Day 11 - Mediterranean Cruise - Barcelona & home

Day 11 - Mediterranean Cruise - Barcelona & home

The ship docked in Barcelona super early on that Sunday morning!
 

A little more light out before we could actually disembark.  We could see where the airport was by following all the planes coming in for a landing. Yeah, I'm not walking to the airport!

We carried our luggage off so we could get off the ship quicker.  We found a taxi right away because our flight was early in the day.  I want to say around 11?

Last chance to see the Columbus statue as we drove around the round about.

The charge for the trip from ship to airport was a flat rate of 45 euro.  Only a couple miles, but totally worth it! AND the driver was nice!

Last glance of our ship! sigh.

Whoops!  No it's not!  That's the Balearia ferry! Darn, I missed the last pic of the ship!

Oh well.  We had been impressed by the ferry during this trip too.  We didn't RIDE on it, but admired and googled it from afar, not knowing what it was at first.

After waiting at the airport and getting a few snacks and some food for the flight, we waited on the tarmac for 30 minutes standing in the crowded bus while the bus driver flirted with the flight attendants. :\

Not sure what they were waiting for but we wanted ON!

Finally got on and into my lunch! mmmm

We were all pretty tired and it took a bit longer for us to actually take off.

We explored the screen info in front of us.  Yep - that's where we are!  Let's get going!

And THIS is where I lost all confidence in the air temp and altitude of the plane based on the flight info screen.  Not only was it NOT 104 degrees outside right then, we were NOT 18 feet underground.

The destination and arrival times looked ok though even though the estimated time of arrival kept changing.

And finally we were OFF!

Last chance to see Spain!

Mountains in France.

About this time I had gotten into the movie about the first episode of Saturday Night Live and was completely enthralled.  Wow did it bring back some good memories!

Because of the movie, I totally missed looking for Ireland this time! Oh well.

And then we landed in Iceland.

Since the flight out of Barcelona was delayed, we didn't have much time to race through the Iceland airport, grab another bite to eat and a fridge magnet to prove I was there.  These things are important!

We got on the next flight JUST in time!

And off we went!

I don't remember what I watched but I think the SNL movie made me nostalgic for the 70s and 80s, so I think it was an oldie.  I wish I could remember!

And then we were landed in Chicago!!

So Sunday night, Ruth Ann got on her bus home and I stayed over at Teresa and Ken's house again.

I spent Monday morning, checking over work adventures that I'd missed out on and then on repacking my suitcase and carry on for the Amtrak ride home.  I had left about 10-20 pounds of clothing at Teresa's from before the cruise so I had to work that in.

Thankfully Amtrak doesn't care ALL that much about weight as long as you make it look effortless!

sigh.  I'll try.

On the trip, Ruth Ann had shared a big bag of sugar free Werthers but it came with a stern warning. 

Don't eat more than five in a single day.

and don't feed them to me after midnight.

Teresa and I enjoyed lunch out and afterwards stopped for treats for the ride home.

I bought some sugar free Werthers.

I lost track of how many I'd eaten and paid for it a second time later. :\

On the way home, I noticed that my suitcase was clunk clunking a lot more than it did at the beginning of the trip.  I'm guessing it got tossed a little too much somewhere along the line and the wheel coverings are toast.  It still rolls but reluctantly.  This is the last trip for this suitcase.

Teresa took me to the train station and THERE is my train coming up the track behind me!

My seat on the Amtrak had been taken by some slumbering Amish people but when I showed them my ticket, they moved to their own seats.  I spent a lot of the trip attempting to translate that book I'd bought in Rome, gave up after a bit and got to writing up my memories of this trip before I forgot anything.  I only got about half way through the trip and by this time, almost 2 months later now, I know I've forgotten a lot of the funny and memorable things that happened.  

The pictures help jog some of the memories.

Kudos to Teresa and Ken for planning and implementing this grand adventure!

And Kudos to Ruth Ann for putting up with me!

And Kudos to my boss and co-workers for trying hard not to bother me on the trip.

AND Kudos to my family for taking on my responsibilities so great while I was gone.

Meri and Josh picked me up at the train station and I talked their ears off the whole way home.

As I walked in the door at the house, Leon walked past and said, "Oh, you were gone?!" LOL

The next morning, I was in the kitchen and I heard Aggie come up into the living room to play.  I started walking in and stopped.  She had heard my voice and started walking from the living room and stopped.

We stared at each other and walked slowly towards each other and I held out my arms. She let me pick her up and she snuggled her little face right into my neck hugging me, not saying a word.

Oh my goodness, it was like a slow motion scene from a movie! SO SWEET!

I found out from Maddy later that while I was gone, Aggie had been asking people "Where's Grandma?" and they all showed her on the Live360 app or the globe.  But when Maddy and Matthew came for lunch, she climbed up on Maddy's lap and whispered, "Where did Grandma go?!" Like everyone was lying to her but Maddy would tell her the truth!  :) What a sweetheart!  I'm so glad she missed me!

I gave the kids a full presentation of ALL my pictures, videos and stories a week or so later and made a video with only half the pictures.  You can watch it HERE.

or here.

Oh, you know how they would say "get your land legs"?  For about a week, every time, I went to bed and closed my eyes, it felt like the bed was either rocking back and forth or spinning.  I couldn't tell if I was sick or just missing the ship.  Teresa called it Dock Rock.  Ruth Ann suffered from it too for a while. UGG.  I missed the ship!

I had so much fun and am looking forward to a similar trip in about a year and half.

Teresa is already planning it! :)

Eminent Postponement

Meri came home from school yesterday and I overheard her on the phone talking with a friend.

"Yeah, you guys come to my house at half time and the guys can come here too to get ready when the game gets over. "

...

Excuse me?  What is being planned here?

So there are five girls coming by tonight to get prettied up for the homecoming dance and some guys will be here too for pictures.  Potentially their parents too.

...

I'm not a slob.  I'm just putting that out there right now.  But I personally, closely, know some people who are.  The house is usually ready for one or two understanding friends.  But ten kids in all their finery AND their parents??

Homecoming from 2010 with Maddy.

Dress designed by one of her friends and I made it.

and yes, Sluggy.  I still have that dress stored in my home...

not the garage.

Meri purchased a dress for tonight.

Not that she had to...

But she wants to save me for THE prom dress.

I think.

Well, a few doors will be shut and I need to dust.  and pick up toys.  and get the dogs into the garage.  and look around the house with a critical eye.

Yeah... 

Sorry kids...

Homecoming will need to be postponed.

That's how we roll

On Thursday night,  Robb rented a UHaul and Matthew, Maddy, Robb and I got it and two other cars loaded to the rafters with their furniture, gifts and other belongings.  Enjoyed some Portillos Italian beef sandwiches for supper that Robb's brother had brought us from Chicago.YUMMMM...  I think I know what I'm having for lunch today...

Then I headed for the airport.  Meri's plane was an hour late, but we were glad she even MADE that flight in Chicago.  Her previous flight from Florida was delayed also so it was touch and go to see if they'd get on the connecting one.  So at 10:20 something, Meri's plane finally landed and all the parents waited patiently until the kids started coming down the escalator.  

Whew!  THERE she was!!!!

She has some great stories to tell about her trip, but the one that cracks us up the most, I can't talk about.  Let's just say "BEAUTIFUL!!!!" in an Italian accent, shall we?

Bright and early the next morning, we headed off to move Maddy and Matthew to Wisconsin.   Meri couldn't come along so we left her in charge of the dogs.  Several members of their new church arrived and helped move all their things up the stairs to their new apartment.  

Maddy planted me in the kitchen and said, UNPACK!  So that was my job.  This is their kitchen after we'd attempted to sift 100+ wedding gifts into it.  They've arranged and rearranged the furniture and will probably continue to do so until they hit on the right arrangement.  

They made lists of things to pick up on their next jaunt out.  

What a great apartment and what a great couple!

 AND they're within a mile of this...  SUCH a beautiful place.  They're going to love it here and we're going to consider every trip there our vacation.  We found all the stores they'll need and do you know there is a pub on every corner in Wisconsin?  It's TRUE!  And I thought they were famous for just cheese...

 The next morning we showed up at 6am, as Maddy had instructed us and woke them up. Made a quick breakfast and we all hit the road again.  Matthew off to a wedding in Minnesota for one of his best friends growing up and Robb, Maddy and I off to a wedding of a niece near Minneapolis.  The ceremony times were different and it just made sense to drive separately.  We did stop to get photos of the lake. AND an old school selfie before leaving town.

The next morning, we took Maddy to Matthew's parents town for church and a quick lunch before they headed off with more loads of Matthew's things to Wisconsin and us to home.  It was so good to get home and nap...  It's rare we do that.

But that was Robb's Father's Day celebration.  

Happy Father's Day (a day late) to the man who is the best part of our family and home.  I love you.

I wonder what crazy things we'll dream up to do THIS week...

HEY!!! How was YOUR weekend?

On Saturday, Robb, Meri and I left before the crack of dawn and headed to my hometown.  Sat in my old living room that now belongs to one of my sisters and visited with her family.  She had to work...  Her son, Brae, just had his tonsils out on Friday and only felt like playing video games.  He wasn't feeling the best.  Poor kid.

Meri and his sister played with the 17 kittens that had just been born.  It's a medium sized acreage and a lot of outdoor cats.  Three had kittens at the same time...  

If you love cats, go hit them up for a free one or ten.

Before we left, I picked out some wood from their wood pile for crafty things that Maddy and I want to do for the wedding.  They're gracing my porch now, drying out a bit more.  

We hope to figure out our chainsaw soon...

THEN we headed to my niece's house.

This little beauty is Norah.  She tried the flower girl dress on and it fits great!  The length won't hit the floor, but that's ok.  She still looks and feels like a princess in it.  AND I know where to hem it now.  

It won't really matter!

And it's NOT tight on her, but cripes!  I couldn't zip it up past the waist at all with her in it!  I'll work on that...  It zipped up great once we took it off of her.

Meri got a baby fix and so did I.  Baby Zeke is adorable!

As is his older sister Anika.  The oldest boy ducked out as much as he could.  ALL their kids have got such fun spontaneous attitudes!  Just like their parents.

After that, we headed to the nursing home about 3 blocks away and picked up my mom.  

This is NOT the nursing home...  But the best place for pizza in my hometown!  YUM!!!!

They used to have a comedy club in their big room!  As well as various acts.  They might still.

Met up with my Dad and another sister, brother, BIL, niece, you name it at Culvers.  It was a LOOONG table to fit us all in!  They were probably glad when we finally left.  

We're a laughing raucous bunch.

That's Zeke again and me behind him, finishing up Meri's concrete shake.  She couldn't polish it off.

And I was, yet again, forced to finish my kid's leftovers. 

Okey! :)

From there we went back to my Dad's place and two of my sisters and myself sorted pictures for a couple hours while Robb visited with my Dad and Meri ran off to the mall with a cousin.  Then two of us had to skedaddle out of there and head for our homes.

Picking up a pizza first tho... because our college-town pizza is the best...  

Besides the one that I grew up with... 

I'll show you some of the photos we sorted tomorrow.  They were so cool!  I may spend my July scanning in as many as possible.

Sluggy would LOVE them!

Got home before the dogs got too ansy and lounged for the evening.  I think the only sewing I did all weekend was cutting lace for Meri's prom dress while riding in the car and a LITTLE bit of handsewing on Norah's dress.  Will get more done by next weekend.

Sigh.  I love my families!

Feeling Odd

I've been feeling house-wifey and nurturing lately...  Weird... huh?

So before I knuckled under to my sewing last night, I made dinner.  Normally, Monday night might be a "fend for yourself" type thing, since Leon won't eat what we eat, my MIL will eat her own thing, Robb will be a bit later than usual, Ryan will eat later because he probably just made himself a taco at 4pm, and I'll just eat quick and get to my sewing...  but I saw a recipe on FB that spoke to me and I followed it's call.

Creamy chicken, vegetable and tortillini soup! YUMMO...  I had some heavy whipping cream to use up!  And to make it jazzier and make Robb interested in it since he's not a tortillini fan, I found a soda bread recipe too.  It's quick and easy and I think the oven was a little too hot.  While this looks a little overdone, it's actually a little doughy way down deep.  BUT tasted good with the soup so all was good...

Leon is playing behind me right now and I'm enjoying the different voices that he's giving to all his little toys.  Just a few minutes ago, he asked me what a sugar booger was...

We haven't taken our tree down yet.  Thank GOODNESS it's artificial, or this could really be a fire hazard.  The non-breakable ornaments have been taken off and Leon suddenly found the Lego Batman that he threw into it when it was going up!  Woohoo!  He wins the prize!!!  

Well, really no prize, just the satisfaction of finding it.

What he also found were presents that a sister-in-law gave to our dogs and they hadn't been unwrapped yet!!!  So he and Robb unwrapped them last night.

This is what they are.  Cute huh?

This is what two of them are now...  There are pieces of the toy bits all over the laundry room...  It's been too wet lately for them to come in the house.  So good thing it's only back there.  It would be gross to step on a soggy bit of rope.

Anyway, that's my Tuesday so far.  Tune in tomorrow when ... TBA. ;)

She's BAAAACCKK!!!

Meri's train came in about 40 minutes later than scheduled on Sunday morning!  SHE'S HOME!!

Robb picked her up and texted me this on my way to church.

On an all night train ride, Meri only got a few hours of sleep thinking that she was going to sleep through her stop.  She asked us to call her at certain times for a wake up and of course I missed my time slot...  BUT luckily the announcer on the train is very loud and woke her up anyway.

She slept a good chunk of the day but then Leon and I couldn't take it anymore, so we woke her up to go to the pool with us.

Then Leon left and Meri and I hit the county fair.  I had been planning on a nice "welcome back" meal that evening but Meri opted to just order some pizzas on our way back from the fair.  

Okey dokey.

Due to a mishap, we got an extra pizza even and have been working on that all week.

And I had checked out the old 1977 movie, "The Goodbye Girl" from the library for us to watch but we only made it through about half, finishing it last night.

I LOVE that movie...

But she's HOME!!!!  And getting ready for her next summer camp, but that's only for three days and not for a week or so.  WHEW!