Happy New Year!

So, back in Minnesota again after the long trek out East and back.... dang, I was so tired yesterday!

I must have been running on adrenaline and nerves for the entire 6-day trip. Came through the 3-hour layover in Milwaukee with flying colors, thanks to the HP on CDs. Discovered that yes, indeed, all of the food in the Milwaukee airport is in the central concourse and that we should have exited our concourse to forage for food on our extended layover on Tuesday. Not that there is a ton of gourment food and great shopping, mind you! It's not nearly as nice as the Minneapolis airport. But there is a Burger King, and a Pizza Hut, and a nice wide open rotunda with a big screen tv. I sat there in the sunshine watching ESPN for my layover, since I had to change concourses anyway (my flight home was on Northwest, rather than Midwest, which gave the ticket agents fits. I couldn't even print out my boarding passes in advance the night before, it kept telling me I had paper tickets, not e-tickets... grrrrr).

So I got up early again on Monday morning, made tea in the new pot from Jennifer (it's a bit odd, and doesn't pour particularly well when it's very full, but it does have a lid and so we have bid the old lid-less teapot farewell). And after I'd read the newspaper, I Hit the Wall. Hit it hard, and slid down like an exhausted damp spot. Felt sick to my stomach and absolutely unable to move. So I lay down on my bed listening to the last of the HP cds, Lydia covered me up with her fleece blanket, and I recovered my strength for a couple hours.

Managed to haul myself out of bed for lunch, and drove Lydia and Emily to the EP mall (they wanted a change of scenery, and wanted to see "House Bunny.") Dad and I then did the grocery shopping to get ready for the week.

We made a sort of mini Thanksgiving for dinner last night: grilled turkey breast, mashed potatoes, stuffing and green beans. We notice your empty chair most particularly at mealtime: there's no one in your spot to keep the "round the table" passing of dishes going! Now, the passing pattern is a triangle, rather than a circle, and it's a LONG reach from Lydia to Dad .

Hopefully you'll get an automatic email in your uvm.edu mailbox each and every time I update the blog. And I'll learn how to add photos, I promise! You can comment, if you like.

We're going to attempt to make pot stickers tonight, and try out the new gadget you so kindly gave me for my birthday! I'll let you know how they turn out...

Hugs and lots of love,
Mom