last night

I finally, finally, finally got home from Phoenix. A place I was eager to go for a few days - until it snowed Sunday here in Virginia, and United Airlines canceled my flight and told me that I could not leave until Wednesday. They decided they could make it Tuesday, after I gave the quavery-lipped plea. But that had to be to Reagan National, instead of the much closer Dulles, which my original itinerary had me flying to.
(yeah, I know. Poor me! Enduring warmer weather, taking naps, reading books and hanging with my friend Dottie for a couple of more days. But I was letting down my boss, my family, and getting in the way by being there longer, and that kind of sucked.)
So last night, United -- or its partner/stepchild?, AmericaWest, got me home. From then on:

10:25 -- disembark from plane.
10:45 -- receive baggage.
11:24 -- arrive home in taxi. $60, plus tip.
11:30-1:30 -- deprogram with spouse. Hear what I missed; tell him what he missed. Get ready for bed. Try to ignore messy state of house (in all honesty, it hasn't been clean since we moved in. Many boxes sitting around, etc. But this is all the more apparent after I've been away.)
2-ish -- drop off to sleep.
2:30-ish -- sleepily receive small child climbing into marital bed.
3:30 -- decide that, even in my very sleepy state, I cannot sleep with the door open (too light) or the current amount of space I'm allowed (not enough to put arms down at sides). Adjust daughter and door accordingly.
4 a.m. -- Squirrels.
6:10 -- alarm goes off. Oh yay. Brand new day. And I WANTED to be here?!

(Answer: Still a resounding 'yes'.)


A few photos from our hike in Sonoma follow. These were taken by Dottie's hubby, Dr. G. I have yet to check mine out, as my battery died -- again! -- and I haven't located the other one. Besides, Dr. G's are so awesome, they're as good or better than mine will be.

Doesn't it look fake? Like the Thunder Mountain ride at Disneyland? "Hold on to your hats and glasses, folks. This here's the WILDEST ride in the wilderness."