The prodigal blogger returns
Back from grandparents' house. Had a nice time. We ate a lot and sat around and chatted and napped and read (with the plane rides and siestas, I got through one Discover magazine and 3/4 of Ursula K. LeGuin's The Dispossessed). They were so happy to see us, so appreciative of our company in addition to everything we did for and with them (e.g. run errands, chauffeur them around, cook, attend physical therapy with them at the pool at the local Y, go to Friday night services, install a new doorbell); it was pretty much five days of basking in unconditional love, which I guess is the ideal relationship for grandparents and grandchildren, even if it induces guilt and discomfort when it continues for so long (e.g. It's only a doorbell! We're not so good to you; it's been two years since I last came down to visit!). It was difficult, though, to see them failing physically and mentally, with our grandmother confined to a wheelchair whenever they go out, and both of them repeating conversations and jokes without realizing it. Still, they're in pretty darn good shape for being almost 90.
Top five moments of the trip include:5. Geckoes! On the porch and sidewalk and once in our bedroom. Adorable.
4. Beautiful stained glass at our grandparents' temple (estimated average age of congregants: 65). Four floor-to-ceiling panels on stage right (bima right?) with brilliant colors and pleasing patterns, leafy bushes, flames, tents in the desert, pack animals under the planets and moon, fluffy clouds in a radiant sky, Vulcan hands over the sea, doves and a Star of David, a menorah, and, strangely, goldfish.
3. Watching a PBS program on emperor penguins and Wilson's lost expedition in Antarctica, we saw a segment on mating behaviors. Male penguins fighting for dominance is one of the funniest things I have ever seen. Standing mostly still, belly to belly, heads tilted up so their beaks don't clack, they whack each other with their flippers and try to keep their balance. The only thing I think could be more hilarious would be a pair of t-rexes attempting a slapfight.
2. At the Ours concert on Thursday (during which I happily played bodyguard to prevent people from bumping into my sister's achingly new half-sleeve tattoo), the singer caught sight of her in the middle of his between-songs talk and asked her what the hell she was doing down in Florida, to her thrill, my amusement and other people's curiosity/jealousy/confusion. Then they played my favorite song off their upcoming album. Then mosquitoes snacked on my legs as we waited for Jimmy to come out afterwards by a pond that had formed in the rainy venue courtyard, but I'm counting the evening as a success.
1. My grandfather fell asleep while we were visiting his sister, and she told us stories, hushed and giggling, about how delinquent he was as a kid. We'd never heard anything of the sort before, and were delighted.
I was very happy to find that they did get the Sci Fi Channel down there, and we returned from services two minutes before SGA started. Also: caught Spaceballs on TV and decided that John Sheppard loves that movie like he loves The Princess Bride and has taken great inspiration from Bill Pullman's character.
Have a lot of catchup to do now: came back to a ton of emails, voicemails and new projects at work; have some personal emails and comments to reply to; bookmarked about 40 posts to read on LJ. Don't know when I'll get to those last, but I'm looking forward to them, from new "Aftershocks" chapters and other stories to House & SGA episode reviews to personal posts. I did take a moment to check out the emo Wraith poetry 'fest (spoilers for SGA 4x5, "Travelers"). Ginsberg and Williams and Heaney, oh my. *shakes head* Once again, let it never be said that fanfic writers aren't an incredibly literate bunch.
Well, back to the grindstone. Leg is already bouncing as I sit here. It's chilly today, inside and out; colder than when I left last week, and far colder than the sunny shorts-and-sandals humid heat we just left yesterday. I don't really know what time it is, either: one clock says 10:24, one says 11:27, and the third says 10:06. Ah, well. All I need to know is it will be dark by the time we get out of here later.
Top five moments of the trip include:5. Geckoes! On the porch and sidewalk and once in our bedroom. Adorable.
4. Beautiful stained glass at our grandparents' temple (estimated average age of congregants: 65). Four floor-to-ceiling panels on stage right (bima right?) with brilliant colors and pleasing patterns, leafy bushes, flames, tents in the desert, pack animals under the planets and moon, fluffy clouds in a radiant sky, Vulcan hands over the sea, doves and a Star of David, a menorah, and, strangely, goldfish.
3. Watching a PBS program on emperor penguins and Wilson's lost expedition in Antarctica, we saw a segment on mating behaviors. Male penguins fighting for dominance is one of the funniest things I have ever seen. Standing mostly still, belly to belly, heads tilted up so their beaks don't clack, they whack each other with their flippers and try to keep their balance. The only thing I think could be more hilarious would be a pair of t-rexes attempting a slapfight.
2. At the Ours concert on Thursday (during which I happily played bodyguard to prevent people from bumping into my sister's achingly new half-sleeve tattoo), the singer caught sight of her in the middle of his between-songs talk and asked her what the hell she was doing down in Florida, to her thrill, my amusement and other people's curiosity/jealousy/confusion. Then they played my favorite song off their upcoming album. Then mosquitoes snacked on my legs as we waited for Jimmy to come out afterwards by a pond that had formed in the rainy venue courtyard, but I'm counting the evening as a success.
1. My grandfather fell asleep while we were visiting his sister, and she told us stories, hushed and giggling, about how delinquent he was as a kid. We'd never heard anything of the sort before, and were delighted.
I was very happy to find that they did get the Sci Fi Channel down there, and we returned from services two minutes before SGA started. Also: caught Spaceballs on TV and decided that John Sheppard loves that movie like he loves The Princess Bride and has taken great inspiration from Bill Pullman's character.
Have a lot of catchup to do now: came back to a ton of emails, voicemails and new projects at work; have some personal emails and comments to reply to; bookmarked about 40 posts to read on LJ. Don't know when I'll get to those last, but I'm looking forward to them, from new "Aftershocks" chapters and other stories to House & SGA episode reviews to personal posts. I did take a moment to check out the emo Wraith poetry 'fest (spoilers for SGA 4x5, "Travelers"). Ginsberg and Williams and Heaney, oh my. *shakes head* Once again, let it never be said that fanfic writers aren't an incredibly literate bunch.
Well, back to the grindstone. Leg is already bouncing as I sit here. It's chilly today, inside and out; colder than when I left last week, and far colder than the sunny shorts-and-sandals humid heat we just left yesterday. I don't really know what time it is, either: one clock says 10:24, one says 11:27, and the third says 10:06. Ah, well. All I need to know is it will be dark by the time we get out of here later.