Time to update

Indeed. This cold wet spring favors reptilian instincts - my mind is curled up under a rock, waiting for the sun to be warm for more than a couple of days.

But it's time to come out, because three days from now I'm leaving for France, on the direct Air France flight, nine hours and a bit from Seattle to Paris. Just to complicate the schedule, I'm going directly from Paris to Bruges for three days, because the apartment isn't available until May 1.

Today I finally wrote down the "to do" list - a good time to put it on paper, because I can already check off so many things. But the list is still long enough.

Right now I should be getting out the suitcase (in which I would shortly find the cat, neatly folded into the "meatloaf" pose and giving me that "have you consulted me about this?" stare) but first I have to take bags of shredded paper down to the recycling bins, hoping they won't take up too much room. Preparing for a trip makes me want to tidy up in all sorts of ways, and this week the shredder has been getting a workout. No reason to hang onto nine years' worth of mutual fund statements.

It's the spring cleaning instinct. Another friend is attending a shredding party on Saturday. Her hostess has arranged for a commercial shredder, and guests are invited to bring their disposables. Lunch is gourmet hot dogs.