eternally grateful

The long day of hurry up and wait commenced this morning at 7am… we should have tried for another hour of sleep but you know how it is! Too many ants in my pants! We had lots of time to finish up last minute chores, including getting the old sofa from the trailer onto the road for large item garbage day! It seems like longer than a year ago that we wrestled it out

Pat came last night so that she was settled in. She and Carm watched a few gory shows while I dozed… I am not sure why, but I am exhausted these last few days which puts me on the back foot going into a vacation… I don't think I will have trouble sleeping on the plane tonight!

Now we are waiting for our first flight… we've had half of our sandwich and some treats from Tim Hortons… boredom and I am so tired I need to eat to stay awake. I'm not starting off on the right foot :-(

It's 12:47am home time… the horizon is turning orange… we are at 35,000 feet and just went through some cloud, or perhaps chemtrails! Ha ha! Two and a half hours to go till we are in the Eternal city!

My legs are twitching and my back is spasming… ugh! I can't imagine how I managed the 14 hour leg on my two trips to NZ.

2:45am just finished passing over the Alps. Of course the sun is up! 45 minutes to go!

Carm just met his cousin who is sitting one seat over from us! We only see him a few times at weddings and funerals but I thought he looked familiar. It wasn't who I thought it was though - but his almost look-alike brother! How crazy is that!

We made it! After a hair-raising cab ride from the airport we arrived at the airbnb just past 11am, too early for check-in but our host let us drop off our bags. We couldn't stay as the cleaner was still busy so we wandered around, getting lost… the roads go every which way making it impossible to get any sense of direction! Google maps is our friend although it did take us through a narrow passage way to get to where we were wanting to go. We hit up Piazza Navona, cruised Campo Fiore, popped into the cool quiet of a gorgeous church, darted through crowds in front of the Pantheon, and finally found our way back to our digs. The crowds are wild! We could have come earlier in April.

Have I mentioned that it's an absolutely gorgeous day with bright sunshine and a warm breeze. Glad I packed my sandals.

We are resting for a few minutes and then will hit the streets for some food :-) As if we need more food… ha ha. Yesterday/today/travel day was a sugar filled extravaganza - we started our trip with apple fritters and sandwiches. Then once we got to Montreal there was the rest of the sandwich. In the air we had airline food, plus dates with chocolate, a chocolate bar, a sweet yogurt and some sort of cake for breakfast. I need some REAL food soon!

Awesome!

“getting there” 

“view of the Alps”

“ROME!”

spending a day

It was almost a year ago that I was sitting in the hospital with Mom as she fought meningitis… Wednesday Mom and I spent the day waiting for Dad to get through emergency surgery on his carotid artery… 

We distracted ourselves with coffee and treats from Tim Hortons but better still, fun and sometimes meaningful conversations. I don't get a lot of one on one time with Mom to indulge in girl talk so I am treasuring the moments. I'd say Mom and I had a good day, even if Dad's day wasn't!!

He came through well and although it took him ages to come out of the anesthetic (which was a bit scary for me), he eventually became more alert. Yesterday morning he was walking up and down the hall. They decided to keep him a second night but he'll come home today. Whew! Another crisis averted.

I had driven to their house on Tuesday night to stay over as he had to be there for 6am… I think the mattress has a divit in my shape! I drove with them to the hospital, forgoing driving myself as the brakes were making a grinding sound 😱  so it seemed best to limit stop and go traffic. The way home from their place is pretty straight forward with just a lights and stop signs so I was able to go easy on the brakes! Years ago, I was driving home after dropping Carm off at the airport and the brakes on the car completely FAILED… I limped home but was even able to get the car into the garage. I was grateful to have a standard as I was used to using the clutch for slowing down etc. And the handbrake came in handy stopping in the garage!

Mom stayed much later so I took an Uber back to their place to pick up the car - the driver had immigrated from Iran 30 years ago so we had a good conversation. This morning we got it into the shop - new brakes and a failed bearing…

I was a bit befuddled when I left the house on Tuesday. I haven't switched over to ‘summer’ shoes so wore my blundstones… ugh. They are comfortable, to a degree but have no cushioning so are a bit like standing on a hard board… By the end of the day my feet were in agony. Today I dug out my summer shoes! Sketchers for the win!

Tuesday we took Cato and Bailey back to their home. Ruth is not home from the hospital and wont't be for a while yet but John should be able to manage them. They were certainly glad to get home! We did a quick stop to see Kirsten (thanks for making the peanut butter chocolate treats!) and then came home via the grocery store and gas station (yikes!). It was a bit of a frenetic day which probably explains why I left the house not fully prepared (I'd even forgot to bring my meds - luckily I keep an emergency stash in my purse! Otherwise I would have been doomed since I get pretty sick when I miss them.

Yesterday we got up early (again) to take the car to get fixed. Not a moment too soon, although many moments too late! It was a long day of waiting around to get the call that it was ready for pickup.

The house seems very quiet with the birds gone. Here's the last story about Cato and Bailey!

Chapter 57 Cato and Bailey Go Home

The morning started like every other morning but there was an underlying excitement in the air. Carm had told Cato and Bailey that they'd be going home today but they weren't really sure if they should believe him. But then, after some time to finish their breakfast and after toast, Laura brought out the carriers. Once safely inside, Cato and Bailey watched Laura clean up their cages. It was all a bit surprising as their cages had been scrubbed outside a few days ago, so they were both secretly hoping that what Carm said was true.

Sure enough, the covers were closed and the birds were carried to the car. Soon there was driving noise. It seemed to take forever - they were excited at the prospect of getting home. Laura told them that Ruth wouldn't be there but John would. This worried them a bit but they were also happy at the idea of being in their own home.

https://youtu.be/9HamwgSabeg?si=V0DHS2UYtQevpZjS  (Home Dotan)

Finally the car stopped. Cato and Bailey could not see out of their carriers as the cover was still closed, but they had a feeling that they were somewhere familiar. Laura got the carriers out of the car and opened the cover. They were home! They were so excited to see John and ecstatic to get into the house.

Cato and Bailey realized that Laura and Carm were leaving which made them feel a bit sad as they were used to being with them. It had been a good vacation and change of scenery.

Awesome!

“Dad's successful surgery”

“spending the day with my Mom”

“seeing Cato and Bailey safely home”

“beautiful day for a drive”

“brakes fixed”

stepping out

The countdown is on! Just 6 more sleeps until ROME! Getting more excited every day! We watched the Stanley Tucci ‘Searching For Italyˋ episode about Rome the other night - I've got a list of foods to try, including tripe! June and Anthony suggested we book one of the restaurants from the episode so we are going to Bistro 64 which has a Michelin star. I am beyond excited about this!!! I think we'll do the 8 course tasting menu! This might actually be what I am most excited about 😆 

Today is sunny but cold - there was a dusting of snow on the ground when we got up, but it quickly melted with the strong sun, although it did linger into the afternoon on the shaded front deck. Yesterday we had more flurries with a bit of sun in the afternoon, a perfect day for a trip into the city to visit Mom and Dad. Mom and I made a trip to Dollarama so I could pick up a few things for our trip… including a handful of chocolate bars for the flights. The big challenge will be to not eat them all between now and then! I had to re-buy them twice on our last trip as I'd eaten the whole lot..! Yesterday I did buy one extra to eat in the car on my way home and have set the others ‘out of bounds’ 😉 

I'm starting to get adjusted to the new treadmill - do you ever name inanimate objects? I don't usually but feel that this beast needs a name… any ideas? It took me ages to come up with ‘villetta’ for the trailer but it seems to fit. Anyway, it's working better - I changed a few things so the screen casting is working better and didn't glitch at all today. Yesterday I scrubbed the walking surface with some warm soap and water which took care of most of the slipperiness - it no longer feels like a skating rink. I've figured that if I don't sign out at the end I don't have to worry about password, but of course if Carm and I are both using it the password will still be a thing. The pause/resume is working better than I thought. As usual, it took me a bit to adapt… my brain is old and stubborn but it eventually adjusts!

It's been a few days of struggling with tech… Saturday I unearthed my old fitbit that I stopped wearing several years ago because it was too depressing as I hardly moved at all back then - a day with 2 or 3 thousand steps was the norm. But now! I thought it would be fun to have in Italy where we'll be walking like crazy. I charged it up, reinstalled the software onto my phone, then through trial and error got the two connected. They didn't sync the first day but it all worked well yesterday. I'll have to figure out how to change the time zone…  I'm not sure what it tracks when I'm on the treadmill, but today at noon, I'm at 11,400 steps after 1 ½ hours of walking, a few weights, and just general putzing around. It seems like way too many steps but maybe not. (by 9:30 16,500ish!)

Some of my putzing was playing around with our suitcases. All of Carm's stuff fits in his carry-on, including a pair of sandals (but not the extra pair of runners). I can get ¾ of my clothes, plus my giant sandals into my carryon, which leaves not much for the big suitcase! We aren't quite yet at carry-on only people, but we've really paired down for this trip. The suitcase fits a few big pairs of shoes (my Hoka's are gigantic and of course a size 9 men's shoe is not exactly a ballet slipper). And then there's my plastic bin with all the odds and ends: cold meds, aspirin, wine opener, anti-nausea, a deck of cards, and goodness knows what else. It easily fits in the suitcase and keeps everything organized. It takes up more room than throwing everything loose - does that even make sense? I guess it's like having a jar of rocks and adding sand. Whereas both couldn't fit if you put the sand in first. Weird!

Chapter 56 Cato and Bailey Are Sultans of Swing

It had been a quiet morning as Laura and Carm went away. Cato and Bailey could hear the dogs barking sometimes but it was generally quiet. When they finally came home Cato wondered if there would be toast and of course there was! The parrots had barely finished eating when Laura brought out all the travel carriers - they all wondered what was going on and were all happy when Carm moved them from their cages into the carriers.

They were surprised when the people started taking stuff out of their cages and then Carm took all 3 cages outside! They wondered if they'd be going outside as well, but it wasn't to be. Cato thought it seemed like ages, but then the cages were back. Once back in their cages, Cato realized that their cages had been washed! Everything was still damp, but it made Bailey want to have a bath. He started splashing in his water bowl and finished before Laura could bring a dish that was like a pool. Bailey was happy though. Cato thought it was a good idea so splashed around a bit too.

When they were finished splashing around they all danced to the music. They weren't sure what a Sultan was, but they thought being a sultan of swing would be a good thing.

https://youtu.be/0fAQhSRLQnM?si=5rM9XohVRxs7XTTW (Sultans of Swing Dire Straits)

Awesome!

“a great visit with Mom and Dad”

“Kirsten and Nissa dropped by too”

“some warmer days (not today though!)”

“reservations at a Michelin Star restaurant”

“tonights ‘throw it all together supper’ with white kidney beans, cherry tomatoes, peppers, butternut squash, mushrooms, tons of garlic, capers, and of course basil!”

“the tofu that went with supper”