The Past Week

Since we returned home, my musical choices have all been music about Alabama, starting with the obvious.

Monday: This was a travel day. We flew home from Zurich mid morning, had a lengthly layover in Philly, then a delayed flight into Nashville. Son3 picked us up at the airport.  It was not inconvenient for him since he was already there dropping off DIL3 who was on her way to Sweden to celebrate Mid Summer with her family. Luckily for us we saw her for a couple of minutes in the airport! It was a wonderful surprise. 

After a late dinner with Son3, we headed to south of Nashville to find somewhere to spend the night. It was after 11 pm then and would have been dangerous for us to continue driving to Birmingham.  By that time we had been awake for 27 hours straight and needed to refresh a bit before continuing our journey.

What I learned: No matter how tired I am, sleep on a plane is not going to happen for me.

Listened to: Nothing. I was on a plane all day

Dinner: After Son3 picked us up, we had dinner with him at Cafe Roze in Nashville.

Charred cabbage, hamburger, fries

Tuesday: We woke early, had a quick breakfast at Cracker Barrel then began the drive back to the house. We did have one quick stop at The Dutch Oven Bakery, which was just a few miles out of the way in Faulkville Alabama. We had a little stocking up to do. They have delicious no added sugar chocolate coated nuts. I bought several (7 containers). We can't get them here and we are trying very hard to limit sugar, but, we do like a little chocolate treat sometimes.

We made it to the house, unloaded the car, then TheHub went to bed. He had not felt well for a couple of days, but by the time we got to the house he was feeling very bad. Other than getting up to have a bowl of soup, he was asleep and feeling rotten for the rest of the day.

I began the laundry, talked with my sister, then just caught up on a few things that needed tending to before I went to bed. I stayed awake until about 11, just to try and get my sleep rhythms in synch with the time of day. We were in Europe long enough to adapt to their time, and coming home and readjusting is harder for me than going the other way.

What I learned: Packing for an extended trip should require fewer clothes, and only separates with each piece coordinating with every other piece.  Black might not be the happiest color but it sure makes interchanging easier.

Also each piece should be machine washable and dry-able to take advantage of laundry services.

Listened to:  Alabama Pines

Dinner: TheHub was sound asleep and feeling rotten, so I ate a piece of pound cake we picked up from the bakery.

Wednesday: TheHub still felt rotten and headed to see his doc the first thing in the morning. While he was gone I did a little more laundry, made a grocery list after looking at the week's new ads, and got ready to go to the store.

TheHub went with me so he could get his prescriptions while I shopped. Though I have a ton of frozen foods and pantry storage, there was nothing fresh to eat, and we have some sort of salad nearly every meal.  Additionally I needed to restock essentials like milk, bread, and eggs.

We came home, had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and I did more laundry while TheHub got some needed rest .

The remainder of the day was spent taking care of some business that needed tending to, talking about the trip with two of our sons, and phone calls to my cousin and my sister.

What I learned: Learned my cousins newborn grandchild was born with some medical issues. Things are better now but they are still waiting for a diagnosis. 

Listened to: Stars Fell on Alabama

Dinner: TheHub slept through the night and I was not about to cook just for me.

Coleslaw (purchased at Publix), toast

Thursday: Fortunately our estate attorney's receptionist called Wednesday to remind us of an appointment we had made for Thursday morning. We both woke early (TheHub felt much better after all the sleep and 2 rounds of medicine) got dressed and headed to his office. We are in the process of updating our will to make things easier for our sons later on. It is not really fun to have to think in terms of one's exit from this plane, but it is a necessary thing to do, and we want to make it as simple for them as possible.

That being said, neither of us are planning on checking out any time soon!

We headed home to more laundry, list making for what to pack and what to leave at home for our next trip, and planning what we want to do in July. The month filled quickly with possibilities, while the remainder of June is booked solid! How does that happen?

What I learned: TheHub likes to plan and include all the details. I like to leave room for the unexpected to happen. I have always known we plan differently, but until he really retired I did not have to plan as much with him. This is new territory for both of us.

Listened to: All in Alabama

Dinner: Rotisserie chicken, potato salad, coleslaw (All grocery store deli items)

Friday: My childhood best friend's mother passed away and her funeral was Friday. My sister and I spent most of our childhood playing with all her
kids, and spent countless hours at their house. It was only right to go to the funeral. 

It was good to see all of the remaining family, even under those circumstances.

And even better was seeing 3 other folks we grew up with. We met after the service and went out to eat lunch. It was wonderful seeing them and doing some serious catching up. We agreed we need to stay in touch more often, not just after funerals.

I got home and TheHub was still not feeling well so he went in the bedroom to take a nap.

What I learned: Long time friends are so easy to talk with! It was like we had not been apart for years.

Listened to: Alabama Rain

Dinner: TheHub was asleep until after 8. (He is having a hard time shaking this illness) and did not feel like eating much. Progresso to the rescue.

Bean and pasta soup

Saturday: TheHub and I ran to ThePig to cherry pick the store's weekly ads. It was My Beloved Sister's birthday and I also needed some ground chuck since I had invited her to come eat burgers for dinner but had nothing to make them with.

After that short trip I settled in to do some serious reading. I did not get much reading done while we were traveling*, and I had a lot of catching up to do once we were home. Several books I had on my Libby app were due soon and I needed to get them finished.

What I learned: I really miss reading when I don't get to do it regularly.

Listened to: My Home's in Alabama

Dinner: Happy Birthday meal with MBS

Burgers, chips, ice cream sandwiches (in lieu of cake)

Sunday: We were both glad to get back into our normal Sunday church routine, and went to the early communion service, followed by the 8:30 church service then Sunday School. I think our class was glad to see us because we brought some chocolates from Zurich to share with them.

We headed home for a quick bite for lunch then changed clothes and headed downtown to see Mrs. Doubtfire. This wraps up this year's Broadway series, so we have nothing else with them until it begins again in September. The play was fun to watch and I really did like the onstage costume changes.

Listened to: Where I'm From

Dinner: After the play we met Son2, DIL2, Cousin J and wife D (though I consider her a cousin also) for an early dinner at The Pita Stop.

Grouper, rice pilaf, tossed salad

And for a bit of obnoxiousness

    Read this week: Hazel Says No

                              Calculated

                              The Secret of Secrets

May all your weeds be wildflowers.

Anne

 p.s. Just as a lark, this week I am going to try and listen to songs which have Birmingham either in the title or the lyrics. It might include some songs that have particular areas in Birmingham also. Might work or might not, but I am up for the challenge___maybe

*Other than reading on the plane on the trip home. 10 hours of flight time + 3 hours layover = lots of reading.