It's been a while

I've been busy. Sorry about the lack of posts. Managed to swing a quick trip down to see mom in the hospital. She's feisty for 80. Got a new diagnosis of CHF. She was tested and treated and released all in a week. She's definitely looking and sounding better, so it was a productive trip to the hospital. Excellent staff, too, which was encouraging.



After a brief visit to mom in the hospital I flew to Miami and got picked up by my adorable daughter. She had been spending the last four months at the Dolphin Research Center in Grassy Key Florida. She had an (unpaid) internship there in research. She had an absolute blast. I got to visit her at the Research Center and meet her bosses and cohorts. Also got to meet the folks who employed her so she could support herself. She worked the front desk at a charming little resort on Islamorada. The folks were very nice and very complimentary. Good as they were to her, she has her heart set on NEVER doing another customer service job again if she can help it. She just doesn't like having to fake the smile because someone is being a pain in the patootie. Can't say as I blame her. I also got to meet her terrific roommates. They were two charming young ladies, both graduates of separate Universities in North Carolina. Both also working at the Dolphin Research Center. All three girls got along famously during their brief stint in the Keys. All in all it was a too short trip, but for a great purpose. The internship ended and I got to go on a road trip back home with my kid. She's decided to return to the frozen north and look for work. I was afraid that once she got a taste for the warmth of the Keys we'd never see her north of Jacksonville again, but she surprised me by saying she was ready to come home.

We left Marathon at 0500 and drove to Columbus, GA the first day. Stayed overnight with my brother-in-law who we hadn't seen in a couple of years. A confirmed batchelor and avid fisherman, he's always been great with his nieces and nephews. Night two found us in Seagrove, NC at my sister's house. We left early this morning to go retrieve my car from the Richmond airport, then got home very early...by 1:30 p.m. We unpacked the car and then took the dog for a romp at the local dog park. He was delighted that his girl had returned to him. He thinks my daughter hung the moon as they liked to say in Texas.

Friends

I heard through the grapevine that my mom is having problems breathing again. She had difficulties about a month ago, finally went to the doctor and got an antibiotic and a diuretic and had been better, albeit briefly. So, I put out an APB to three friends who live in my hometown asking if one of them would go check on her since I can't get down right away. One of them emailed me first thing this morning and said she would go. I am so pleased and so touched. Friends...don't leave home without them. Can't get through a day without a dose of them. MOK, this hug is for you. You're the best.

What do I get free at the store today game...

I went to the grocery on Sunday and played the "what do I get for free today" game. The grocery I frequent most often has a policy of giving you an item free if it is rung up incorrectly. I've been out of work since last July and I've started being careful where I put my pennies so I'm back to checking my grocery receipts. I can usually find at least one item that has been incorrectly rung up at the register. This time it was a bag of dried cherries. Cost posted at the shelf: 2 for $5.00. Price rung up: $4.39 each. So, when all was said and done I got a credit for $4.50 (including tax) returned to my credit card. Last week it was a battery for about $5.00. Can't wait to see what I get for free next week. Seriously, check your receipts. I bet you'll find at least one item priced wrong on your receipt. If your grocery has the same policy as mine, then you'll be getting free stuff at the grocery store, too.

Can't wait until my next b'day when I qualify for the "senior" discount. Another 5% off the groceries. Woo hoo!! I love freebies.

Australia, the movie

We went to see Australia this afternoon at the local theater. Here is my review: the popcorn was awesome. The movie was long.

The Alaska Trip

The Alaska trip was scheduled to celebrate our daughter's graduation from college. We had never been on a cruise and had tossed around the idea when Christine was home at Christmastime. Initially we looked into taking a cruise in the Caribbean, but we were up for anything interesting. Finally ended up settling on Alaska. We'd all wanted to go at some point in the past and as a bonus, I have a nephew who lives in Seattle and I figured we could stay with him and his wife before the cruise and then spend a few days with them after

I booked the trip through Vacations To Go - an online discounter for cruises - and Air Tran. Got great rates (I love a bargain!), and the waiting began. I had scheduled the trip for the weekend after graduation, going through Memorial Day weekend plus those couple of days for visiting the nephew and his beautiful bride.

We had an uneventful trip to Seattle...got to know the Atlanta airport really well...and my nephew picked us up at SeaTac. We had a nice visit with him, his wife, brother-in-law and an old Army buddy. The following day, the nephew was good enough to drop us at the cruise terminal. Don't know if this place was there when we lived in Seattle back in '90 - '92, but if it was we TOTALLY missed this biga$$ cruise pier with ginormous ships. Way to pay attention. (I was a sleep deprived mother of a four-to-six year old. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.)

We cruised with Princess lines and those folks are very professional. They had everything down to a science. We snaked our way through some rather short lines, showed our credentials, and got our first (of many) pictures taken by cruise staff. We made our way on board the ship and let the fun begin.

The first thing we did was notice that there were some rather seasoned veterans on board. We had no sooner set foot on board ship than I saw a gentleman in his bathing suit with a bucket of beer headed for a hot tub. Now THERE'S an example to set. We strolled stem to stern looking at views of Seattle and reminiscing about our altogether too short time there, noticing the changes in the skyline, new arenas and stadiums and such. The day was gorgeous. I was expecting 50 degrees and rain and it was about 75 degrees and sunny. You could even see the snow capped Olympic mountains. If you've never toured Seattle, you should go. You should go after the fourth of July because that's when summer officially starts. Any good weather prior to that date is a fluke. You have a short window...generally until Labor Day and the Bumbershoots Festival at Seattle Center before the clouds roll in again. It is one of the most breathtaking cities in the U.S., though. Come over on a ferry from the Olympic Peninsula at night and watch the city all dressed in its fancy lights as you approach. Nothing like it...especially when the couple next to you in the ferry dining room is in tails and a formal dress. But I digress. Back to the cruise.

Our first "event" was to take a tour of the ship. We lucked out and ended up on the tour with the BEST, bar none, cruise ship host (don't know his real title) Fernando. Fernando was from Mexico and was tall, dark and handsome and best of all had an absolutely fabulous sense of humor. A little sarcastic, a little wry and very amusing. He made what could have been a dull tour a comedy show. We looked for Fernando thereafter and he never failed to amuse.

The first official duty you have as a cruise ship patron is to attend the mandatory safety session WITH YOUR LIFE VEST ON. These sessions are held in your designated duty station. Since we were traveling on the cheap, picture us in the Leonardo Di Caprio (aka Jack) cheap seats on the ship...not the chic Kate Winslet (aka Rose) fancy schmancy seats. Yep...if we hit an iceberg, the three of us were going down with the ship. I never remembered to count lifeboats even. Hmmmm....major oversight on my part.

As we pulled out of Seattle at exactly 4:00 p.m. (designated departure time...these guys run a tight ship), we settled in the starlight lounge on the 18th deck (seriously, this thing is a floating city), cocktails in hand and watched Seattle recede into the distance. Beauteous! Next up: Day one at sea, formal dining and more.

Bridge to Nowhere...Ketchikan, AK

This picture, originally used for my profile, was taken in Ketchikan, Alaska...that's where the bridge to nowhere is supposed to go. (Or at least one of them. Apparently there are several...who knew??) On the lower left hand quadrant of the picture is the ferry slip at Ketchikan, Alaska. The landmass on the right is the island of Gravina across the Tongass Narrows from Ketchikan which is where the Ketchikan International Airport is. When you fly to Ketchikan you land on the little island which has a mere 50 inhabitants and then you have to take the ferry over to the mainland. So, technically the bridge to nowhere isn't exactly a bridge to nowhere, it's a bridge to Gravina island and the airport. Here's a link from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravina_Island_Bridge

We went on our first cruise last summer and Ketchikan was the first stop. It's a pretty little tourist town. Here's a video from one of the Ketchikan websites: http://alaska.org/videos/ketchikan_alaska_video.htm?Ketch_CVB_wide2FL8.flv

I'll post more about the Alaskan cruise later. It's a beautiful state, but I feel a little cheated since I didn't see Russia from any of its shores. ;^)

Welcome

Welcome to my blog. Not sure what I'm going to be blogging about, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. "In short..." will likely refer to a number of things:
1. the length of some of the blogs (if you're lucky)
2. my stature (although I'm trying to make up for that with girth these days. sigh)
3. my attention span (yes, I am over the big half-century mark)
4. and occasionally my patience (I'm preparing my favorite soapbox now)

I'm glad you're here, pull up a cuppa whatever and relax.

More later ~

Shortstuff