabin deep in the park.

We get home in time to head to Ithaca to see Sam in HAIR! before Annabelle and I go off again, this time to Port Townsend, WA for the Writers Conference there. And home in time to see Sam in OTHELLO at Ithaca Shakespeare Company.

I have to share two book recommendations, by the way: Life After Life by Kate Atkinson and A Constellation of Vital Phenomenon by Anthony Marra. Both brilliant! My own summer reading is devoted to reading at least two of Robert Caro's books on LBJ, as well as Tara Conklin's House Girl, Meg Wolitzer's The Interestings, and Elizabeth Strout's The Burgess Boys. 

And I hope to knit two of the Mara shawls. I'm 1/3 finished with the first one, and I have enough flying time to knit two...hopefully...

But for today, I am just enjoying the rain, eating artichokes, and finishing with a cocktail party this evening. Good to be home!