Jenyfer Matthews

When you are too brain-dead to write, blogthings is just the ticket:

You Are an Old Soul

You are an experienced soul who appreciates tradition. Mellow and wise, you like to be with others but also to be alone. Down to earth, you are sensible and impatient. A creature of habit, it takes you a while to warm up to new people.You hate injustice, and you’re very protective of family and friends A bit demanding, you expect proper behavior from others. Extremely independent you don’t mind living or being alone. But when you find love, you tend to want marriage right away. Souls you are most compatible with: Warrior Soul and Visionary Soul

I may have started out traveling light but I didn’t come home that way. All the summer sales were just too tempting and my children were showered with gifts everywhere they went. The children and I were entitled to two bags of 50 lbs each for a grand total of six bags and 300 lbs – not including carry-ons. I checked five bags that weighed a total of 180 lbs. I was quite proud of my packing since the largest of my bags was 50 lbs on the dot and any overage would have cost me US$50 excess baggage fee for every bag over the limit – or caused me a mad scramble of rearranging contents in the airport.

(I have since learned that my husband’s employer would have reimbursed us for excess baggage charges - within reason - but I’d have had to have more than two hands or at least another adult traveling with me to handle any more!!!)

I did have to empty the contents of one of my carry-on bags at the security desk however. It’s funny what will spark their interest. The security inspector requested that I not reach for the bag once he started to remove items. I asked him what he was looking for and he said “cups”. I was momentarily stumped – and distracted as I tried to put my shoes back on and the shoes of the children while simultaneously tucking my laptop and video camera back in their respective places. Cups? I had empty water bottles in their bags. Nope, he was looking for cups.

Suddenly the penny dropped - he was looking for a couple of ceramic mugs I had tucked at the very bottom of my daughter’s carry-on bag. Apparently it wasn’t the mugs themselves that attracted interest but the items I had packed inside the mugs – two stone topped cork wine stoppers. I suppose they looked pointy in the x-ray and he thought they were possibly knives. I guess it was a good call to pack the deer antlers sheds my father found in the woods and gave the children in our checked baggage!

All that was after we’d nearly scared him to death. If you really want to get a security inspector’s attention pack a rubbery life like lizard in the top of your carry on. The big man shrieked like a girl when his hand came in contact with it.

I have to admit I didn’t get into Amsterdam on my way back through - in spite of a 10 hour gap. I was just too tired and brain dead after the previous 12 hours getting there. I regret it now, the time would have passed much faster than it did if I had been able to do it. Instead, I found a quiet corner and passed in and out of consciousness laying face down on a table while my children ran up and down and shrieked. I’m sure that people were shooting me dirty looks but that’s the advantage of laying face down - you can’t see them.

I’m currently suffering from some pretty bad jet lag. I feel okay during the day, I fall asleep at a reasonable time in the evening, but then I wake up at 2am and lay awake for 3 or 4 hours. Just how long I can function normally during the day when I’m up most of the night as well is a mystery. The kids start school tomorrow - maybe I can nap while they are away.

Next time: pictures from my trip.

The most productive thing I did all summer in my writing was to send in the contract on my third book ALL THE WAY HOME. No news yet on a release date, but I’ll let you all know when I do.

I am feeling especially creative and full of new ideas though. I lay awake last night, my mind whirling with all the things I want to write, story lines, details, and quilt patterns. Okay - there was some jet lag in there and probably some of the ideas that seemed so great at 3am aren’t really as workable by the light of day, but I do retain that productive feeling so that’s good anyway.

Once I have my house put back in order (eg: laundry done) I’ll post another part of how I spent my summer vacation. Right now I have to go and wake up my children and jerk them back into this time zone.

A bus trip.

Since I don’t have much to tell you about how productive I was in my writing while I was on vacation (I wasn’t) I think I’ll tell you about how I spent my summer vacation instead. I felt so cut off from everyone for so long I may babble a bit so bear with me. And I’m going to start with the last part first because it is freshest in my mind.

I left the north woods yesterday to begin my whole journey in reverse. I checked my email before we left the house just to see if there was anything I needed to know about changes to my itinerary. Nope. Nothing. So we started out on our three hour drive to the airport.

It was gray and drizzly - the first time in the twenty days I was in the area that it rained at all - but nothing alarming. It wasn’t until we were halfway there and my uncle managed to get a message to us on the vehicle’s “On Star” satellite phone system that I had any inkling of the trouble ahead of me: my flight had been cancelled. You know how it is to try and call anyone at an airline these days - we decided just to continue on to the airport and see what was what once we got there.

It wasn’t even raining at the airport, just a bit of fog, but all flights had been cancelled. Instead of the 45 minute hop I had been expecting, they put us on a bus for two hours to get us to Minneapolis where we could make our connections. Not exactly what I had paid for or longed to do after having been in a car for three hours already, but progress is progress.

We arrived in Minneapolis with enough time to get checked-in, through the LONG security line (where my new laptop was swabbed and inspected) and get a little take-out for me and the kids before we boarded our next plane. Then we sat in the plane on the tarmac for an hour while President Bush’s plane landed and he cleared the airport. He was there to inspect the recently collapsed bridge. I understand all about the need for security but the hour delay in our takeoff gave me all of 10 minutes to make my connection in Memphis.

If you were in the Memphis airport yesterday evening, I was the blonde running through the B concourse from one end to the other pursued by two small children. Amazingly enough, not only did we make the plane but so did our luggage! Is that lucky or what?

It wasn’t until this morning that I got the emails from the airline and my FIL telling me that my whole itinerary had been cancelled and rescheduled for today. No one mentioned it at the airport. Guess it just goes to show that their schedules are just a bit more fluid than they might let you think.

I arrived exhausted and wired at the same time.

I have a day of downtime before I start on part two of my journey back to Cairo. Another three legs. Can’t wait to see what happens next.

You don’t really realize how dependent you are on technology until you spend part of your vacation in a house in the woods with only the most primitive dial-up connection to the rest of the world. I’m having withdrawal symptoms.

So, I won’t be around much for the next couple of weeks while I commune with nature, but thankfully I’ll be back in time for the release of ONE CRAZY SUMMER in Sept. There’s still time to enter my contest to win your own copy. Just visit my webpage at http://www.jenyfermatthews.com for more details.

Have a great August!!