It's Over. Drat.

A very pleasant several days over.  Back to the salt mines.  And panic over getting Christmas stuff done and in the mail.  Of course, I volunteered for several Church-related things so that I'd be even busier.  Don't even mention getting a tree up...

But pleasant it was.  The in-laws live in York, PA, or, as my GPS calls it, "Yorkpa".  Just 2 hours away, and that's where I headed Thursday.  Despite Amelia being sick at the end of last week, the kids got out of Detroit before the weather mess came in and the paternal grands got to spoil her for several days.  And she's got some cousins who adore her.  There were some firsts, of course.

A first train garden, which was pretty exciting:

And first Thanksgiving, with so many dishes that many had to go to the sideboard rather than the table:

The kids are doing something called "baby led weaning" - no expensive jars of baby food.  Baby girl eats the same thing as Mom and Dad as long as it's soft and can be cut into small pieces.  She very much approved of turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, corn pudding, Italian escarole soup, and green bean casserole.  The first bite of cranberry sauce elicited a scrunched face and a shiver, but then it was happily shoved in with everything else. 

Then, of course, came numb somnolence until time for the Ravens-Steelers game.  No penalty for that helmet to helmet hit on Bells - unbelievable.

Two hours isn't that far from home, but one of the issues I have with narcolepsy is that driving alone late at night when tired is just asking for trouble, so I retired to a very nice room at a nearby Holiday Inn instead, and after a very restful night and a leisurely cup of coffee and book in bed the next morning, there was more visiting.  And leftovers.  Very fine leftovers, yes indeed.

Eventually I wandered back west, leaving early enough to be back on familiar roads before dark, returning to happy kitties who wanted to snuggle for the night and feeling like I had had a very relaxing vacation.

They only got one night before I was off again, though, to night duty at the homeless shelter.  Where I would have welcomed their warmth - the women's section was COLD.  Next time I take the down sleeping bag.  But it was a quiet night (Except the snoring.  Always an amazing level of snoring.), which is the norm. Being on the streets in the cold is exhausting and usually folks are asleep before lights out time.  They are always so grateful - embarrassingly so. 

Minimal sleep meant a Sunday mostly spent stretched out on the sofa with a book and cats draped everywhere they could find a spot.

A very nice several days, indeed.