We’re gonna miss ’em when we’re gone

I bought a ticket for the long way ’round, the one with the prettiest of views. It’s got mountains, it’s got rivers, it’s got sights to make you shiver, but it sure would be prettier with you. – Carter Family “When I’m Gone”, 1931

We are saying good bye to a lot of people these days. I do not like goodbyes. I do not like them, Sam-I-am. I usually don’t take pictures of them, but…

Dr Mama and kids came up from North Carolina and we frolicked in center city Philadelphia. There are wonderful fountains and we had a big sleepover and swam at their hotel’s rooftop pool. When will we see them next?

  Last minute goings-on are stressful. Yes, we are getting ready for an exciting trip around the world but I’ve been spending my time cleaning obscure, greasy corners of the kitchen. Cleaning, packing, painting the house ugh. I am not, shall we say, the most fastidious housekeeper and we are kind of doing eight years of spring cleaning in a couple of weeks. Then there are the Chinese visas. They have been denied 3 times! Ommmmmm it will work out…