My First Week Back Home

As you know I usually blog about St John or other places that I have traveled to but I have been so busy on my first week back home, I thought I would just share it with you. I know…..not that interesting… so you can stop reading at this point if you like😬

I left the Virgin Islands on May 7 taking a small charter plane to San Juan with a nice long layover until I board another plane for Chicago. It was a fun trip on the small charter (9 passengers) and since I am short and seating is arranged by height and weight, I got to be co-pilot!! Well, actually, ride shotgun. But still it was pretty cool!

The pilot had me put the headset on so we could talk. I could also hear what the various control towers were saying to him. He told me there was an unusual North wind and he hated north winds😰 okayyyyyyy…. He also told me not to assume he sees everything I see and if I see anything out my side window that he should know about to just nudge him on his arm. Okayyyyyyy……. The ride was spectacular as he flew under the clouds so we could see the islands of Vieques and Culebra on our way to Puerto Rico. The pilot said these were “must see” islands so now I have more places to add to my bucket list. I did get to help spot a small cargo plane that was in his blind spot and “flying too slow and too close” (per the pilot) so we did have to make a little loop to give the other plane time to land ahead of us. We landed smoothly in San Juan for my 4 hour layover. Nice thing, though, the airport was pretty busy and getting a porter was the best decision I could have made. He hoisted my 50 lb suitcase and my 30 lb other suitcase (4 months worth of living elsewhere) onto his dolly and we were off! He whisked me through security like I was a celebrity and I was able to grab a nice lunch with peace of mind and no rush. Since I had a nice wait time, I could isolate wherever it wasn’t crowded with people waiting for a flight. I got to finish my book, talk with an old high school friend who I hadn’t connected with in a few years and people watch. When I did board my Southwest flight to Chicago, my seat mates were this great couple from Puerto Rico who by the time we landed had shared their quesadillas with me, shared family photos and exchanged phone numbers since they had invited me to visit them at their home in San Juan!!! I love genuinely kind people!

My daughter ,Molly , picks me up at Midway airport and we arrived back to my home at midnight. The previous days in Valparaiso had been very cold and rainy and so it was still chilly in the house when I arrived. I quickly went to turn on the furnace but after a few minutes realized nothing was happening. Thank goodness I have an electric blanket so I snuggled in for the night.

Next day was Mother’s Day (Sunday) so I just left a text message to my furnace guy and left for the day to meet up with Molly, my son Nathan and his wife, Jessie, and our blended family. What better place to spend Mother’s Day than the Blind Pig Tavern and Grill😂

Luckily, the following days became warmer and warmer (70’s and 80’s) because Andy, my furnace guy, is MIA no matter how many texts or calls. I’m hoping he’s just on vacation 🤷‍♀️

So I get myself settled into my home, clean, go grocery shopping and eventually unpack my suitcases. Planted a few flowers and got to take a 2 1/2 hr walk around town with my good friend, Joyce.

I got to meet Molly’s new boyfriend, Tyler, over lunch and convince them to go see a movie that I had wanted to see and was afraid it wouldn’t be around the following week since it has been out for awhile. We were 3 of only 5 other people in the theatre, yay!!! And it was such a funny movie, ‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’ with Nicholas Cage playing himself in this action/comedy. Watch the trailer to see if it’s to your liking. I’ve always loved Nicolas Cage so it was a real treat! Even the Millennials liked it🥰

I also got to see my son, Nathan and wife, Jessie’s new home they just bought! They had made a killing on the sale of the house they had flipped but they also knew from the buyer standpoint they were going to have to bid up to get a home since they were selling so rapidly. The market is crazy right now! Luckily, they found their dream home (meaning: they don’t have to do a thing to fix it ). A nice three bedroom in Goshen , Indiana since they are planning on starting a family soon😍

While Molly and I were at their home, we all painted some black plastic pots , filled them with organic soil and made a potted garden for my parents for my mom‘s Mother’s Day gift which we delivered the next day.

My mom has been depressed about the fact she could not work in her large yard garden any longer now that she’s 95 so we brought the garden to her! We potted tomato, pepper, cucumber, bean, pea plants, 3 types of lettuce , kale and spinach, parsley, chives and basil and even a few different annual flowers.

All in all, it’s been a great first week+ days home! Now, if it just stays warm until November, I can probably get hold of Andy, my MIA furnace guy😜