barn coat in purple. Debbie talked me down from an extra-large to a large and considered talking me down to a medium, and I did actually try on the medium, but if I wore a sweater under it, it would have been too tight, so I stuck with the large.
We didn’t stay in LL Bean’s all that long, because there were a LOT of people there, so after paying for our stuff, we headed to my parents’ house. I was STARVING because all I’d eaten all day was a small bag of sun chips in the Detroit airport. I hadn’t eaten anything on the plane because if you want a snack on Northwest, you have to PAY for it, and I was goddamned if I was going to pay $2 for a little container of Pringles or nuts, because that is some bullshit.
Also bullshit: on Delta and US Air, you’re allowed one carryon and your purse. On Northwest, your purse counts as a carryon. I had to empty everything from my purse into my laptop bag and cram the laptop bag under the seat in front of me and couldn’t move my legs very much and my ass began hurting ten seconds into my sitting down time, and UGH.
We had some fabulous turkey casserole (turkey and gravy, topped with stuffing and baked) for dinner, then sat around and talked for a while before Debbie and Brian left to go home. Apparently the Patriots and the Giants had some big game going on, but I don’t follow basketball, so I didn’t know anything about it.
(Just kidding! I know perfectly well that the Patriots play baseball!)
I sat around and talked to my parents for a little while, then called Liz. She was in the mood for Coldstone Creamery (she’s an addict!), so she picked me up and we went to Brunswick and got ice cream. We stopped at Debbie’s and hung out there for a while. Liz and Brian watched the game (Patriots won, but I don’t understand Soccer at all, so I have no details for you) and then Liz took me home.
I was asleep by midnight and slept like a log through the night with no cats crawling over me, springboarding off my head, growling and hissing at each, or running like a herd of elephants through the house.
I was wakened a little before 7 by the company who delivers delayed luggage, calling to let me know that they’d be delivering my suitcase at some point during the day. I got up and showered and put the same clothes back on, but before we left for breakfast at The Kopper Kettle, my mother dug out a long-sleeved t-shirt for me to borrow for the day.
My father picked up Debbie on the way to breakfast, and after breakfast he went off to run errands, and Debbie and my mother and I went to Brunswick. We tried to go shopping at Coldwater Creek, but the store wasn’t open yet, so we went over to the bookstore and browsed for a little while before heading to my brother’s house.
My brother recently moved from the house he was renting in Harpswell to a house quite a bit closer to Brunswick, and though I’d seen pictures of it, I wanted to see it in person. What an absolutely gorgeous house! The pictures don’t do it justice at ALL. It looks a lot smaller on the outside than it really is inside, and there’s a huge basement downstairs, bamboo floors throughout on the main, and the upstairs is the master suite (the master bathroom made me drool) and a study. There are lots of windows, so lots of light, and best of all, water views from three sides of the house.
I love our house, but MAN I’d love to have a huge basement like that, and a master bathroom even half as cool as his.
We realized that time was running short, so we left, taking my niece Mireya with us for the early showing of The Water Horse. That was a cute movie and is seriously making me want to visit Scotland, and soon.
After the movie, we dropped Mireya back off at home, then went to Coldwater Creek. It was packed, and they had some really nice stuff. I tried on a suede jacket (in tan) and liked it a lot (and my mother offered to buy it for me for my birthday), but as much as I liked it, I thought it would be a waste, because I didn’t think I’d ever wear it.
After looking around, we headed back to Debbie’s house. My mother dropped us off and went on her way, and a little while later, Liz showed up. Neither Debbie nor I was particularly hungry, but Liz hadn’t eaten all day, so we headed out and after stopping at Fashion Bug and Bath and Body Works, we went to Applebee’s. I apparently haven’t been to Applebee’s in quite some time, because the menu was completely new to me.
It’s Liz’s birthday today and she announced that to the waitress, but asked her not to sing to her. We had a good meal, though I ate too much (and sent my leftovers home with Debbie for Brian) and felt overfull. That went away after a trip around Target, then to the grocery store, and then the pet store.
And now, I’m home. And ready to wrap up this long boring-ass entry so I can post it and toddle off to bed to read for a while before I call Fred at 10 for our nightly chat.
We’re supposed to have a snowstorn overnight tonight (and into the day tomorrow, I guess) and another one tomorrow night or Tuesday night. This cold-ass winter storming shit is for the birds, I’m telling you. My sister actually said the words “Only supposed to get about seven inches, so that won’t keep us in” at one point, and I said “If we got that much snow in Alabama, the entire state would shut down for two weeks!”
Anyway. How ’bout some pictures?
The squirrels in my parents’ back yard are the fattest squirrels I’ve ever seen. I guess they need the padding to survive in the cold, but damn. They’re bigger than Punki and Felicia! (flickr)
“Ah, zees lahf. Eet ees so painful to moi.” (flickr)
The back yard. (flickr)
Previously 2006: No entry. 2005: No entry. 2004: No entry. 2003: At what point do you cease wailing and moaning the absence of a part of your life that didn’t go the way you wanted, and just move the fuck on? 2002: “No,” I said. “She feels nauseous, and then she either belches or farts, and feels better.” 2001: No entry. 2000: No entry. 1999: I’m turning 32 on January 9th.]]>