Calendrical

[mrissa]

We are due for asphalt tomorrow. That's right: we will possibly have a usable driveway before I flee the country! Possibly! If things don't go too badly awry! Etc.!

I expect rain tomorrow early, of course. Being Like That and all.

I also have a tree person coming out, and I got a couple more of the dull but necessary category of appointments scheduled, and there are a couple of social things on the calendar, and -- oh, yeah, the fleeing of the country is actually on the calendar with specifics now. Plane tickets, hotels, train tickets, and some key social moments in general outline.

In case I had forgotten to mention it, I'm going to Toronto and Montreal in early September. Eight days of Canada! I am excited. I have figured out how to get there and where to stay, and running down the list I see that the next thing I am to worry about is what to pack. Uff da.

Early September is a terrible time to pack eight days' worth of clothing for -- at least it is here. At Gustavus I often stuck my hand out the window on September mornings -- and still often came back to the dorms to change after a class or two. This would be less of a problem if I was less temperature-sensitive. I think the key word will be "layers." Anyone with early/mid-September Montreal experience who is fairly sensitive to both heat and cold -- please speak up.

As for the rest of it, I have to see what food I can transport across the border -- nuts, dried fruit, bread? -- and skew my reading towards the large, heavy hardbacks right now so there'll still be mass-market paperbacks and densely printed trade paperbacks on the pile when the time comes. I also have no idea how much reading time there'll actually be in this trip. Life is full of questions. Whenever one of us would fuss about packing, my grandfather would repeat, "They have stores there," and all evidence does indicate that they do. But I don't have so much time planned on this trip that I want to waste it shopping for toothpaste or socks.

Further travel plans for this year involve at least two trips to Omaha, one to Saratoga Springs, and another that's up in the air as a possibility. Also there will be plenty of stuff going on around here, as there generally seems to be.

I think I'm an activity magnet, is what.

Comments

[gaaldine.livejournal.com]

Why are you fleeing to Canada?

[mamapduck.livejournal.com]

The other key is "natural fibers". Real, non-plastic fabrics will keep you both cooler and warmer than synthetics. Besides, they feel better on the skin.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

papersky is having a launch party there.

I will flee back when I'm done.

[ckd]

I also have a tree person coming out this week, and Montreal plans for early September. The latter is not coincidental, of course, though the former probably is.

Montreal weather last year around that time...hm. I vaguely remember it being warm; shorts weather for me, though shorts weather for me is a pretty wide range. Warm enough that when I was walking many blocks playing the new LARP called "Quest for ATM That Will Accept My Card"[1] I was uncomfortable, but other than that not too bad.

The bad news is that since I'm not particularly temperature sensitive, my experience is likely to be of no (or very little) use.

[1] I won once I finally figured out what to do with the gown, the towel, the satchel, and the junk mail.

[lynnal.livejournal.com]

Montreal has weather very like Minneapolis. Similar lattitude, similar proximity to bodies of water. Highly variable weather with real seasons. Being there for eight days means you will probably need some of everything. The forecast will only tell you what to put on top in your bag.

Avoid bringing fresh fruit. Fresh produce is the item most commonly restricted by customs. Dried fruit and roasted nuts don't pose any disease hazard to Canadian agriculture, but the customs people tend to get picky if our government has done something especially stupid recently.

[zwol.livejournal.com]

I have not gotten to flee to Canada in way too long now, so you should have enough fun for us both!

[dd-b.livejournal.com]

Or maybe it should be described as "the anniversary of a launch party".

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

A pre-launch party?

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I suspected it was as bad as "like Minneapolis." Thanks for confirming it; much appreciated.

I'll bring the nuts and dried fruit in unopened store-bought packages and hope that's enough; worst case there is that they take my apricots away.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I'm good at having enough fun for two.

Hmm. Maybe this means I'll have a good pregnancy whenever I have a pregnancy in the first place. Well, we can hope that's what it means anyway. In the meantime it still means lots of fun, which is hard to argue with.

[ksumnersmith.livejournal.com]

In all my years of border crossing, I've never had them take food away from me. And I've brought some creative snacks with me on occasion.

[redbird]

They do have stores. On the other hand, toothpaste and socks are compact and don't vary much with the weather (well, not the range we're looking at here--it's not going to be -25). Layers are your friend, but you knew that already. I'm not even trying to do this trip on carry-on.

[zwol.livejournal.com]

... Pregnancy was furthest from my mind, but should you ever do that, I wish you a good one.

[aszanoni.livejournal.com]

-eyeing your footnote-

Wait, wait - this sounds more like the Infoquest text-game of Hitchhikers!

My friend lives in Montreal and always wears shorts, so I'm betting that won't help Marissa either. :/ Layering the gown and towel might work, but wearing the satchel and junk mail don't seem very helpful unless one's Marvin.

- Chica

[aszanoni.livejournal.com]

"I think I'm an activity magnet, is what."

-grins-

Ah, but that's part of what makes you so very fun. How you're magnetic, that is, M'ris. I drove to Montreal once, nine years ago. I remember the beautiful red leaves, and how my fool car had decided it was entertaining to frequently stall and not turn over for long periods.

May your magnetic nature keep you from a similar spot of adventure!

- Chica

[papersky.livejournal.com]

I'd say the weather could be anywhere from "Thank goodness the hotel is air-conditioned" to "Good thing I brought a jacket".

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Layers. Definitely layers.

But thank goodness the hotel is air-conditioned, and I will bring a jacket. So.