aem2

Yay for my early-planning heart that for some reason I could book my train tickets even earlier than expected. Amsterdam to Paris, Paris to Avignon and Avignon-Paris-Venice are booked. Plus I somehow managed to get into a 2-person compartment to Venice, instead of the 4-person couchette I thought I was going to get. So extra yay!

I have arranged to go see Stonehenge outside of regular visitor hours and planned out for some social stuff.

I have also acquired most of the luggage and travel knick-knacks I need. Still to get: another travel adapter, a longer ethernet cable, a luggage scale, a luggage strap, European cellphone, er… and some other things. Plus a few items of clothing. And travel insurance.

However, all I really have to do now is plan what I want to do when I’m there! 49 more sleeps!

...the first of which is entirely ironic given the instrument.

I’ve been playing only sporadically the past four months, but a friend came over last week to play, and he asked about the chords for Piano Man. They’re fairly simple, but I need to practice the base runs to get it really solid. However, I consider it learned.

Then we (that is, I) got to talking about Making Love by the Frantics, which is very pretty and very funny. Nobody has put it on the internet! However, I was playing around and it turns out it’s only two chords: root and fourth. I’ve been playing G and C with a simple fingerpicking pattern on top. Learned!

These are not on my list of songs I planned to learn. When I get back from Florida, I’ll attack that list. For real.

I’m adding Dancing Queen to that list, because I think it will be really funny to play at the next coffeehouse.

I’ve made some great strides in getting stuff out of the way. The palm pilot and cello are sort of out of my hands b/c I’m waiting for parts. I’m going to deal with the stereo and oven when I get back from Florida.

• completely dead laptop that still has files I need (pending DONE! I bought an enclosure and yanked the hard drive out of the laptop. Files are accessible. W00t!)
• oven (pending)
• cello bridge (in progress, maybe)
• stereo (pending)
• various mug handles and other bits of easily-fixed pottery ( pending fixed)
• teapot lid (in progress fixed)
• Palm Zire 31 screen (in progress)
• my muscles (in progress – I’ve actually started exercising more regularly)
• brackets for curtain rod (pending)
• buttons to replace (pending)
• other clothes to mend (pending)

I’d like to fix the brackets before I leave, and I really need to get on all the mending that has to be done, but most of that will have to wait.