I have been thinking about whether Eleanor and Emma will make it back tonight. I woke up at 6:15 a.m., before the sun rose, and since I was up I decided to head right to the computer and get some work done. The next thing I knew, it was 12:30 and I was starving, thirsty, and still wearing my pajamas. Sometimes that happens when I get absorbed in work.

But at least I got a lot done on the Summer magazine, and being busy, I hadn’t been fretting all morning about the flight tonight. For the past day my concern has been whether Eleanor and Emma were sufficiently recovered from their colds to fly. Emma seemed OK but it’s hard to tell with her. Eleanor is definitely still sick but could equalize her ears with a Valsalva Maneuver this morning, so I knew she’d be OK on the airplane. Even still, I’ve been apprehensive, probably because we’ve had such rotten luck flying lately.

By 2:30 I was done working and finally emerged from the trailer, dressed and ready to tackle a few other tasks. One of our propane tanks needs a new OPD valve, and so we’ve been unable refill it. The other tank ran out of gas in the middle of the night, which meant no hot water until I got it filled again. That was the first outside errand. I’ll get the bad tank valve replaced on Monday.

I got a few other things done too, and then Bert & Janie arrived. It’s great to see them again, and we’ve already made some interesting plans for the next week. We went out for some groceries and spent the evening catching up on things, especially their recent trip to New Orleans to survey the ongoing recovery from Hurricane Katrina.

As I write this, Eleanor and Emma’s plane is running late. I’ll be heading to the airport at 11 p.m. to pick them up. The wind has been howling all day here, and the trailer is rocking in the gusts. It seems a fierce night to be going out anywhere, but it will be well worth the effort to finally get them back home.