She's baaaaack!!!

Back in sort-of-sunny NJ.

Not only did I miss my DH so very desperately, he really missed me, too! Our DD texted me last night to tell me that "the ladies" who work with him are so glad I'm home 'cause he was depressed all last week. (Of course, I'm sure it had nothing to do with the g*d-awful 7th graders he was dealing with and everything to do with me being away...) I got in early enough yesterday morning to get home before he left for work, which was a nice surprise for us both! (I had planned to drive in to school to surprise him in the afternoon but since I got in at 5:35am and made it home before 7am, I got to sleep 'til 10:30am then take my mom out to a late lunch.)

I've been home a little over 24 hours and I think we've said "I love you" a hundred times, and "I missed you so much" at least a hundred times, and "I'm so glad to be/you're home" over a hundred times!

Now I had a loverly time with my sister, don't get me wrong, cyberpals. But other than a few three day business trips in the past couple of years, this is the longest we've been apart since we got back together in 1993.

Of course, on the up side, it's the longest I've spent with my sister since she moved out to AZ twenty years ago so that was really a big plus and made it a bit easier to deal with Jack being at home... AND I got to spend several days with her fluffy family: Kazia and Miko, her two Samoyeds, and Daisy and Lana, her two cats. Kazia and Miko are so affectionate and loveable; Miko is like a great big fluffy white teddy bear! Daisy is a pretty cat who certainly knows her own mind, but was very affectionate with me - we have a great photo I hope to share of her sleeping right up next to yours truly (who isn't really that much of a cat person!). And Lana? WOW! She crawled right up on my heaving bosom (I was hacking up a lung after getting sick in San Diego) and laid there for, oh, I don't know, a good half hour, maybe? And my sister said that she's real shy and doesn't come out much and certainly doesn't really lay down with strangers... Huh. So there. I guess I'm not only a dog person but cats like me, too!

It was so nice to see P for all that time, instead of for a few hours here or there, when she's in NJ for an event (birth, wedding, graduation, etc.). I got to spend some time with her and a couple of her dear friends, M and T, and we had some yummy pizza, some great shrimp toast and grilled shrimp and calamari at Feast, and some dee-licious biscuits and gravy and potato pancakes at Aunt Millie's... (Funny how my most memorable memories are food-related...)

Once my pictures are ready, I'm going to try something different, perhaps post a link to my album so you can see them all, instead of just a select few, if you're interested... Not sure I can do it; I seem to be having some difficulty with the download. For now, though, here are a couple of my favorite shots...