DRs Hainesies and Kimlets, you may rest easy and be of good cheer for I have arrived safely and soundly in the south of The Carolinas.
I must confess I did not travel at all well, as I spent most of yesterday afternoon and a goodly 9 hours last night trying to recuperate from the flight. I was tired, tired, tired. And I slept very well.
Today I am full of vim, have a little vigor, and have been well fed!!!
Many things are afoot, and possibly ahand, for the "observance" of holiday rituals for the next two weeks...all of them a departure from "the plan" I was told about only this past Sunday.
We are not going "there" for Christmas Eve, we're going "here", instead. Blame it all on something or other that happened during Thanksgiving when all the planning was done. Afterthoughts led to repercussions in who was willing to do what at what risks, etc., etc. Bottom line: Some family members are "embarrassed" at what transpired during Thanksgiving and don't wish to witness a repeat. Other family members are "afraid" of doing anything for "a group of us" because a certain family member may turn up and repeat his antics from Thanksgiving. So...it's going to be small gatherings, unplanned, unforced, unexpected...but we all "expect" they'll take place. We simply haven't gotten around to planning "when" the spontaneity will occur and at "whose" house in which "town". We may even host a spaghetti lunch on Christmas day for a small group.
It's a "tawdry" dilemma being dealt with in a Southern way. I'm relishing it all!
I've acquired some "flat rate" postage boxes to ship stuff home...cans of Brunswick stew, jars of "Carolina-style" barbecue sauce, Duke's mayonnaise, etc.
Tomorrow, my mom, aunt and cousin Debra and I were supposed to do our annual trip to Greenville SC. Instead, my mom, aunt and I are going to Spartanburg to do our annual "placing-of-flowers" on gravesites of family. Debra's hubby, Rob, has surgery tomorrow to replace a wire in his pacemaker. It's supposedly non-invasive as a procedure (no cutting open of the chest), but it's delicate.
We've decided to go to Greenville on Monday when Debra can join us.
Tomorrow, I'll take my mom to CostCo in Spartanburg where she'll get her own card (as my family member) and we will shop for a smallish HDTV for her. I have visions of a 21-incher, but she'll probably pick the smallest one available. She wanted to replace the TV in her bedroom, but has decided she'll replace that one with the one in her kitchen and we'll shop for a set that will fit in the kitchen, which is where she watches most of her daytime TV.
The weather is odd, to me. It's warmish, dankish, foggy-ish, and sticky-ish. We expect change on Sunday. Sigh. We're running the dehumidifier right now. My mom feels it's on the cool side, but I am more of a mind that it's "warm and sticky". And that's life, isn't it!
Ciao-ders for now-ders....
