San Antonio Trip -- Time to Go Home

Monday morning came all too soon, and when I first went outside to get the insulated bag out of the car, it hit me. Cool air! It was gumbo weather!

A cool front had moved in from Canada, and it was just right for soups and stews and gumbos. Ah well, that figures.

As much as I never wanted it to end, I had to get going so I would have time to stop at the Buc-ees and get through Houston at a time when the traffic was moving. I needed the insulated bag for the little bit of my cold stuff that I was taking back with me, I knew going back I wouldn't have enough to fill the ice chest.

Speaking of ice, Grace's very kind husband noticed that I have to put my laptop on an ice pack to keep it cool enough to not shut down, and he gave me a fan that plugs into a USB port and cools it! He didn't need it any more, and had it taking up space in his desk. It has helped immensely.

I stripped the bed, packed my things, and reluctantly hugged Grace good-bye. Blossoming was still sleeping, and I knew she needed to rest up as her flight would be getting her home late, so I didn't wake her.

Getting back on the Interstate was easy -- I have learned where I am coming and going to this home at least. Grace says they want to move some day, but since I would have to reprogram my brain on the directions when I go visit if she did, I will have to veto that. LOL

Buc-ees was a fun stop. I managed to get something for all of the crew back home, and it took me only just over a half hour. It was about an hour out of Houston that I got the first call.

It was Carol, with the cat rescue. Could I take two kittens, eyes still closed, and one wasn't doing well? Jiminy Crickets, people! Can't I get home first? I explained that I was still about a 6-7 hour drive from home, and told her she could drop the babies at the house and let Bigger Girl try to work with the sicker one. She chose to wait instead, and the littlest didn't make it. She did end up bringing me the other, about 45 minutes after I got home!

The drive itself had only one problem -- when trying to miss the rush hour in Houston on the way out, it is easy. If I miss it on the way back in, I land right in the middle of rush hour back home. Well, our own is nothing, relatively speaking, and even with getting into it, it wasn't too bad.

The house had exploded, just as I figured it would have. I walked in, put the cold stuff away, and started tackling the kitchen. Just about the time I finished, and got a quick pot of chili on the table (yes, it is that fast, something I do to fall back on when I have no time), Carol arrived with the new baby.

It took me until the next morning to even look at Mt. Washmore. Two days and it was done, but my clothesline will never be the same.

Since then we have gotten more kittens still. We are at 12 now.

Silverstream is out of the cast, but part of her paw got a bit of an infection because of it. They didn't have an E-collar small enough, so they used one of those fast food plates like they would put fried rice in at the food court. A Siamese cat in a fast food dish collar -- she looks like Chinese take out!

I am already looking forward to some kind of trip next year. At this pace, I will continue to need them regularly.


Today is:

Floating of the Lamps -- Thailand

Fontinalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (garlanding of fountains)

International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction
(Better take this matter up with Mother Nature directly, folks.)

International Skeptics Day

Modern Mythology Day

National Face Your Fears Day

National Police Day -- Thailand

National Yorkshire Pudding Day

St. Colman's Day

St. Edward the Confessor's Day

Tavistock Goosey Fair -- Tavistock, Devon, UK

Train Your Brain Day


Anniversaries Today:

Founding of Georgia Institute of Technology (Ga. Tech), 1885


Birthdays Today:

Nancy Kerrigan, 1969
Kelly Preston, 1962
Jerry Rice, 1962
Marie Osmond, 1959
Chris Carter, 1957
Sammy Hagar, 1947
Paul Simon, 1941
Nan Mouskouri, 1934
Lenny Bruce, 1925
Margaret Thatcher, 1925
Nipsey Russell, 1924
Yves Montand, 1921
Cornel Wilde, 1915
L. L. Bean, 1872


Today in History:

Nero becomes emperor, 54
The Vandals and Alans cross the Pyrenees and appear in Hispania, 409
Rabbi Issac Abarbanel begins his exegesis on the Torah, 1483
Jonathan Swift publishes the last of Drapier's letters, 1724
Charles Messier discovers the Whirlpool Galaxy, 1773
First publication of the "Old Farmer's Almanac", 1792
George Washington lays the cornerstone of the "Executive Mansion" (White House), 1792
Founding of B'nai B'rith, 1843
The first arial photo taken in the US, from a balloon over Boston, 1860
Eliezer Ben-Yehuda & friends agree to use Hebrew exclusively in their conversations, which begins the revival of it as an active and growing language, 1881
Greenwich, in London, England, is established as Universal Time meridian of longitude, 1884
Edward Emerson Barnard discovers D/1892 T1, the first comet discovered by photographic means, on the night of October 13–14, 1892
Ankara replaces Istanbul as the capital of Turkey, 1923
Premier of "Kukla, Fran, & Ollie", 1947
Fiji joins the United Nations, 1970
The first electron micrograph of an Ebola viral particle was obtained by Dr. F.A. Murphy, now at U.C. Davis, who was then working at the C.D.C, 1976
Ameritech Mobile Communications (now AT&T) launched the first US cellular network in Chicago, Illinois, 1983