I did go to bed super late. It looks like I actually use my late evenings as compensation for the alone-time I’ve been lacking before. Now I need to figure out how to train myself so I see sleeping as alone-time.
I did feel a little less tired in the morning, though, so that was interesting.
I started packing all my stuff up while getting ready for breakfast and even squeezed my morning pages in.
By the way, I was very, very happy about my minimalist packing and I ended up using everything but the „just in case“-stuff like bandaids, pain meds, pocket knife and nail file. Those are all things that are super annoying if you need them and don’t have them. And it’s not like the small town we were in was full of shops where you can get everything.
I checked out right after breakfast, paid for all the snacks I had binged on from the mini bar and the one beer I had, and confessed to have destroyed a plastic stand for a small piece of paper because I used it to prop a window open and forgot about it when I closed said window.
I didn’t even have to pay for it, hurray!
We then all met in the conference room with everybody’s rolling suitcases plus backpacks piles against one wall. And my small backpack under my seat. Ha!
We had our last hours of workshop and you could see everyone visibly drooping. It was still all very nice, and I’m happy to have met all these writers.
Then we had our last meal together:
There was some rucola with fried tofu and some cherry tomatoes, and then rice with turkey ragout:
And then some yogurt cake with mango and strawberry sorbet:
After that we talked a bit among ourselves and then I sat there with two more hours or so before my train was leaving. My original plan was to visit the craft fair but I had already looked at everything the day before.
So I took an earlier train to Karlsruhe, the weather was really nice, and when I saw that the zoo is right next to the main train station I briefly considered going there for 90 minutes until I saw that tickets cost 15 €. I looked for a nice bench and read some more „This Kingdom will not kill me“. I started really glomming on to it some time the day before and actually finished it later on the train just before reaching Munich.
I bought myself some snacks for dinner and a bottle of coke and waited for the train.
My trains were all on time, the high speed one to Munich was even two minutes early so I arrived home earlier than expected.
While still traveling I had gotten messages from both my husband and the boy offering me soup for when I’d come home. The boy had made himself ramen for dinner and had something left and my husband had bought chicken thighs and was offering to make chicken soup which was very sweet but I declined because I was not hungry.
I arrived back home and was greeted by the rest of the family and I was very happy and relieved.
Verdict on the new way of packing:
I am loving it but had still taken more than I would have liked but that was mostly because I needed lots of print outs, and some sets of cards and I took more yarn than I usually would. I knew the hat would need 117 grams or so, the first ball that I used was only a partial one so I took two full ones. When I travel I usually take a sock project and that means 100 grams of yarn. I also took a tiny tape measure because I needed to know the length of the hat.
The backpack looks very good but the back and straps are not all that comfy to wear for longer stretches of time. On the other hand I was walking around with it all day without any problem.
Whereas the rest of the group was all dealing with rolling suitcases plus backpacks bigger than mine.
Granted, I was the only one who wore all her clothes two days in a row and the skirt and leggings all for days but then one of the other writers was surprised when I told her I live in sweatpants at home because she found me rather elegant.
It’s all in the skirt.
I am also very pleased that my go-to travel outfit these days includes so many pieces that I made myself, handknit socks, of course, and leggings, a t-shirt, a skirt and a cardigan that I made myself.
Today there will be the planning of the week, the walk/run, a shower and lots of teaching.
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