I just returned this morning from a week-long trip to far-off California. (Well, it's far off from where I live in upstate NY, anyway.) It was a fabulous trip, starting with a visit with my parents, sister Becky, and nephew Stamo in San Diego...which very kindly decided to have a heatwave the couple of days I was there, thanks to the Santa Ana winds. On the two previous occasions I made this trip, it was about 65 degrees when I went out. Which is still pretty nice when you are coming from minus ten. This time, it was 81 even at the ocean. Quite a change from sub-zero temps and piles of snow. I wore shorts. *mind boggles*
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| Yes, the sky really was that color. |
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| Yes, that handsome guy is my dad. |
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| OCEAN!!!!! |
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| My fabulous parents. Sand. Shorts. Beach. In short, heaven. |
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| Any guesses which one of these arms belongs to the woman from upstate NY? |
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| Now that's a good-looking family. |
I hadn't seen my nephew in two and a half years. He got TALL.
We had a great time--two days in a row at the ocean (which is my idea of heaven), my mom's homemade lasagna and apple pie, and laughing hysterically over a game of Apples to Apples.
Then I got on yet another plane to San Jose, where I spent three and a half days attending Pantheacon, one of the largest Pagan conventions in the country. Which would be fabulous enough all by itself, but I also got to spend time with my beloved step-daughter Jenn, my incredible Llewellyn editor Elysia Gallo, and my insanely wonderful critique partner/all-around-great pal Lisa. Plus all sorts of cool Llewellyn authors and Pagan friends. Plus I got to finally meet the top dude at Llewellyn, Bill, who was a sweetie.
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| That's Bill on the left. |
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| Me and my beloved editor Elysia |
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| Posters on the wall of the Llewellyn suite. Gee, those two to the right look familiar. |
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| A LOT of Llewellyn authors, our publicist Kat, and a few innocent bystanders |
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| Me and the amazing Selena Fox (who put on a fab Brigid healing ritual earlier in the day that Lisa and I loved) |
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| Me and the luminous Lisa, one of my favorite people, and also a great roomie |
It was pretty tough to leave all that sun and warmth (and my kid) behind and come back to the chilly Northeast. Although of course, I was pretty darned happy to get back to my cats and my own bed.
Here is last Tuesday:
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| The view from the patio of the restaurant where we ate lunch |
And here was this Tuesday:
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| Icicles, anyone? |
Still, it was nice to get away for a bit from the snow and the cold, and at least I have pictures like this to look back on...
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| Llewellyn publisher Bill photo-bombing me, Elysia, and Kat |
Did you miss me while I was gone? Maybe just a little?
Don't wander off too far, because tomorrow (Wednesday) I'm going to have a Big Big Announcement. No, really, I mean it. BIG.
HUGE BIG.
In the meanwhile, I'm going to go to bed, because I have no idea what day it is or what time zone I'm in.
I hope you're all staying warm!
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