The post about not posting

Hello y'all, just wanted to let any readers I might have left know that as of yet I have not fallen off the face of the earth. That will happen on Saturday. Rather, this week I have been preparing to leave the planet, or at least that's what it feels like. We've been getting all our ducks in a row for roughly 4,000 miles of driving ... making hotel reservations, contacting people we'll be visiting, etc. Fortunately, we have friends staying at the house while we're gone who will look after the place and take care of the cats, so that's one less thing to worry about. I apologize for the lack of updates here, but I promise all sorts of great stuff (complete with photos) once I get organized!