Shifting Gears

Big shift occurred last weekend – had to fly home from vacation on Saturday but fortunately my plane change in Denver didn’t yield a lengthy layover.  The bad weather in Iowa and Illinois had lots of flights cancelled or delayed – in fact the line at the United Service Desk was easily 250+ people long.  My plane touched down about 2 minutes early and Tammy and Steve were there to meet me and provide airport limo service to home where I was greeted by Mulligan.  His patience with us had expired on Friday when he decided to dig his way under our fence resulting in him getting to do a sleepover with our neighbors and their 2 Weimeraners (?) so he greeted me with mixed feelings.  Not only did he have to leave his canine buddies but his best human buddy is still in Phoenix!

I got completely unpacked on Saturday night, did a couple of loads of laundry and caught up on email since I was still on MST.  Spent Sunday after church trying to foil Mulligan’s escape attempts (so far, so good), then dropped by a surprise birthday party for a friend at Avanzare before heading to Tammy and Steve’s to watch the Oscars (snore!).  Tammy kept the show lively with her acerbic comments on hair and fashion faux pas while sharing notes on designer gowns.  She even patiently answered my feeble questions of “who’s that?” which I asked incessantly – that’s what happens when you don’t read “People” mag, watch TV or see many of the flicks that were nominated.  Eventually I gave into my yawning and headed for home so I could shift myself into work mode on Monday morning. 

After being an independent woman for many years I’m finding that the only benefit to hubby being gone this week is that I don’t have to cook – I can do frozen dinners and salads or plan social events with friends.  Tonight I’m meeting a friend at Touch for a drink and munchies – Friday night I’ll visit with friend Bev who is newly single.  So I do get to catch up on chick time which is important – but the flip side is I have to actually go outside to get the paper in the morning, pick up the mail,  and run my own errands.  I much prefer being pampered – guess the massage I got yesterday after work will have to suffice.  Worst part are the phone calls I get from hubby telling me how warm and sunny it is in Phoenix and how much fun he’s having playing golf – I could certainly stand the warmth and sun but I’d be on my bike and NOT the golf course!

Forgot to mention that I read a wonderful book last week while in the Grand Canyon – “Marley and Me” by John Grogan.  It’s a must-read for anyone who has ever loved or been loved by a dog.  I bought it a few months ago and saved it for vacation so I could savor each page and I wasn’t disappointed.