Week 1 - Holiday Travel Drama

So, Monday was all planned. Cornelia was picking me up at 9:00 for breakfast at our regular place and then taking me to the airport. We had our usual great time - tears, laughter and catching up - over a yummy breakfast. I checked the flight from the restaurant and it was still showing as on time so Cornelia dropped me off and I checked in. It had been a wonderful holiday but I was ready to be home. The plane pushed back right on time and I was on my way. Or so I thought.

The plane stopped 50 feet from the gate. There was weather in Chicago that was supposed to be gone by the time we landed but now it was stalled. First they said they'd know more in 15 minutes, at which point I called Carolyn to warn her. Then they said it'd be an hour so they went back to the gate and told us we could leave the plane but to come back. I left just long enough to use the ladies' and so was back when we got the word that the flight was cancelled. By the time I got off the plane, there were huge lines at the gate desk so when they said we could rebook online or by phone, I called Southwest and headed to baggage claim, hanging up after 45 minutes on hold. Carolyn picked me up and we headed back home. At least I wasn't stuck in Chicago! It took 2 hours on hold before I got through and I got the last seat on a flight on Wednesday. Not only had I lost the entire day and gotten nowhere but I'd be at Carolyn's for 2 more days, which wasn't the plan for either of our breaks. Oh well.

Tuesday was Carolyn's cleaning lady day so she'd already made plans to go to the movies. She was seeing Joy and Aaron was seeing Star Wars. I was super excited to see Star Wars so was happy about that. We had a nice, leisurely morning then headed to the theatre at noon. I absolutely LOVED the movie. It was as good as the first one and I was sucked in minute one. It's been a long time since I was so happy at the movies. And when we got home, we decided to make another Job Lot run to the big one on Elmwood, where I scored more fun stuff. We got spinach pies for dinner at Don's Pizza (yum!) so it was an absolutely lovely day. Tomorrow would be round 2 at the airport.

Since we were in the theatre when I needed to be checking in, (the new flight didn't come with the early bird check in I'd paid for on the first and I gave up after 30 mintues on hold when I called to ask about it) I had a B54 boarding position. Not good, especially because I was going to be on the same plane from RI to Omaha. I'd deal with that at the airport. 

Cornelia was on deck for another airport drop off but we ended up hanging at Carolyn's until after noon because my flight was delayed. When I finally got to the airport, I was talking to the agent about getting a better seat and it's a good thing I mentioned that I was flying to Omaha because they'd only booked me to Chicago. The 2nd leg of the flight was overbooked so it took a supervisor to ticket me through. The flight was late leaving but since I didn't have a connection, it was all good for me. I got back to Omaha 2 hours late and had to dig my car out of some snow before I could leave but I was home at last. I walked into my house at 8:00, took a shower and went to bed early. I had lots to accomplish and now had a much shorter break.

I unpacked Thursday but laundry would have to wait. I had to get ready for my New Year's knitters' tea, which meant reclaiming the house from the cats being inside for 8 days and pulling out teapots and serving pieces, moving furniture and clearing the bar. I got it all done and was baking by Friday morning - mini quiches and blueberry cake. Donna was the first to arrive just before 1:00 and the rest trickled in over the next hour. Here's a pic just before everyone dug into the treats. The sun was blazing into the back room and everyone had a great time. Andrea lingered to help me pick yarn for my next socks and ended up staying for dinner - homemade baked beans (I made them Thursday) and saugies (hot dogs I'd brought back from RI.) She left at 8:00 and I settled in for Sherlock. It was a good day but my break was over with just the weekend left. Where'd the time go? No fair.

The weekend was like any other weekend with laundry galore, cooking and chores. I got most of that done on Saturday because my goal for Sunday was packages, which meant making calendars. I put them together Sunday afternoon and prepped the package for Thomas and Dottie (I was sending him my dad's camera that he bought in Japan during the Korean War along with his late Christmas check) with Dottie's calendar snuck in with yarn for padding. I also had 2 lots of yarn to ship out that people had bought off Ravelry. I got those prepped and was ready for the Downton Abbey premier. While that was a nice end to break, I was still bummed at having had so little time at home. I certainly didn't feel ready to go back to work but what could I do. Happy New Year!