Home again, home again

I got up at 7 when the phone alarm went off. My socks had made rings around my ankles and my left ankle hurt. I took a shower and turned on the desktop. I had left the laptop on all night to charge the mp3 headphones and ipod (both of which I found last night before I went to bed. I mixed my breakfast with coconut milk and ate it while reading e-mail. I tried to watch a tutorial from The Missouri Star Quilt Company, but could not get the link to work. I moved all my packed items to the front door. I turned the heat down to 55 and opened the doors under the sink. I sat in the livingroom, relaxing and watching for Bertha. When she drove up, I moved my luggage to the front porch and locked the door. I gave her a small gift and we got my bags in her car. She drove me to the airport. I checked in my suitcase and was directed upstairs. there were two lanes, one marked Passengers and one marked TSA-pre-board. I chose the one marked Passengers and was told I was in the wrong line but she would check me anyway. she said the people in the other lane were in the wrong line, so I have no idea what the correct procedure was. I had to surrender my stuff to be scanned, but not take off my shoes. When I asked about that, they said 'not in this line'. Was I receiving special treatment? On the way to my gate, I passed a store. I stopped to see if they sold Earplanes.They did, and the price was the same as Walgreens so I bought them. I sat at my gate and played 2048 until it was time to board. When I got to the plane, it was small and cramped, so I agreed to surrender my carryon to be checked. I did not see it leave the aircraft, but when I remembered my earplugs were in there, they had to send out for it. the flight was short and uneventful. My ears were slightly uncomfortable. When we landed, they made an announcement about checked carry-ons being at the end of the walkway. but I did not see any and walked to the desk in the lounge. I was told I could not go back and so I stood there until the baggage was delivered and everyone had gotten theirs. Then the attendant brought me the last one. It was mine even though I did not remember tying a scrap of fabric to it. But I had time to walk to the train and take it from D to A. My gate was A7 which was near the end. Of course. I visited the bathroom and then sat to wait. The couple next to me was eating sandwiches, so I got out my baggie of raisins and pumpkin seeds. After eating, I opened up my laptop to jot some notes for my blog. I thought I would call Chris' skype number, but it was in my Yahoo file and since I had no internet connection, I could not access it. I closed the laptop and waited to be called to board. I was seated in row 11. I put my earplugs in. when the plane reached cruising altitude, they said we could use wi-fi, so I got out my tablet. But although it connected, it did not download e-mail (or anything else) so I shut off the wifi and played 2048 until it was time to land. I watched the terrain grow closer and closer, with the shadow of the plane. When the shadow reached the plane, we had touched down. I did not see Dad out walking on the runway. After getting off the plane, I rolled my carry-ons along a looooooong hallway. I saw people waiting at the end and tried to pick out Faye. But I walked right past her and she took my picture. She gave me a hug, and we found Dad. We headed down to the baggage claim area. She watched my stuff while I surveyed the carrousel. When my suitcase came around, I pulled it off and rolled toward Faye. Ka-thump, ka-thump, ka-thump. We turned it over to discover that one wheel was broken, as in the covering was coming off. I went immediately to the baggage office and reported it. She said Delta did not cover damage to wheels, but she gave me a $50 voucher for a future flight. ( Maybe I should have asked for an upgrade on a future flight?) Anyway, it was something, We ka-thumped our way to the parking lot and stowed my items in the car. Faye drove us back to Dad's house. It was cold so I turned on the heat in 'my' room. Dad turned up the heat in the den. Faye gave me a box of coconut water as a birthday present. She wanted an address for Chris. I suggested that we send Michele an Easy-Bake oven if she wants pecan pie. We discussed what to eat on Christmas. Dad was in favor of going out, but I couldn't find a good list of restaurants open on Christmas, not even for take-out. After Faye left, Dad told me some of the things he wanted us to do this week. Then his attention went to eating. Patrick called from the front porch to be let in. He was looking for boxtops and canceled stamps. After he left, Dad talked to me about putting an obit in the paper for Mom. He showed me the two versions he had written and printed them out. He explained about the smudges his printer is making. We talked about submitting a photo with the obit. He went back to eating. I put Chris' skype number in my phone. Dad started the process of taking out the garbage. My brain was shutting down and I did not know why. I drank two glasses of water. I unwrapped the food from the suitcases and put it in the diningroom. I opened my can of coconut milk and combined it with the starter that I brought. I started typing up my blog and saw that Chris was on Skype. We chatted for a bit, but then I had to go to bed.