A Busy Few Days

The plane flights were what you'd normally expect; cramped but not too unbearable. The high point for me was lunch in the Minneapolis airport because I found an Einstein's bagel shop and had half of my favorite breakfast...a toasted bagel with cream cheese, capers, lox, and tomatoes. It was thoroughly enjoyable.

The last couple of days have been filled with getting way more sleep than usual and visiting with my family. Monday I had a nice lunch with my sisters while all but one of their kids was in school. I think this is the first time the three of us have done something like that since we've all been out of the house. With the both of them being married and having kids it's never been possible to just sit down and have lunch together.

They had some good stories about their kids. None of which I can remember right now; you know how it goes. I'll try to think of specific stories, but they all sort of blend together.

Jean's boys came for a visit Monday afternoon. Mostly they went sledding, but we visited for a bit before they had to go home to get ready for their evening activities, except for Jake, who went with Mom and I to Grandma's for a pizza dinner. I'm happy to report that Grandma is doing well and even drove for the first time on Tuesday. We had dinner with her again in Tuesday and she was so happy about getting in the car and hitting the road again -- even if it was just to go to the store. She hasn't driven since she broke her ankle in August. She said she had a such a sense of freedom when she got on the road again. It's so funny to hear her talk like that.

Earlier today I went to see my little sister's new house for the first time. It's very nice and she has a huge yard for the kids and the dog to play in. When it's not ten degrees out.

I suppose for those of you that aren't in this part of the world I should describe the weather. It's cold. It's been cold the entire time I've been back. Thankfully it's not any of the extreme cold this part of the world can get (I clearly recall 60 degrees below zero a few years ago. Ouch.), but it's been firmly entrenched in the single and low double digits the entire time. I had to laugh last night as I went to bed wearing a sweatshirt, sweatpants, and socks and then covered up with a sheet, woollen blanket, heavy bedspread, comforter, and then another comforter on the lower part of the bed. This compared to the t-shirt and cotton pants with a sheet and down comforter when I go to bed in Seattle. Like I said, I had to laugh.

I'm saddened to report that despite the fact that I'd brought City of Heroes and World of Warcraft home to play on the computer at my parents' place, that I won't be able to do it. The computer isn't quite powerful enough, so no games for me, despite the fact that I'd actually have some time to play later in the evenings.

Of course, what this has meant is that I've already finished Gaiman's Anansi Boys which I started on the plane ride and finished late yesterday and have started the first novel on Robin Laws' Warhammer series. I like Robin's stuff no matter what medium he's working in and I've been looking forward to finally reading this trilogy. So, I'm signing off to go dive into the first book, Honour of the Grave.