Writing on Vacation, and new tattoo

I am in vacation mode. Though it is not really a vacation. It is a hunt. For a house. But try telling my brain that! As far as my brain is concerned it is a vacation. No vacuuming? check. No laundry? check. No bed-making? check. Sounds like a vacation to me. However what my brain doesn’t know is that I am going to use this week away from home to really make a dent in the old WIP. We’ll be by the sea, with all the scents, sights and sounds whirling around us like a vortex of oceanic marvelry. I will be inspired! Normally I have a hard time writing when I’m out of my element. Any change in my routine throws me off, but the last time I took a trip I actually figured out and wrote most of the last third of my book. It was wonderful. I’m hoping more of the same happens next week although the reality is I’ll be trapped in a motel room with both my kids for most of my free time. Picture me sitting on the toilet seat, laptop balanced on my knees…or maybe not. So in other news… Here’s a picture of the school my 7 yo will be attending next year: He thinks it looks like a castle, which is fortunate because it makes it easier to convince him that he wants to move. In totally unrelated news: Tattoos. Some people love them, some people hate them and some people love them too much. Like this guy: Doesn’t he look happy? Tattoos are very personal for me. I get one approximately every 12 years or so. You can tell I think about what I want on my skin far in advance. Usually it is to mark an occasion. Sometimes a memory. One I got with my best friend when we were 20. After that I didn’t get tattooed again until I was 32, 3 years after her death. Recently I wanted to add something to that arm, and thinking of her, I chose dogwoods. She loved dogs and she loved gardening. This is it here. It covers my upper arm. It’s my talisman. Now I just have to figure out where to put my melancholy octopus…. Do you write on vacation or do you take time off to refresh your brain?