Thanksgiving Weekend To-Do List

Updated Saturday, 11/26/16

1.   Be thankful.  Doing that all day, for my family, my friends, my dog, my job, that there are books and food and music in my life.

2.   Take out compost.  Once, plus washed out the sink-side container and have started a box for floor sweepings and plant trimmings.  

3.   Take out recyclables.  I made two trips out on Thursday and one on Friday, and then took the container out.  After the pickup I realized I still had a bagful of stuff from work, so I went out and got the bin and re-filled it halfway.

4.   Load dishwasher, run dishwasher, unload, load.  I'll probably run it once more tomorrow night.

5.   Scan and e-mail stuff to Mom.  Done, despite an elderly and cranky printer

6.   Make my bed. Every single day, yay me!

7.   Make the dog's bed.  Also every single day, so another yay!

8.   Fold and put away clean clothes. Done, but will have to do it again tomorrow night after laundry morning at Mom's.

9.   Hang up and put away other clean clothes. Same as #8

10. Clear off flat surfaces. Didn't get done. :-(

11. Clean said flat surfaces.  Didn't get done. :-(

12. Hook up Magic Jack and call Scary Bear. Didn't get done. :-( But if I clean off the desk, maybe he can do it while he's waiting for the washing machine... }:)

13. Buy washing machine.  Got a great buy on an Electrolux from HH Gregg, and they surprised me by saying it will be delivered on Tuesday, which is too soon.  When I called to reschedule, the CSR told me my order had been cancelled and if I attempted to place it again it would be cancelled again and I should go to the store.  Ugh.

14. Get all plants in from the garage.  All 28 of them.  Ouch.

15. Get all plants arranged in house.  I've got one spider plant I don't have room for and am loath to toss onto the compost because it's healthy, damnit!

16. Go water-walking.  Gave this up in lieu of getting plants in and the breezeway semi-tidied because I am hoping Dad will be here to let the washing machine people in.

Bordeaux to Britain, Days 6-8

Day 6, 4/28/16

After coming back to the ship from Guernsey, getting cleaned up and eating dinner, Mom & I skipped the reception line for our distinguished guest and spent a quiet evening reading, writing notes on the day (Mom) and downloading photos (me).  Thursday, April 28 was a day at sea as we moved from Guernsey to Normandy, France.

Mom and I had our usual breakfast, hung around for a bit afterwards and talked to people, and then went back to the room to get ready to face the day.  Dressed and made up and all that jazz, we headed up to the little theater to listen to a talk from our guest lecturer, David Eisenhower.  I'm sorry that link doesn't have a current picture, because he does look very much like his grandfather.  His wife, who is equally recognizable, is Julie Nixon Eisenhower.

The lecture was good, mostly about Normandy, both the history and then the events of WWII, culminating of course in D-Day.  After the lecture, we had lunch, then spent a quiet afternoon, including a nap for me.

Get off mah lawn!

The good news is that I now have a cane to wave at any young whippersnappers, plus I have really adorable knee dimples. The bad news is that I have a fucking cane on the day I am reading at the wedding of my oldest friend in the world because I wasn't paying attention last night and missed a step into the garage. One. Damn. Step. I got up, got the dog food out of the car, came in the house and went about my normal routine, including evening meds and bed at 11. I woke up at 3 with horrible pain, and because my knee wouldn't support my weight, it took me an hour to get dressed and put the dog downstairs and drive myself to the hospital. After x-rays, ibuprofen, an ice pack and some shade from a young male doc about my weight, they set me free at 6 to go pick up more meds and a cane. I have to give a huge thanks to the pharmacist on duty at my local Walgreen's. He let me wait in my car in the drive-through, went out to the retail side and got me a quad cane, filled my prescriptions and ran it all through my insurance while being incredibly nice. Then we worked together to get the cane through the drive-through window so I didn't have to go inside.

So I got home, fed LMPP, took some ibuprofen and fell asleep for a few hours. I am going to this wedding and I am stopping to pick up a frame for the magical wedding certificate Violante de Rojas made for the brides.

Of course, I am also going to look like a damn fool, because I am one.

Bordeaux to Britain Days 4-5

Day 4, 4/26

Day 4 was St. Malo, France, where there is a medieval abbey, Mont St. Michel.  Our daily info sheet warned us the walk was pretty rugged, and my ankle still hurt, so I opted to stay on the ship.  There were only 2 other wimps, but we had a nice lunch and I read a lot, put my foot up and took a long nap.  The only thing missing was a hot bath!

Day 5, 4/27

On day 5, we got an extra hour, due to being on British time rather than French, and so we got to see the ship approach Guernsey, one of Britain's Channel Islands.

More words and pictures after the jump!

Bordeaux to Britain, Days 1-3

Day 1, 4/23/16

Mom and I both had milestone birthdays last year, so this year we celebrated with our first Smithsonian trip.  From Bordeaux to Britain was a 7 night cruise about the French ship L'Austral.  Of course, first we had to get to Bordeaux.

Mom and Dad picked me up at 3:00 Saturday afternoon and Dad dropped us off at the airport to catch a 5:30 flight to Detroit.  I stopped at an airport newsstand to pick up a bottle of water and a granola bar, and caught up with Mom, only to find her at the bar on the way to our gate, chatting with the county executive and a local mayor on their way to Hanover, Germany for a trade conference.  They were on our flight to Detroit.  The flight was short, only 25 minutes, and we had plenty of time to eat overpriced caprese sandwiches near the gate before our 8 p.m. flight to Amsterdam.

On board the big-ass Delta Airbus, we met another mother-daughter duo who were going on the same cruise but with a different group, the National Trust for Historic Preservation.  B and her mom W are from Columbus, and the daughter and widow respectively of a WWII veteran who participated in the landing at Omaha Beach on D-Day.  W is 90, which is not something I would ordinarily mention, but which became important later.  We got all settled in the plane and then sat on the runway for a hour while they replaced the radio.  Delta wouldn't move us to another plane because it was "not a safety issue".

Once we were in the air and the cabin crew started serving drinks, they apparently got enough questions about potential missed connections that the captain came on and said don't pester the cabin crew, they can't do anything.  Then he said, "We are aware that some of you have tight connections.  Delta is aware our flight is late, staff on the ground is late, and we will do everything we can to see that you make your connections" (emphasis mine).  So I tried some of the pasta that smelled wonderful and wasn't, enjoyed the brownie, drank a boatload of water and napped fitfully while one of my seatmates watched The Revenant.

Eventually we landed, at 11:45 a.m. Amsterdam time, which was 5:45 a.m. Akron time.  Delta's idea of doing everything they could to make sure we made our connection was to have an employee meet us at the gate, look at our boarding passes and tell the 4 of us to go to gate B-36.  No one offered to call the gate and have them keep the doors open, no one offered transportation to the departure gate, and no one seemed to care that they were telling a 90 year old woman to walk from one end of the A terminal to the opposite end of the B terminal in under 10 minutes when it was a minimum of a 20 minute walk for an average adult.  A non-Delta airport employee helped us whisk through Customs but to no avail, by the time we made the gate they'd closed the doors of the plane.

After we walked all the way back to the A terminal, we got to stand for another 45 minutes while KLM agents tried to book us on the next day's flight and tried to call the ship to tell them not to expect us until Monday.  Then it was downstairs all the way through cavernous baggage claim to get our hotel and meal vouchers, then back upstairs and out of the damn airport to wait for the bus to our hotel.  It was 2:30 p.m. Amsterdam time when we got to the hotel and grabbed some lunch.  That's 8:30 a.m. Akron time and we'd basically been up for 26 hours and traveling for 19 hours.

Short digression:  the dog knocked me over about a week before we left and I was so concerned with the giant bruises that I didn't really notice I had a sprained ankle.  I very much noticed it by the time we'd walked all over Hell's high acre, aka the Amsterdam airport.  I'd also forgotten to pack any ibuprofen.  Because our hotel was in a freeway service plaza, after lunch Mom and I walked over to the gas station to see if they had any ibuprofen or aspirin.  Unfortunately, all they had was paracetemol, aka Tylenol, which does zip for me.  However, the flowers at the gas station were exquisite and heart-lifting.  After we walked back to the hotel, I took a nap, and then Mom and i had coffee in the lounge, then read for a bit, then had dinner.  After dinner, we both took the showers we desperately needed and washed our socks and such and then left a wake-up call and went to bed.

The next morning we were on the bus headed for the airport at 8:20, managed to catch the 12:30 flight to Bordeaux with no problems.  As dog is my witness, I will never willingly fly Delta again.

Days 2 and 3 with lots of pictures after the jump!

What HAVE I forgotten?

Mom and Dad are picking me up between 3 and 3:15.  Dad is taking us to the airport, where we will board a 5:30 flight to Detroit, where we change planes for Amsterdam, where we change planes for Bordeaux.  Mom and I are going on a 7-night Smithsonian cruise from Bordeaux to Britain!

I have packed:

2 skirts
4 pairs of pants
1 pair of capris
4 collared shirts
1 jacket
1 cardigan
9 pairs underwear
8 pairs socks
3 bras
2 pairs tennis shoes
1 pair sandals
shampoo
conditioner
body butter
perfume
makeup
3 inhalers
1 bottle vitamins
3 ponytail holders
4 bottles medication
toothbrush
toothpaste
mouthwash
camera
netbook
sunscreen
cash

and I still feel as if I'm forgetting something!  :headdesk:

Ya'll be good while I'm gone, and no raucous parties!

Leftovers from the trip and a great reason to be home

My flight home was unremarkable except for the couple of hours I got to spend at the airport with Captain Crossword and the princesses.

I see that I forgot to post this picture of a calm, cool and collected Jack Russell terrier being a service dog:

He and his person were seeing the sights as I was waiting for John and Jen at the Leaky Cauldron.

Universal Studios Day Three: Saturday, March 19

On Saturday, we all went to the park.  Mom had us all organized and eating breakfast at 8 and on the shuttle by 8:30, even Scary Bear.  We got off the bus, hiked the mile to security and got held up because NONE of us remembered that Dad carries a Swiss Army knife.  It's just a normal part of his pocket detritus, and he's had it for 40 or so years and didn't want to lose it.  Eventually, he checked the knife with security and we were free to go on our way.

We went on the Shrek ride, which was really a 3D movie in a theater with moving seats.  The movie was so clever and funny and of course there's a happy ending.  My favorite bit was the shout-out to the Blues Brothers.  After the show, we walked over to Diagon Alley, and the girls decided they wanted to ride the Gringott's ride again, and this time Mom and I went with them.  We didn't need a locker because we had Scary Bear and Captain Crossword!

There's a "gold" statue of the founding goblin outside Gringott's, a beautiful main gallery and lots of animatronic goblins hard at work with quills, parchment and scales.  The ride was as good as the Hogwarts ride, and I see why the girls wanted to do it again.

Universal Studios Day Two: Friday, March 18

I woke up at 6:30 and was out of the room and looking for coffee by 6:40.  Unfortunately the food court/diner didn't open until 7:00 and there was a line, so I went to Starbucks and paid $3 for a non-refillable cup of mediocre coffee and drank it outside.  I then wandered back to the room and saw that Mom was awake, but she told me she was going to go back to sleep if she could, so read quietly for a while.  Eventually, I got my sunscreen and makeup on, pulled my hair into a ponytail and grabbed my phone and my camera.  I sent a quick text to my brother, and found out that he and the girls were headed down for breakfast, so I met them there.

Both girls had chocolate chip pancakes, since they'd had waffles for breakfast every day since Sunday.  I had scrambled eggs, potatoes and sausage gravy, and Captain Crossword had an omelet.  After breakfast we walked to the end of the parking lot and caught the shuttle to the park.  The ride was about 5 minutes, and then we walked about a mile to get to security.  After that we had to walk through the City Center section of the park, which does not require admission and is probably about another half mile long.

Finally we were in the park!  I loved the Minion recruiting posters:

And then the Minions ride, which started at Gru's house:

Many more pictures after the jump!

Universal Studios Day One: Thursday, March 17

Last Wednesday, I came home from work, threw the dog in the car and took her to the kennel.  Then I went to bed early so I could get up at 5:30 Thursday morning, drink my coffee, get dressed, and get to the airport in time for a 9:30 flight.  At this point, my caloric intake for the day consisted of two cups of coffee with milk & sweetener.

The flight to Philly was on time leaving and on time landing, but I still had fewer than 30 minutes to get from the terminal in which I arrived to the one from which my plane was departing.  I made it and boarded, only to run out of battery life on my netbook.  So I tried to nap until we landed in Orlando.

After a difficult experience picking up my brother and nieces at the airport, Mom and Dad asked me to find my own way from the airport to the hotel.  Unlike Disney World, Universal Studios does not have a shuttle from the airport to their hotels, but I went with the one they recommended and had a decent ride for less than the cost of a taxi.  We were staying at the Cabana Bay Beach Resort at Universal.

When I got to the hotel at 3ish, they told me that since Mom and I forgot to change my initial reservation from starting on 3/16 to starting on 3/17, they rented the room to someone else.  Then, they wouldn't let me stay in one of the remaining rooms unless I paid off the balance on both rooms for 3 nights.  So I called Mom and had a meltdown on the phone, then went to the restaurant and had an overpriced and misspelled lunch.  Ceasar salad, anyone? :-p

By the time the family pulled into the hotel parking lot, overheated and exhausted, I was more or less over my fit of pique, and after we'd all checked in and hauled luggage to our rooms (I shared with Mom & Dad), Dad took a nap and Mom and I went to the pool with Captain Crossword and the princesses.  The hotel pools were both very fancy, and the girls had a few rides on the slide before they decided they'd rather play Hop on Pop and try to drown my brother. :-D

After we were all cooled off and calmed down, we went and had dinner at the "diner" in the hotel.  It's much too big to be a diner, but it had the decor, there were hamburgers available at the food court, and the four giant TV screens on the walls showed a loop of NBC and Universal logos and TV commercials from the 1950s and 1960s.  Mom and I split a Margherita pizza and then my niece and I both had the lemon tart for dessert.  Princess STEM loves lemon and lemon flavored things as much as I do (or maybe even more).  I had a quick shower and plugged in the netbook and my phone for charging and was out like a light by 10.

Leftovers and unremembered dreams

Mom and Dad are leaving tomorrow for Florida, so yesterday when I was at their house, Mom gave me a bunch of perishables.  Since the sour cream absolutely had to be used up first, I started with a batch of picnic potatoes, or as Sherri named them, Potatoes of Doom:

The ham adds the protein these needed, and because I am a lazy Jammies, or perhaps because I got all the laundry done, the sheets changed and made a quick trip to the grocery store before I ran out of spoons, I didn't have a veggie.  I drank 4 oz. of grapefruit juice and called it a complete meal.

Dessert will be something I've fallen hard for:

Lemon Peeps!  This was a total surprise.  I blame their purchase on The Impulsive Buy, but they're my new addiction because they're very good.  Ordinary Peeps are far too sweet, but the lemon perfectly balances the sweetness.

I did of course take a nap today, because it's Sunday.  I woke up with a frustrating awareness of having had VERY odd dreams but not being able to recall them.  It may be because I am always unsettled when my mom is out of town.  I miss her a great deal.

Well, it's time to set up the coffee for tomorrow morning, start the dishwasher and settle in for the finale/Christmas special of Downton Abbey.

That was fun, I should have done it sooner and I will do it again

Last night I did something I don't ordinarily do, and made a phone call at 10:00.  When I got my aunt's answering machine, I apologized for calling so late, but I just had to talk about Downton Abbey.  Thankfully, she picked up and I hadn't scared her, and we had a wonderful conversation about the show.  Next week, I promised to call her on Monday, but last night I couldn't wait BECAUSE PUPPY!

Speaking of puppies, my next dog is going to be either a lab or a lab/shepherd mix.  Of course, with any luck, it will be a good long while before I get to the next dog.  Little Miss Piggie Pie is still going strong, although she has packed on some poundage (just like her owner) and I've been calling her Fat Squirrel.

I enjoyed my 3-day weekend, but didn't get as much done as I wanted to.  The laundry is done, the sheets changed and 4 of 6 storage cubes are put together.  Work tomorrow should be, erm, interesting (objection hearings).

Car stuff!

1958 Volvo PV544 with my dad in the driver's seat.

In Dad's own words:

In spring of 1963 this Little marvel of Swedish engineering agreed to take me across the plains and deserts of Rt. 66 to the Mojave Desert. It never failed me, although it sacrificed portions of its valves and piston rings to get me there. Long May it Run.

I have my oil change appointment tomorrow morning at 8:42 (yes, they're that precise).

In other car stuff, to the owner(s) of the nice house in the spottily-gentrified area of Akron I drive through on my way to and from work, your BEWARE of dog signs only work as long as people don't see your two little terriers in the yard being all adorbs.  Hyperbole aside, cuteness is not a killing weapon.

To the dude with the Star Trek personalized message on a Superman license plate, I am really impressed at your mingling of fandoms and a little bummed that you're probably married.

To the person with the plate 8U4DNR, why would you hate someone for choosing a Do Not Resuscitate order?  That's very selfish.

To the person with the plate N8FKIN, whose next of kin and why does it matter?