Bye for a while

Although my posts have become few and far between, I always intend to write more often. Normally I have two or three really interesting/funny stories bouncing around my head (usually in a sleepless period during the night) but, by the time I get to the computing machine, they have dissolved and run off to the land of lost stories. This coming week I have a legitimate excuse for not posting. We're going on vacation. This will provide Jo with a much needed rest away from work and other household responsibilities and give me an, even better than usual, excuse to take an unneeded rest from work and other household responsibilities. My job for the next week or so will consist of finding and shooting a whole bunch of outstanding photos. I still haven't found "The Photo of the Year" for 2010. And, maybe I'll even find a clock or two for my wall. The count is presently up to twenty one and I want to tell you that twenty one ticking clocks certainly provide plenty of "white noise" for what ever "white noise" is good for. Watching the preparations for a week long trip in the Blume house is somewhat like witnessing a circus ringmaster load up the VW with a thousand clowns. This season of year, especially when you're traveling "Up North", things become a little more exciting. Warm sunny days, cool crisp nights, possible rain, the chance of snow, earthquakes, forest fires and the occasional, dreaded tidal wave all give JoAnne the heebie jeebies, which is Spanish for, "I better pack this in case of that!". I have almost finished packing my Piggly Wiggly reusable shopping bag with my stuff and Jo, who promised to limit herself to one suitcase, is just about finished repacking for the _______eenth time. (our neighbor has been kind enough to offer the use of his brother's fork lift to help load the "one" suitcase into the car.) Now that we have selected and packed the necessary clothing, we can devote this afternoon to the gathering of the important supplies...snack stuff. Going on vacation is no excuse for going nuts and abandoning your normal, healthy diet. So, with that said, I'm personally attending to the food pyramid. Let's see, does chocolate go on top or create the base for all other nutrients? I've already covered all the essentials, stopped the mail and newspaper deliveries and stopped at the bakery to assure them that I was coming back so there would be no reason to panic if I didn't show up for a week. Well, all we have left is load the cooler(s), fill up with gas (which naturally went up a nickle a gallon while I was writing this), try to figure out which chargers go with which electronic device, wind the compass and hit the road early tomorrow morning. We'll be back in a week with great photos and even greater tales of the North Woods. (some even true).

As we used to say in the old country, "See Ya!"