Ahhhhh. . . One of the joys of traveling through PDX is clearing security and finding Aero Moka just beyond. Laptop connects and life is good.
All was not, however, beer and skittles. Here's an airline first for me: after waiting nine (9) hours for the connecting flight (including a whole hour to find a flight attendent!), they called us to board and then mentioned the plane had been "downsized" (apparently they didn't notice this before boarding started) and half of us would not be going on tonight, after all - oh, but our luggage was leaving. Sheesh!
I'm falling for Oneonta in a big way. I'm staying a few blocks from the kids and a few blocks from "The Latte Lounge" which, in spite of its unfortunate name (how would a lounging latte look, anyway?), is a great place to read the paper after a nice long morning walk. The weather gets clearer and brighter each day and the trees are making up new colors for themselves.
We're trying to be tense and irritable about the wedding, but we're all too happy to pull it off. Everyone we work with is pleasant, thoughtful, courteous and prompt, so we can't bitch about vendors. And Mike's family is just great. Emily is so lucky to have Connie for a mother-in-law! And I'm far enough away that Mike shouldn't suffer too much, either.
Late note: the wedding went off BEAUTIFULLY. The one teeny, tiny little problem was handled before the guests noticed, which is the same, in my book, as no problem ever happening. The room looked great all filled with happy people, and the newly-married couple finally got to relaaaaaaaaaaxx.
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Corn pudding and cheesecake
Today was the community potluck at the grange hall, and we had so much fun we hung the last dog. Unbeknownst to us, interesting people have infiltrated the neighborhood! I base that judgement on both the food they brought and on how witty their repartee - with style points for sassy children or comments like, "Oh, I've always liked your house!"
What I don't like about such gatherings is catching wind of some local conflict, but not picking up enough of the details. So, I come away with the impression that she thinks it's a crime and she's 100% with whosis, and we sure hope what'shisname doesn't bring it up today, because it will just start an argument. Arrrgghhhhh!
We were encouraged to wear name tags with our addresses, which lead to conversations like,
"So, which house is 2140 Oak Grove Road?"
"It's right near the top of the hill past the big power line."
"Oh, you mean the Griffith place?"
"Well, the original Griffith place was on Orchard Heights. The one on Oak Grove was built . . ."
You get the drift.
As the day wound down I remembered the first potluck I went to in that hall, about 35 years ago. All the men gathered in the hall or outside, and all the women were in the kitchen. But now we all break down the tables and chairs, then we end up together in the kitchen until the last teaspoon lands in the drawer. Then the hall is empty again and we chase the last few yellowjackets out as we lock the back door.
What I don't like about such gatherings is catching wind of some local conflict, but not picking up enough of the details. So, I come away with the impression that she thinks it's a crime and she's 100% with whosis, and we sure hope what'shisname doesn't bring it up today, because it will just start an argument. Arrrgghhhhh!
We were encouraged to wear name tags with our addresses, which lead to conversations like,
"So, which house is 2140 Oak Grove Road?"
"It's right near the top of the hill past the big power line."
"Oh, you mean the Griffith place?"
"Well, the original Griffith place was on Orchard Heights. The one on Oak Grove was built . . ."
You get the drift.
As the day wound down I remembered the first potluck I went to in that hall, about 35 years ago. All the men gathered in the hall or outside, and all the women were in the kitchen. But now we all break down the tables and chairs, then we end up together in the kitchen until the last teaspoon lands in the drawer. Then the hall is empty again and we chase the last few yellowjackets out as we lock the back door.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Fuzzy slippers
Ahhhhhh . . . I slip on my snuggly wool slippers and give a tired but happy sigh to be home again after ANOTHER trip. My God, do those people ever stay home?
After a looong weekend in Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia, I think we should all take a hint from the disarming friendliness of our Appalachian peers. What passes for normal grumbly chit-chat just seems churlish in their midst, and after a Mason jar or two of hard lemonade, it's hard to think of much to grouse about. Note to self: save the snarky comments for your first novel.
While we were having perfect warm days and cool crickety nights, it was (at last!) raining at home. In fact, it snowed on Mt. Hood - we saw a news report of a bunch of people at Timberline Lodge in shorts and flip-flops tip-toeing across the parking lot. They looked pretty silly.
When we came home tonight, the kittens came prancing up with their pointy little tails at attention, looking unbearably sweet - for about 30 seconds. They're enormous; I think they learned to read while we were gone and it looks like a couple of them may have started smoking.
After a looong weekend in Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia, I think we should all take a hint from the disarming friendliness of our Appalachian peers. What passes for normal grumbly chit-chat just seems churlish in their midst, and after a Mason jar or two of hard lemonade, it's hard to think of much to grouse about. Note to self: save the snarky comments for your first novel.
While we were having perfect warm days and cool crickety nights, it was (at last!) raining at home. In fact, it snowed on Mt. Hood - we saw a news report of a bunch of people at Timberline Lodge in shorts and flip-flops tip-toeing across the parking lot. They looked pretty silly.
When we came home tonight, the kittens came prancing up with their pointy little tails at attention, looking unbearably sweet - for about 30 seconds. They're enormous; I think they learned to read while we were gone and it looks like a couple of them may have started smoking.
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