Yes, it's time for my annual pilgrimage to commune with my academic side and hang with my historic textile peeps. That is: the International Medieval Congress at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. As has become my custom, I'll be blogging the sessions I attend, both for your amusement and edification and to keep me focused and paying attention. (As one of my tweeps noted, "We used to call this 'taking notes'.") I haven't actually downloaded the sessions catalog yet so I'll probably strategize my schedule while sitting in airports tomorrow. I have made a resolution to keep a tight hold of my wallet in the bookroom and try to keep the book buying to a minimum, but no doubt there will be book posts as usual too. And just to turn the tables, I'll be bringing a few copies of Daughter of Mystery in case some of my friends haven't managed to pick up a copy yet. I'm not presenting this year -- I did last year and I hold to the rule of thumb that you shouldn't present two years in a row. (I don't have any paper ideas to pitch for next year and I'm feeling the urge to focus heavily on the fiction for the moment, so I'll probably give it a pass for another year, too.) And, of course, this will be the 2nd anniversary of my first date with The Girlfriend In New York and we expect to have a fabulous time together again.