It's the End of Meteorological Summer: T+R back from vacation

On the morning August 31 radio weather report, I heard that summer was over.  Those pesky meteorologists cut my summer fun short by three weeks. Hearing this bit of news was quite liberating, however as it gave me a tangible excuse to explain my barely-there online presence since last spring. 

I suddenly realized that I would not have to offer the following excuses for my dearth of posts:

• I was painting my kitchen which
• Set off acute neck pain
• (which was triggering serial killer migraines)
• all of which led to physical therapy, exercises that made my kids laugh, not enough massage appts, and an understanding of why Dr. Gregory House is such a fan of hyrdocodone (not to worry--I still have half the bottle left, after a month).
• Darn that genetic legacy of melancholia;
• I was busy dirtying as many plates as I could, so as to use my new (and first-ever) dishwasher;
• My riverboat cruise was fabulous, dahling! All 90 minutes of it.
• Juniorina had my laptop all the time;
• I had so many good books to read;
• The dog ate my domain (not quite...note to self: time to renew).
• I spent all my online time on Twitter, Facebook, and the much beloved Library Society of the World HQ in Meebo Rooms,
• when I wasn't debasing myself by feverishly checking for new posts on TMZ.com, which is merely a gateway drug for PerezHilton.com;
• Perimenopause is a hoot, let me tell you;
• I become a devotee of the Sunday NYT Crossword (one completely completed);
• I really didn't feel like writing about my profession,
• or my personal life;
• and that I was finally working on a serious writing project (in my head).

Of course, it was solely due to my delusion of importance that I felt like I owed anyone an explanation about my Barely Blogging status. (Although it was nice of a couple libraryland friend to note my absence.) But, now, thanks to weatherpeople everywhere, all I need to do is offer you this postcard saying, "Vacay over. Had a wonderful time, wish you'd been here."   So, here we are.  Happy Fall, y'all.   

Comments

[rochelle]

Hey Walt. What I didn't mention about my 90 minute cruise is the intense nausea I experienced afterward--owing, I'm pretty sure to diesel fumes. It reminded me of the time I was on a long Amtrak trip, in which we went through a tunnel for miles and miles and all the fumes travelled with us. I'd go again, but perhaps seat myself somewhere away from fumes. Regardless of the lack of authenticity, it was a pleasant ride and my girls thought it was pretty awesome. The oldest one spotted two eagles during the trip.

[Walt Crawford]

Welcome back. I would note that La Crosse Queen's snarky website may be accurate for a lot of tourboats, but the three overnight sternwheelers (the Delta Queen, American Queen, and Mississippi Queen) are true sternwheelers, with one big wheel driven by a steam engine. For the first and third, it's the *only* means of propulsion; the American Queen has small z-drive engines for landing and the like which can, in an emergency, drive the boat...very slowly. (There are also true sternwheelers on Lake Tahoe, and there's a true sternwheeler cruise ship in service in Alaska during the summer, Columbia River rest of the year.)

Anyway, welcome back.