Thursday, September 5, 2013

Italy-Day 1 The New York Leg (Tues, 9/3/13)


We left San Diego Sept. 3, 2013, on a United commuter plane going to L.A. We had 37 minutes to make our connection to New York, but we made it, tripping along quickly through the long hallway from Terminal 7 to Terminal 8. Luckily, we didn't have to go through Security again because we were on the same airline.
I was impressed with the United airplane, even though we arrived at our seats only after going through the first and second class sections. First class looked really comfortable and second class looked good, too. When we arrived in the Economy section, we just sighed and accepted the inevitable.  But, after we settled in, we were happy to see we each had our own screen in the back of the seat in front of us, and movies were free. Two movies took us almost across the country. For the last hour and a half, I read my Kindle (a book called "Stumbling through Italy") and when I tired of that, I just stared at the map on the screen showing the relative position of our plane.
We arrived in New York at around 9 p.m. With the taxiing and waiting for everyone to disembark, plus the trip to the hotel, it was around 10 before we got settled in. In relative terms, though, it was only 7 in San Diego, so I managed to go to bed around the same time as normal.
This morning we got up around 8 am New York time, got dressed and went up one flight to our free continental breakfast. I was very conservative, having only coffee, Heart Smart cereal and yogurt. I am saving room for all the Italian food we will be eating soon.
When we returned to our room, I washed my hair. This is a very big ordeal. First I have to wash all that hair and put on a cream "masque" (or is it "mask"?) that has to stay on for 15-20 minutes. Then the mask gets rinsed off and a conditioner gets put on, but only for two minutes. Rinse again and then dry. Drying my hair takes forever, but if I don't do it, the waves and curl comes back. Can't have that. After drying, I have to appy a daily conditioner and then I'm done. Whew! I'm glad I did this here in New York. Now I think it'll last until I get back.
Our Alitalia flight doesn't leave until 5:25 pm but we have to check out by noon and we need to be in the lobby a half-hour befor the shuttle. This means I have to get ready to go NOW.

Friday, August 9, 2013

Pasta Sauce

I took Dennis to Uncle Johnny's very early this morning for our usual hand-off when Dennis has to go to the airport. I got back home by 6:30 a.m., so I had a lot of time to do my chores. I fed the dog and the cats, made a cup of coffee, and made pasta sauce in the slow cooker. It's cooking now.

In about a half hour I will go to Mom's to fix her breakfast.

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Happy Birthday, Amanda

Amanda's birthday is tomorrow, August 9. For her gift, Angie and I took her shopping at Fashion Valley. We wanted to buy her some school clothes so she would look good at her new middle school. She has the figure of a model--tall and slim. She looks like a very cute pencil. Since her Grandma is housebound, we got her present for Amanda, too. Here's what Grandma bought her. I think she had a good time shopping and worked up an appetite for lunch!


Sunday, August 4, 2013

Mayhem


Yesterday (Saturday) morning we found the coyotes had killed two of our three white Chinese geese. I told Dennis that we should not get any more Chinese geese because they do not fly. I don't know if the can't fly or just don't fly, but the result is the same. They are sitting ducks--or geese.

Mom

On Friday, Mom came home from her stay at the physical rehab facility in Encinitas. She worked very hard to get mobile enough to return to her home.

Saturday I visited her at home for breakfast and lunch, helping her with meals and other necessities. She was doing very well getting around and taking care of herself. This was her goal, to be self-sufficient once more. At her request, we had pizza for dinner.

Today (Sunday) I'm waiting for her to call me when she gets up, probably around 9 a.m.

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Pine Valley Days Craft Show

Today was the craft show I've been preparing for the last week or so. Vivian came to help me with the booth. Our booth was next to Betsy's.

Kourtney and Betsy 


Vivian








I bought this hat at one of the booths. I'm taking it to Italy.





Thursday, July 25, 2013