So did I mention I was going to Japan? We were trying to get clear of all the eviction stuff before we left, but of course that continuance means coming back to it. Oh well. Gonna put it out of mind for now.

Because, we have LAUNCH! After a couple of fun misadventures last night, we are at Baltimore Airport, wearing masks and enjoying a quiet morning coffee.

Since you ask, the misadventures began when Amelia, my traveling companion, discovered that the best gift you can bring someone in Japan right now is a Trader Joe’s tote.

Seriously. Well, okay, she scored this private visit with a famous potter who is a friend of a friend, so we dutifully found the TJ closest to our hotel and detoured. This turned out to be a wonderful drive along the snowy Potomac through colonial bits of America.

We decided to buy cheese and crackers at TJ because I had an 8 pm Zoom storytelling circle to run, so we wanted to eat while driving. The sweet checkout clerk helped us find a tote, and back in the car….

my bank card was gone. Three terrible minutes before we realized it had slid down between the seats. We laughed, absent minded academics on vacation, and I zipped it into a pocket.

The hotel could best be described as “downmarket.” We risked our lives crossing a five-point intersection to get good coffee at a Dunkin’, and Amelia bought a vape at the shop next door. She’s been quitting for awhile, but sometimes a girl needs a pick-me-up.

She put her coffee and vape atop the car as we got our luggage settled back at the hotel parking lot, and I reminded myself to remind her to fetch them before we left.

Well, she got the coffee, but even now someone back in that parking lot is enjoying a Georgia Peach vape. It was still in the box. She is taking it as a sign from God that it’s really time to quit. (They don’t sell vapes in Japan.)

I am taking it as a sign that we are going to have to be very careful in our adulting these next two weeks. And also that we are going to have a good time blithely jettisoning flotsam and jetsam as we fill our bags with small, light souvenirs. Like yarn….. :]

We fly today, and arrive tomorrow, which will be today, in Japan. Keep you posted!