Hello again. My Austin visit is drawing quickly to a close - we have tomorrow here, and then on Wednesday we will start wandering back to Canada via the roads least likely to have snow on them. Meanwhile, we are trying to pack in as much family time as we can. I think we will all have to sleep for a week when the visit is over, to make up for all this burning of the midnight oil. My sister and her husband had to go back to work today, bleary-eyed as they were.

When I arrived, I found that my prize book had arrived first. Over at Stone Soup, I had won a signed copy of Jamie Ford’s novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. I had asked Katrina to send the book to my sister's address, so that I could get my hands on it all the sooner. Of course, I haven't had a chance to read a single page, with all that's going on here - but I have it, and when we're on the road again, I shall devote my evenings to reading.

We all went to the Alamo Drafthouse the other night, to see Slumdog Millionaire. We were going to go back later that same night to see The Reader, but we got too busy talking, so we never did make it. We've gone to San Antonio to meet an online acquaintance, now an in-person friend. That meeting came with the bonus of a wonderful Thai meal at Asia Kitchen , where my new friend is a long-time customer. I also got to meet my newborn great-niece, who is as adorable as her photos suggested.

Yesterday, we drove out to the field where the Fault Line Flyers have their clubhouse. We expected to be able to watch some gliders flying, but as soon as we got there, somebody said "So - are you flying today?" and we ended up spending the day. Five of the six of us went up in the glider, which was piloted by Bill, a very experienced pilot. It was my first gliding experience, and I almost didn't go. After Robin went up, he suggested that I might want to skip it, because there was a fair amount of turbulence above 2,000 feet, and I am notorious for becoming motion sick (You may recall that I got seasick on a boogie board a few weeks ago). As the day progressed, though, the air calmed down, and I was the last of the group to go up. I was a bit queasy, but not enough to ruin the flight. I'm glad I did it. That's a check mark on my bucket list. My niece and her husband had such a good time, they're considering joining the flying club.

So. While I've been playing hookey, life in the blogosphere has gone on, and I've missed it - so it's time for me to go visit my favourite bloggers.