Trip Day of I forgot the day names as usual

Well! Here we are at the airport, about to begin a trajectory that will eventually land us in Helsinki for WorldCon 75! We're not quite in the fine shape I had hoped for (oo, a man in a kilt just walked by--shiny!). I've been sick, I had to take a quick trip to check on my mother, etc. etc. Packing frenzy was capped off by an epic struggle to catch Shadow the cat for her stay at the vet. She found an entirely new hiding place and disappeared into it for hours. When we finally found her, we had to threaten her with the vacuum cleaner to make her come out. She was very upset, screamed, and tried to bite the Sparrowhawk. Fortunately, he was wearing the fireplace gauntlets, so she didn't succeed. I feel sad about this and hope we haven't traumatized her for life. I'm only beginning to feel excited now that the die is cast and we are definitely on our way. Seeing new things is good. Although Shadow the cat would NOT agree.