It's like waiting for Christmas!

I'm quite anxious about our upcoming trip...not in a negative way, more like the feeling of anticipation you get in the days before Christmas, or before the first day of school.

In the couple of weeks before our departure date, I'll be running some errands - picking up the train tickets, breaking in my boots, waterproofing the tent again, organizing our mail drop boxes, and saying goodbye to friends and family. Despite my "semi-retired" status, I've actually been pretty busy this winter - what can I say? It's my way of life. I've been temping every day at the Honors College at Pitt, done some freelance work for Teach For America, created a toolkit of tutoring activities and supplies, tutored a sixth grade student, drafted a charter for a school I might someday want to run, learned a lot of new knitting techniques, read every book the Carnegie Library has on its shelves about the Appalachian Trail, did a lot of yard work, wrote a few articles (that, sadly, remain unpublished), worked on my book, and got to be a better vegan cook.