It's been "interesting" around here since Monday morning. Here are the highlights:
- Despite 2 set alarms and a requested wake up call from the hotel, I was not awakened early Monday morning in Strasbourg and so missed my flight home.
- My cell phone alarm didn't work because the phone had no cell signal and a special "feature" turns it off to save battery when there is no signal available. I turned it on, tested the alarm to be sure it was working, went to sleep confident it was working, and then it quietly turned itself off.
- I don't know why the alarm on the computer didn't go off and I also don't know why the hotel staff failed to wake me.
- Anyway, it was a mess and I had to wait hours in the Strasbourg airport while a very patient and polite Air France attendant attempted to reroute me home through Paris to Newark and then Cincinnati. It was a very long day.
- When I got home late Monday night, after 20 hours on the road, I learned that Jeff has come down with shingles -- a very painful nerve disease caused by the same virus that causes chicken pox. Fortunately, Larry diagnosed it immediately and put him on a medicine that should make it milder and of shorter duration. But it's not helping his mood any. As an aside -- I'm not positive I've ever had chicken pox. Mom was never sure one summer whether I had it or whether I was just covered with bug bites. So, a whopping case of adult chicken pox may be on the horizon for me.
- The selection of bushes, roses, and perennials that I ordered arrived while I was gone and Kate and Jeff stuck them in the garage, still in the plastic, in the sweltering heat. I hope some of them survive.
- Wednesday morning, the power went off for a while and when it came back on the shock was apparently too much for our piece-of-crap big screen TV. Jeff researched it online and there is a flaw in the design that sometimes causes two relays to try to turn the set on simultaneously -- and so they fight it out. No one wins. Every fix suggested online failed (this also helped Jeff's mood ... ) so it was time to buy a new TV. I was glad in a way because I've always hated that big 52" behemoth.
- It dominates the family room.
- Every year or two, its light bulb burns out and the replacement costs about $250. A repairman has to do it because the housing is defectively designed.
- Did I mention it's HUGE?
- The stereo speakers are broken -- one just comes on intermittently and buzzes.
- I will gladly kick that baby to the curb.
- We went to Best Buy and bought a slightly more modestly sized 46" flat screen -- brought it home -- and were completely unable to get it to work. I worked on it until 2 am this morning. Nothing. It refused to detect any signal. When Toshiba tech support opened this morning, I worked with a tech for at least an hour and still nothing. He suggests we return it to the store. UGH! Jeff finally got it working a little this morning, but it's still not doing what it's supposed to do.
- No one in my immediate family is dead and I got back from Europe safely.
- My four tomato plants are growing and a couple even have blooms already.
- Kate tidied up the house so it wasn't a disaster when I returned home.
- I lost 2 pounds while I was in France, so I'm tantalizingly close to being below 200 lbs. Only 1.4 lbs stand between me and being in the 100s instead of the 200s. It may be silly, but it's a huge psychological difference to me.
- I've been able to handle all the "challenges" pretty well. I haven't fallen apart or sunk into a funk. I can cope.
1 comment:
Sorry about the mishaps but you do seem to be keeping a bit of a sense of humor. You're doing great with your weigh loss. You should be proud of yourself. What a great trip too.
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