Reminiscing

My mom's only brother flew in from Minnesota for a visit. Spur of the moment trip for him. Took us quite by surprise when he said he was going to fly out here. I woke up at 5:15am on Friday and went to bed at 2am Saturday after picking him up. While he played catch-up with his sisters yesterday afternoon, I took a three-hour nap.

Old pictures came out of the glass case today. Extremely old pictures. Uncle Jimmy still had all his hair. Auntie Margaret was wearing dresses. We came across this picture...


...the six of them all in a row from youngest to oldest. That's my mom third from the right. Amazing to see that she wasn't always the shortest.

And then I saw this...



...a picture of my grandfather. With hair. Black hair. Never in my life had I seen him with a full head of black hair.

I scanned these two pictures and photoshopped them a bit. Auntie Marie didn't realize that her eyes were closed in the original picture because it was much smaller. Can you open my eyes? She asked. Nope. I don't work magic. There are lots of other gems in there. Can't wait to discover all of them.

one post long overdue

It's been more than a month since I've blogged. Busy traveling without my beloved MacBook. Traveling without a computer can be both liberating and mind-boggling. I did have my blackberry, but turned off data service...did NOT want to pay roaming for THAT. I had my Ipod touch, but there's only so much you can do on that small screen. I was on vacation. Literally. Figuratively. Physically. Insert any -ally word you want here. Basically, I checked out of my highly responsible, always available life. I think I called home a total of three times in the three weeks I was gone. So, just where did that big plane take me?

I went to Hawaii for four days for Kim and Jeff's wedding. Hung out with Dean. Went shopping with Addie. Spent some time riding the free trolley to Ala Moana. Tried to sleep in, but failed in a big. Who would have thought that I would be up at 4:30/5:00 most days?!!? I was appalled at myself.

Next stop: PDX. I told everyone I was going to Portland. It wasn't a lie. I DID fly into Portland. But, I spent most of my time in Battle Ground, Washington with Shannon and her family. Two little ones and a husband and thankfully, no four-legged friends. My favorite cats in the whole wide world, George and Piper, had to go to new homes several years ago. Sad not to see them loafing around and getting their hair all over me. We spent a day and a half in Ocean Shores, Washington. Seriously, NOT the place to go when you're used to the warm calm Pacific Ocean around here. Beyond frigid water and dark sand. So not for me. I did end up in Portland with Leanne and her family. It was hard to imagine Leanne and Neil with a little one, but after seeing them all together...so much easier to put my mind around it. Lucas was a hoot!

Finally, I was off to Las Vegas. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right? NO need for full-disclosure! I had fun spending time with Patsi, Maureen and family, shopping with Anne Marie (who knew the spike-haired tom boy would turn girly) and just hanging out. I also got to meet and spend some time with Sarah from The Scrapping Spot's MB. It was triple-digit hot! You would think I learned my lesson 2 years ago visiting in the summer, but that's the life of a teacher.

My flight was delayed from LA to Honolulu by two and a half hours. Luckily, the flight was overbooked so I was upgraded to First Class. I spent the night at Ala Moana and prepared for the long flight home.

I tell ya, if one can't do the direct flight from Honolulu to Guam, first class is the way to go if traveling via Narita. The first class seats on Northwest's double decker 747 virtually turn into beds. I was upstairs and it wasn't full. My purse had its own seat!

While I love leaving the island on vacations, I relish being home in my own bed. Nothing like being at home.