Productive day here on the island. I actually wrote a scene. A scene! Pages and pages! 🙂 I’m not sure it’s any good, but, hey.
Also, got lots of things done around the house, like cleaning the attic with crawl space cleaning seattle. Cleaning, prepping for Thanksgiving, making pie crusts, chores and errands. Speaking of which! Everything is more complicated here than back in what I am thinking of as the real world. To make the garbage and recycling go away, a man must be called, arrangements made over the course of several phone calls, there is a schedule of when the dump is open, bins go away today and will not return for several days, etc etc…
To receive packages is not simple either. I had two items arrive by UPS today. For the first one, a man drove up in an unmarked white van (confusing me utterly, as I thought he must be the garbage-taking man, who was due to arrive at any minute). He brought a package, and a dog biscuit for the inn’s dog (who is on vacation with the Real Innkeepers). For the second package, a note came in the mail that I had to go pick it up at the post office. Fortunately, I was going to town anyway.
Oh, and here is what was in the second package:
A bunch of these, just in time to share with the family tomorrow!
Because yes: my solitude ends tomorrow. A vanload of my closest relations spent the day traveling up from California together. They convened at the Oakland airport, bringing Little Dog too (for his second visit to the island–you can see how nervous he is about the flight!)–
(that’s him asleep in Little Brother’s lap, if you couldn’t tell; it’s easy to mistake him for a blanket)
Everyone has now converged in Anacortes, to stay the night at the home of my brother’s girlfriend’s folks. The whole lot of them hop a morning ferry tomorrow and get here in time for lunch. I am very much looking forward to this!
And, to make it thoroughly marvelous, Mark is also on his way. His father has taken a turn for the better, and everyone thought it would be fine if Mark came back to the island, at least for now. He’ll stop in Portland tonight, and make an afternoon ferry tomorrow.
House party! Er, wait, the Real Innkeepers read this blog. I mean, lovely quiet visiting time with my dignified, sober, extremely mature and responsible family. Ahem. 🙂
Seriously, it’s going to be wonderful to see everyone, and showing them our lovely (temporary) home, and this gorgeous island.
And that’s the news from here. More when I get a moment…which might be days from now.