Upon My Return…
Ξ November 23rd, 2009 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Slice of (Real) Life |
… my cat was a GRUMP! Gone four days and I thought she’d be happy to see me, but NOO-oo! Pennie just sulked in “her” chair and didn’t even get up when I came through the door. Some cat :-/
But as soon as I mentioned “kitty toy” and “mousie”, that did the trick, and she trotted over to see what I’d brought for her. Obviously, a kitty toy that is a mouse. A catnip-filled mouse, yet! THREE OF THEM. In about fifteen seconds all was forgiven.
So, I’ve returned, and what a great trip I had! A few months ago a vacation was the last thing I was expecting to take, but thanks to selling my Hulk #1 comic book for $1500, my trip was enabled just in time for a very wonderful and warm reunion 
Otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to go, given my shaky financial state. THEN I would have been really depressed! Funny how some things come along at JUST the right time, huh? Now I’m broke again, but (a) I would’ve been anyway sooner or later, and (b) a wish that I’d wished for for years was granted, so the money was totally a secondary concern because it enabled everything 
Dee met me at the airport and proceeded to show me a great time; we had so much fun that it was as if the twenty years between being in touch were as but a moment. Another return to each other’s embrace; it was so sweet She’s still the same awesome girl that I remembered from what were among the happiest days of my life. True, much water has flowed under The Bridge, but the taste was as sweet as it always was. So… thank you Dee
Dee's smile is as bright as the Sun
That’s my most favorite picture
After spending the first day reconnecting, on the second day we drove to where I used to live on the Puget Sound. I got the chance to go to my old house, look around, and go through the things that I’d left with one more chance to remove the smaller items that otherwise I’d have left. The house is almost sold so this was probably my final opportunity. Then we visited my former place of employment where I said hello (and goodbye) to my co-workers, some of whom I’d missed giving my parting sentiments. Finally we toured the island and stopped at a large park that is on the point, covering the whole northwest corner.
No beach today; VERY high tide!
On the way out a few deer decided that we weren’t worth running from. They kind of look like statues, no doubt due in large part because I forgot to turn off the flash!
Sightseeing deer pause for refreshments
That night Dee fixed me a great meal with salmon as the main course. Believe it or not, this was the first real home-cooked meal I’d had in eight years :-O And it was so fitting and sweet that she was the one to provide it for me. Very much contented, we called it a night.
The next day we visited her sister, whom I hadn’t seen since the ’70′s, and who since has raised a wonderful family and landed in a very nice part of the state, and on a large spread that is nicely isolated from neighbors and such commotion. Lovely farmland near river-country, with grass-covered fields and a rushing creek that ran through a corner of it. I met her husband ( who was great fun to talk to), and her two children, a very brave and bright boy of around 8, and a daughter who, at age 12, already shows great promise as a writer (among about a dozen other things)! (Names are withheld to protect the innocent 
) They make for an excellent case for Home Schooling, let me tell you!
AND ANOTHER HOME-COOKED MEAL, W00T! Her sister prepared a delicious pot roast, yum! It was a lot of fun getting together, and it truly was a happy house. Which is very nice to see, and to feel, especially in these considerably shaky times. And seeing Dee interacting with her niece and nephew was heartwarming for me; it was so good to see her genuinely happy
On my last day we had a fair amount of time before the flight back, so she took me to tour the surrounding area, which was a lot larger than I expected. One of the places we drove to was the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, but we didn’t cross it, just approached it where I took this pic, because the angle was intriguing to me:
Looking at the seemingly-intertwined twin bridges of the Tacoma Narrows
And then, finally, it was time to go… 
All went well with the flight except that the jars of Jalapeno jam that she made didn’t make it through security. DAMMIT!!! I was so looking forward to my delicious jams
And so to Home… where THIS awaited me:
"Oh... you're back." *snif*
She’ll want me when it counts :-/
Anyway, I’d like to send a big Thank You to Dee for taking care of me, entertaining me, and making it more than worth my while to make the visit at this shaky time. I’m so glad that I did
Looking forward to our next reunion… and return ;-)