Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Travels and Travails

I'm back from Washington state!  It was a rushed trip with very little down time but that was good because I wanted to get back home.  Let's start with last Wednesday.  I got my 40 pounds of chicken breasts.  The 40 pounds of chicken thighs which I got last month, arrived flash frozen.  I expected them to be not frozen.  So, I thought the breasts might be flash frozen too.  My plan was to toss them in the freezer at my mobile home and get back to work.  They were not frozen so luckily, I had a box of freezer bags there and I stuffed the chicken in all of the bags.  That was done and I rushed back to work. 

On Thursday, my mother came to my house to spend the night before our trip.  Friday morning, my mother, nephew and I loaded up her car and we drove to the Phoenix airport because Southwest Airlines does not fly between Tucson and Phoenix on the days we wanted.  After not being able to find the economy parking lot 3 times, we ended up in $25/day parking but my mother graciously paid. 

This is how we found our car when we returned. Took a picture of the parking map. It worked well.

 We made it to the gate and my nephew and I went on a hunt for lunch food.  Once on the plane, I pulled out the Kindle Fire that I bought for my mother with this trip in mind.  There is a whole story behind that which I should tell you.  Here's the short version:
Mom's computer dies.
I look for computer alternatives and find a Chrome Bit for $85. (It's a Google computer that runs apps)
I try to buy all of the components on Amazon needed to turn a Chrome Bit in to a complete computer.
I need something to add to my order to get free shipping.
I see a Kindle Fire on sale for $40.
I think this might be good for the trip and as an interim way for my mother to get her email.
I start to think that Amazon Prime might be a good idea.
I sign up for Amazon Prime and cancel my mother's Netflix since she can use mine (I have the 2 screen plan).

Ok, so, I downloaded some movies on to the Kindle.  Unfortunately, I didn't think to buy noise cancelling headphones so my mother could not hear the movie on the plane.  I worked great for me though.  She was able to take it home and get it connected to her wifi so she has email access until I bring her Chrome Bit down tomorrow.

My sister was waiting to pick us up from the airport and drive us another hour and 45 minutes to the rehearsal dinner where we met the groom's family.  The next day was the wedding.  Simple and sweet, the bride bought her dress for $11 at the thrift store.  Sounds like something I would do.  There was a brunch reception and then off to pick up a headstone for my father's grave.  Yes, we mixed a wedding and burial in the same weekend.  That night was a barbeque at my other sister's house.  The next day was the burial and then ice cream and good-bye's to everyone. 

My nephew stayed another night with my sister while my mother and I went home.  It was 112 degrees at 7pm in Phoenix when we landed.  We got home around 9:30pm and I was so happy to be home.  My nephew is now safely at his grandfather's house in Minnesota and I have 3 weeks of not having to think about another person's wants and needs.  Maybe I can get some cleaning and organizing done around the house, that is, if I don't squander my free time watching all the free TV shows and movies that I now have access to on Amazon Prime!

6 comments:

philo said...

Reading this, I need to take a nap.

Dave said...

I don't know how you would dress in the incredibly high temps of 117F (I heard it on the news here, it's a big story everywhere), but without your nephew around you don't worry about having to be modest and covering up as much. Don't worry, we won't ask for pictures hehehehehehe!

We hit 80 here in NY this week but it still drops to 65 at night. Nice!

Lizzie@her MFW Homeworld said...

I am worn out form your activities. I need a rest not a map!

Daizy said...

Ha ha, me too! I am so glad life slowed down the following week.

Daizy said...

Well, I still have to be considerate of the neighbors but bras are definitely optional for the next 3 weeks. Last week our low was in the 80s so even when I got up at 2am to let the dogs out it was quite warm out.

Daizy said...

3 weeks of rest now. If only I didn't have to go to a job all day. I'm addicted to my paycheck though.