Home again, home again

Well, I did all the things I said I wanted to do in the last blog post. I saw my friends, family, and my cats. Gerry jumped onto my back, Damien grabbed my lap, and Schmendrik hovered around close by so I could scratch his cheeks. Boothie is now the oldster kitty of the group and lays around a lot, though he still appreciates a good pet. The dogs are all gray around the muzzles, except Buster, who is white to begin with. But he's showing his age, too; Dad built a set of stairs so Buster has an easier time getting up to the bed.

My parents are chugging along just fine. Dad and I played guitar together a couple of times while I was there, but my fingers got sore quick. I haven't been able to practice as much as I would like, so my fingers remain newbie tender. Their gardens are flourishing and they even have a greenhouse now!

I did stuff my face with Chinese food and wish to God I could have stuffed my bag full of it so my husband and I can eat some together. The Chinese food here in Alaska is just not that good. Even the Panda Express down there is better than the best Chinese we've eaten here so far.

I got to take my friends out to lunch. We went to Red Robin and the conversation ranged from theatre (of course) to the death of Michael Jackson. I love these people and wish I could have spent so much more time with them while I was there.

I went to see the latest show that's opening at the Olde Coloma Theatre, "Six Flags Over Coloma." Anyone who lives in that area of Northern California should see it. They have a talented cast (and many different accents abound, which is hard to do!) and lots of beautiful costuming. The dress my best friend wears in the second act will knock your socks off! (Or at least burn out your retinas, but you'll still find yourself saying, "Thank you. Can I have some more?") And trust me, I'm not just saying that because she's my best friend! Watch out for those hoops!

I got to see Moonshadows, my favorite metaphysical book store in the world. Though it is no longer owned by the sweet lady I loved to chat with, it still has lots of great stuff. I left the store with a bottle of locally made lotion that has bug repelling and sunblock properties. I haven't smelled it yet, since I wanted to wait until I got home to open it, but I knew it would be the perfect lotion to have here in Alaska during the summer! (Though the summer is pretty much over now, sniff.)

My family went to Alder Creek the day after I arrived. There were lots of photos and video taken while we splashed around in the creek and then hiked up to the pool. A fellow hiker's dog joined us in the water and begged us to throw sticks for him, a nice old Golden retriever named Al. I missed my own Bruno quite a bit at that point. I actually wore a bikini, something I haven't done since I was a real little girl! It covered more than most bikinis do, though, since my chest is practically concave. (I can hear my mother gasping at me mentioning that on a public blog.)

I will have lots of pictures to post on Facebook and Myspace eventually. I arrived home after 2 am, and my husband had to get up at 6:30 for work, so I am functioning on little sleep right now. In fact, I think I will put off doing the dishes my husband piled up while I was gone and go back to bed for a while. Yawn.

It was a great trip.