Home!

Looking forward to being in one place - the novelty! - for several days!! And for people like me, who are nomadic and claim residence in a variety of areas, it's kind of exciting to be in a place where I have actual paperwork saying I live here! (Depending on the moment, when people asked me where I was from I variously replied: Chicago, Wisconsin, Illinois, or Boston. When library people asked me where I was from, I said Boston because it fit into the discuss we were having; when customs people asked me I said Wisconsin as I have papers saying I live here. Otherwise - well, it's hard to narrow it down to only one state right now...Post-tenure, when I'm not a temporary worker anymore, I'll have a much firmer answer!)

It was kind of exciting for me, after a summer of being in all kinds of places I've never visited and only slavishly following my GPS's directions, to hit a terrible traffic jam on the way here today - and realize: these are MY roads! I don't have stay on the highway; I know exactly how to get where I'm going!! So I took a more scenic route home, and pointed out assorted landmarks to my trusty travel companions Seaman and Ranger Bob. "I dropped a water bottle off a hill over there while hiking, and became so covered with mud in retrieving it that I had to take off my jeans on the front porch and throw them away! (Bottle was successfully retrieved, and I have it in Boston!) I fell in that park, and got a concussion! (Until then, it was a great hike!) Those are some of my favorite hiking trails over there! I've ridden my bike over Every Foot of these roads - even before some of them were opened to car traffic! That's my library! That's my grocery store!" After spending months not really knowing where I was going, or what I would be seeing, it was pretty comforting to be back where I've spent years driving, biking, and walking the entire area and know it all.

I'm resting up tonight - and was stuffed with shrimp scampi and champagne by David! - and tomorrow will dive into organizing the data and fun stuff I've collected this summer!!!! You know you are a serious academic nerd when the data analysis is So Fun!!