Howdy from way up in the air… and hello from 19CDE. Guess who has a row all to herself? Plus there’s also wifi – which is something that most carriers in Europe don’t have onboard yet. Normally, I like the airplane to be my unplugged time but today it’s not so bad.

Of course, the airplane food is coming down the aisle and they couldn’t get my vegan meal so this might be a little counterbalance to the delight of having a row to myself! It is okay, I don’t fly for the food 😉

I was up early this morning at 6AM to get everything done before my banjo lesson at 9AM. I packed in 25 minutes – which was pretty good, even for me. I don’t need much because the weather in Seattle is beautiful and since you all know me anyway, you would be shocked if I turned up in anything remotely fashion forward 😉 I did need to make up the guest room and get pet food. All while trying to convince the pets that nothing was up.

Fast forward to banjo, which was fabulous! I knocked Paul for a loop when I randomly starting playing a song out of my head. It went really well and he told me that he noticed that I wasn’t thinking but feeling and that’s the best way to play music and it shows. I get so much out of my lessons with him. I do out of my Dutch lessons with him too but banjo is special, it lets me explore the non-logical side of myself.

Yesterday afternoon, I had a meeting for work which went really well. I like it when I get to be in the room and watch people figure out how they can solve their problems if they make one little change. A little extra spice was that Sunday’s Terrace Company also works there. So, in the middle of the meeting I discreetly sent a message figuring I am here, maybe I will get an answer…

Well, I did and that turned into dinner behind the train station. In a restaurant, not just somewhere back by the extra cars or something 😉 I know what you are thinking… you are wondering just what the hell I am doing that is working… Well, I will share my awesome pickup line with you – you can use it too. Ready? It was “I am done at 1700. Any interest in coffee?” I know, such a simple sentence and yet so powerful 😉

The point being that I am riding pretty high lately on the happiness horse 🙂 I am supremely grateful for that too. I’ll be using a lot of that energy to make it through the next couple of days when seeing the house again and doing all the Seattle administrative things. Something I am dreading is going through the mail. I don’t know which is worse, the mail addressed to her or the mail addressed to the Estate of…

P.S. still flying… I am thinking about the customs process that I will be going through after we land, which then makes me think about arrivals overall. Schiphol is really a city, I think you could live there – I know my mom and I did. I always like the sensation when you come out of the mysterious doors from the custom area and everyone is looking, wondering if it finally going to be the person they are waiting on. People with their flowers, their dogs, their signs and posters. It’s cute and it seems like the Dutch put such a big emphasis on arrivals. But that makes sense really because every flight into Schiphol is an international flight of one sort or another. I like it and I do it too, when people are coming to visit me. I am not expecting that same kind of experience when I land in Seattle.