Bon Voyage To Moi

 Twenty-one hours and counting until I jump off the cliff of my latest, and probably last, adventure. 

These past four official "vacation days" have left me exhausted, and damn this OCD that simply has to tie up every loose end! 

For example, I just spent 20 minutes changing the recorded message on my phone -- it was hard to get the right business-like tone while not admitting that my home sweet home will be vacant for weeks.  I'm hoping the phrase "four hungry pit bulls roaming free on the property" will do it.  (That's true, by the way....)

The wild birds I feed haven't realized it yet, but I just posted a "closed" sign on their winter cafe.   I hope that the $25 per week of seed over the last few months has added enough fatty love handles under their wings to keep them going.  No worries about the blue jays -- they've consumed enough peanuts the last ten years that they can only manage to waddle around the neighborhood.  (In the distant future, I'm sure some twitchy paleontologist will conclude from uncovered evidence that this area was once a peanut farm and home to a strange variant of five-pound birds.)

I've packed, repacked, re-repacked and still have a little more rearranging to do.  I'm not sure which is heavier -- the suitcase or the handbag stuffed with gum, books, earplugs and the rented cell phone.  Remember those 1970's computers that filled a room and had less capacity than your Timex? The phone I received from Cellular Abroad is similar, and I can't even test its features (if it has any) until I get to France.  Based on my history of frustration with cell phones,  this means that at best I'll be able to call a taxi for the trip HOME. 

A few years ago, a candy shop clerk warned me NOT to air mail chocolate-covered cherries as "they tend to explode due to air pressure changes."  Since Aries people only give advice and NEVER take it, I mailed the box anyway and, yes, they exploded into an incredible, inedible goo. Although I'm no longer particularly nervous about flying,  I did wonder today if the microwave popcorn in my luggage will pop if the plane goes down in flames.  I'd say, probably so.

Even after six months of planning, this trip still doesn't seem real.  My poor old brain hasn't made the connection between my daily reality and the fantasy I'll be living, although spending a couple of hours last night on Google Earth made it a little more tangible.

If you have Google Earth installed on your system (and why wouldn't you?  It's FREE and FABulous!) you can see my Paris neighborhood at Rue de Poissy, 75005.  Note the proximity to Notre Dame Cathedral (good), to the Seine (good), and to a grocery store and restaurants (very, very good).  I'm within easy walking distance of a Metro stop (Cardinal Lemoine) and my favorite museum, Cluny Museum.  Based on people's clothing and leaf-laden trees, I'd guess the pictures shown were taken in the spring or summer.  I'm going from 70 degrees here to 50 degrees with rain there, but oh well.  At least I'll get to see some snow tomorrow night in Salt Lake City.  I'm trying not to think of wind shear and wing icing (see the popcorn above).

I'm going to do my best to keep this blog updated, however frustrating that tiny, cramped and cramp-producing laptop's keyboard is.  Au revoir!
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