This photo is of the house where my author lived one spring and summer and that appears in Picking up the Pieces. It's in Provence, France.

This is NOT a photo of me (there are none, because remember, I am a fictional character) but I wanted to show you what kind of shirt I wear when travelling. In hot countries it works to keep the sun off and the mosquitoes, too. In colder climates, I can layer it over my favourite T-shirt or under a wool sweater.

The pants are great too but I would pull them up. You all know, of course, that I never leave home without my tote bag. In it I carry all kinds of necessities that I can't do without in case my luggage gets lost in transit. So far, that hasn't happened because I always pray for a safe and trouble-free trip before I leave home. If I didn't feel confident that God would come through for me, I would probably just stay home and paint.

When my uncle Neil calls and needs me to accompany him on one of this archaeological adventures, I have to be prepared - and fast. My tote always carries my smallest Bible, the old leather-covered one I got for my twenty-first birthday that is now all marked up in coloured ink. A little bottle of shampoo, some insect repellant, my journal and good pen – one that has a light so I can write in the dark and also doubles as a flashlight – and tissues. A few other feminine necessities, like hair stuff and a mirror, plus, camera, small binoculars, my passport and any other important documents. I have been known, more than once, to use my tote as a weapon. It makes a good one if I can get enough swing behind it, and has got me out of more than one fix.