The past two years I have taken vacation the week BEFORE Christmas as vacation. The week between Christmas and New Years I scheduled local visits. It worked wonderfully for being able to finish shopping and baking and enjoying the Christmas Season. . For some insane reason, this year I decided to take the week of Christmas. I scheduled local visits for the week before.........but since I wasn't ON vacation, my plan for local visit was changed by the powers that be. I spent the week in San Antonio, Texas.
The week was enjoyable. We were in downtown San Antonio, just two blocks from the River Walk. We worked diligently during the day, then shopped and ate in the evening. The hotel was quite c0comfortable and we had valet parking. The staff at the nursing homes were pleasant and appreciative of the audit. So what is the problem? I missed getting to spend shopping opportunities with Hillary. I missed preparing for Christmas. Rest assured that will not happen again.
The good news? It somehow worked out. This evening (December 23) we had a get together at Grandma's house. The kids were wonderful, gifts were exchanged, laughter was heard, and the spirit of the holidays was in our hearts.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Update
I left on time for Tennessee last Tuesday. The president arrived about an hour after I was to leave. No crowds, no delays.
Wednesday evening I rode from Memphis to Jackson, Mississippi with a couple of people from the partnering company. It was quite interesting. I listened to a book on my iPod most of the way. We checked in and agreed to meet in the lobby and find a place to eat. I dropped my luggage in the room, grabbed my kindle and went back to the lobby. I am always waiting in lobbies so I figured I would have some time to read. And I did.
When they came back down, the fellow was upset with his room because it was a handicapped room and he didn't want a handicapped room. I just read while the two of them negotiated with the staff to find another room. He was quite incensed with the male clerk as he felt he was mistreated.
We then went to a restaurant adjoining the hotel. We had just been seated when one of the hotel staff came in and brought different keys. The co-worker I was with then spent several minutes apologizing to her about the altercation and explaining that he was most upset with her co-worker, not her.
Then came the detailed discussions about what to eat. Seems my companions are food gourmets and had to disect the options and discuss how the chef could possible mess it up. They decided on gumbo and salad. When it arrived he was quite disappointed that the bacon on his salad had been cooked in the microwave. Then spent most of the meal trying to decide if the rue in the gumbo was canned or if it was actually 'made' from scratch. Either way they decided it was passable. I had Onion Soup and Spinach Salad and mine was just fine.
All in all it was an interesting few days. The best part is that there is no report to write.
Wednesday evening I rode from Memphis to Jackson, Mississippi with a couple of people from the partnering company. It was quite interesting. I listened to a book on my iPod most of the way. We checked in and agreed to meet in the lobby and find a place to eat. I dropped my luggage in the room, grabbed my kindle and went back to the lobby. I am always waiting in lobbies so I figured I would have some time to read. And I did.
When they came back down, the fellow was upset with his room because it was a handicapped room and he didn't want a handicapped room. I just read while the two of them negotiated with the staff to find another room. He was quite incensed with the male clerk as he felt he was mistreated.
We then went to a restaurant adjoining the hotel. We had just been seated when one of the hotel staff came in and brought different keys. The co-worker I was with then spent several minutes apologizing to her about the altercation and explaining that he was most upset with her co-worker, not her.
Then came the detailed discussions about what to eat. Seems my companions are food gourmets and had to disect the options and discuss how the chef could possible mess it up. They decided on gumbo and salad. When it arrived he was quite disappointed that the bacon on his salad had been cooked in the microwave. Then spent most of the meal trying to decide if the rue in the gumbo was canned or if it was actually 'made' from scratch. Either way they decided it was passable. I had Onion Soup and Spinach Salad and mine was just fine.
All in all it was an interesting few days. The best part is that there is no report to write.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Back to Work
I've had a great 10 days of staying home. Tomorrow morning I head to Memphis at approximately the same time Obama is to land in Kansas City. Hoping we get off the ground before everything screeches to a halt.
I did take a little jaunt to Branson for a couple of days to see the Christmas Lights and do a little shopping. It was great fun, saw some good friends and took a drive around the area to see what had changed in the past year or so. The two years in Kimberling City have some of my best memories and some of my worst.
Another accomplishment from this vacation include transferring my Camry to a new owner. Glad that is done. It was a great car and served me well for 12 years and 240,000 miles.
And, I did a little plumbing to improve the drainage in the bathroom sink. Charlie wanted to drive to Albany to get a plumber snake so he could clean the drain. That would take 4-5 hours and cost at least $40 in gas. I went down to the kitchen and got a fondue fork to dig out a clog of hair and debris. Took about 2 minutes and was free. Then I had the rest of the day to watch TV and cross-stitch.
I'll let you know about Obama and the airport.
I did take a little jaunt to Branson for a couple of days to see the Christmas Lights and do a little shopping. It was great fun, saw some good friends and took a drive around the area to see what had changed in the past year or so. The two years in Kimberling City have some of my best memories and some of my worst.
Another accomplishment from this vacation include transferring my Camry to a new owner. Glad that is done. It was a great car and served me well for 12 years and 240,000 miles.
And, I did a little plumbing to improve the drainage in the bathroom sink. Charlie wanted to drive to Albany to get a plumber snake so he could clean the drain. That would take 4-5 hours and cost at least $40 in gas. I went down to the kitchen and got a fondue fork to dig out a clog of hair and debris. Took about 2 minutes and was free. Then I had the rest of the day to watch TV and cross-stitch.
I'll let you know about Obama and the airport.
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