Veteran's Day

Thank you to all the men and women who serve or have served in our country's military - including and especially Specialst B.T.M. at Ft. Bliss.

Now to update on the trip.  What a whirlwind weekend.  Non-stop action from morning until night and while there were plenty of times I sort of wished for a little 'me' time, I wouldn't have missed any of the things we did or people we saw or places we visited.  It was exactly what it was supposed to be - a mini-family reunion full of memories and fun.  My aunt's party was loads of fun - well attended. Amazing to see so many people over 90 in attendance and what amazing people they are.  They held nothing back, including commenting on H.'s earrings ('does your employer let you wear those to work?').  I didn't hear his reply - probably 'not working right now so....'.  They are the gauges and I hate them but oh well.  My aunt has led an amazing life and her friends were all just like her - full of life and energy and light - it was so much fun to be there and I'm so glad we didn't miss it.

I gained five pounds which is to be expected when you eat out daily and most especially when the meals include splurges like appetizers, alcoholic drinks and desserts.  Yummy food everywhere we went and we all indulged a bit.

We visited with folks day and night and then packed up to head to the airport yesterday morning.  B. was departing on a different airline so I realized at the car rental return terminal that we would need to say our goodbyes there.  I was already really psyched up for doing that - but thought we would be riding the bus together with him getting off before us or vice versa depending on terminal location.  But no, the buses were actually for each terminal.  Enjoyed a great bear hug and got choked up watching him hug his brother and dad - excited to be saying 'see you in a month' (which really helped keep emotions in check but still...).  When we had moved over to where our bus would pick us up, I had to resist the overwhelming urge to run back over to the Terminal 4 bus to give/get one more terrific hug.  I didn't do that, though - he would have been mortified.  And I remind myself that goodbyes aren't just hard for me/us, they are hard for him too.  My emotions create/add to his and it's equally as hard on him to say goodbye as it is me/us.  So better to just relish that we will see him in a month for two weeks at Christmas and that will be lovely.

Today has been laundry and massive grocery shopping.  I spent $45 more than I planned but pretty much got everything we need for Thanksgiving as well - except the pies.  We've got frozen blueberries so I'm considering baking a blueberry pie and a pumpkin pie myself - using store bought crust, though, 'cuz I've never been successful at making homemade crusts.  If I'm going to risk disaster by making pies ('cuz it's easy for them not to turn out as great as store bought and/or frozen), I'd better stick to just the filling for now.

Tomorrow is back to work and a long day - board meeting.  That's going to be a hard day to get through first day back...but I'm sure I will.

I am working little by little on putting back the study closet - it's just a huge mess 'cuz J. didn't supervise the removal process all that well.  Things are just willy nilly all over the garage and I keep looking at it with a 'huh, where did all this stuff go?' reaction over and over and over.  But it's got to be done.  Mornings are getting colder and I want my car in the garage to avoid frost.  No patience for defrosting in the morning.

Phoenix, you were as lovely as I remember - really, you are stellar when it's not 100+ outside.  We definitely plan to visit again soon - our hotel was lovely, conveniently located and easy to navigate. Plenty of trails for hiking, golf course. etc. .  There are a lot more freeways now than when I lived there and the loops and routes make it pretty easy to navigate.  You can get across the entire valley in way less time than in years past and while traffic is still traffic, it seemed 'easy', all things considered.  All the little 'towns' that used to be 'in the middle of nowhere' are now linked together - Phoenix is just a huge expansion of city after city.  It's amazing, really, how much it's all grown.  We went to dinner with my younger sister one night and met her at a place I used to visit - only there was nothing there but houses.  Now, it's a full blown extension of downtown Scottsdale and I could have explored there for days.

It's just before 4PM but we didn't really eat lunch and I'm starving - so heading in to whip up tacos!  We planned menus and made lists of things we have on hand 'cuz we stick to our budget so much better with just a little extra planning.

H. is out and about catching up with friends.  I really have to close by thanking my two sons who were wonderful sports about the trip.  They were dragged (though they were willing and sweet) from one place to another, meeting people over and over - family member after family member.  Doing their best to figure out who was related to who and how.  It wasn't a weekend full of things for them to do that they chose to do.  Nowhere for them to go - no car to drive.  Just accompany us everywhere we went which they did pleasantly and with good humor all weekend long.  They were really great troopers and I'm so glad we were all able to go.

And as always, thanks to my sweet husband - 'cuz he trekked along with everything, too without a single complaint.