Here I am in Seattle! 

Thank goodness.  The flight was uneventful, but I had a rough time getting to the airport.  My car broke and cost me way too much to get fixed.  And then I couldn’t pick it up  before I had to leave for the airport and so Ladybug has to take care of all it for me. Making her, for the 47,836th time, the absolute best friend ever.

Right off the plane I was whisked away to a lovely restaurant full of salmon and red wine.  My parents are still my parents only moreso.  Listening to them natter at each other while trying to find the restaurant was classic:

ma: turn left here
pop: left
ma: yeah. no, wait go straight. it’s the next intersection.
pop: this one?
ma: well, I don’t know until I can see the intersection.  Yes, turn right, then left.  It’s there by the feed store.
pop: there’s no parking
ma: you can park behind it
pop: how do I get behind it?
ma: turn right at this corner

ma: don’t park there. park up where the chickens are
pop: what chickens?
ma: they have chickens at the feed store.  sometimes they are the alley.
pop: I don’t see any chickens.
ma: well park up there where they would be.
pop: up where?
ma: there!

Oh family!  You are so amusing!  Also my sister made me a huge, sparkly poster that said welcome home that she held up in the airport!  Ma is getting me a poster tube to take it home in.  Yay!

At dinner my mom was going on about how crackerjackSister and I look exactly alike except she has her dad’s nose and I have my maternal grandfather’s nose. And then we extensively discussed my sister’s teeth (she just got her braces off).

This morning I’m scrounging around for coffee. Although I haven’t been a barista in years, apparently I can still make a great shot of espresso.  I make it and pour it in a cup.  When my mom comes in from dropping my sister off, I am digging around in the fridge looking for milk.

me: there’s no milk?
ma: *look of complete confusion* there’s not?
me: no
ma: well, use what I do.  It’s non-fat, sweetened, condesned milk.  No one else likes it so there’s always some left.
me: oh.  yum. *grimace*

Yes, I find, “no one else likes it” is always an award winning reccomendation for something.  The coffee is drinakble though, so whatever.

I had some other stuff to say aboutt he idiot on the plane behind me who wouldn’t shut up, the cute cowboys in the Denver airport and politics (from reading news mags on the plane) but instead I am off to quickly shower, dress and warmly as I can and go freeze while walking around with my momma. I genuinely tried, but I don’t think I packed at all correctly for the weather here.  I anticipate being very cold for the next few days.