And she's safely away
Feb. 20th, 2010 10:38 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bloodsong1The visit went surprisingly well. How much of it was because it's been, well, three years, how much of it was all of us not wanting any unpleasantness and how much of it was two days is Just Right, I don't know. Probably some obscure mixture of all three.
Mom (Yes, I'll use that term for this entry) seemed dead set on spoiling, well, all of us. She paid for her first lunch, bought The Cuteness and I several articles of clothing, bought IDK and I shoes and boots, and went nuts in the Rose Garden curio shop. Wolf was not included in the general spoiling, but that was probably because he stayed home while I did all the driving. Yes, me driving Mom around was kinda weird, but she really was proud of my mobility. *fistpump*
Wednesday was a late start, for obvious reasons. I took the kiddos to pick her up. We had to get her a new suitcase, as the one she brought was losing structural integrity along the zipper. One buzz up to Kohl's, and we walk out with a snifty purple suitcase for her, three spring outfits for Cuteness, three tops for me (including one with a brown and gold scarf that turned my basic blue jeans into something snazzy) and two more pairs of pants for her. Boots for IDK were not available, so we decided to look elsewhere later.
After lunch at Friendly's (clam chowder a BIG hit), we went home and visited until Mass, then we went to dinner. I can NOT remember the name of the Italian place, it's on the East side of Binghamton, starts with a C, and is pricer then we normally frequent (read 15-30/plate). Lots of pretty religious art, a slightly pushy waitress, and really, REALLY good food. Mom and I had scallops and I got chatty on my one glass of wine. *sigh* Wolf drove home after dropping Mom and IDK off at the hotel. IDK was required to get homework done that night, which he did with minimum fuss.
Thursday was a slightly earlier start. We visited for a while, then Mom and I took off for some girl time alone. The Rose Garden was another big hit. We sat at the window table, had a lovely chat, and I actually got to pay for the meal. After lunch, we went to the antique and curio shop next door. $85 dollars later, we walk out with a fat English 6 cup teapot, three mismatched tea cups and saucers, a really pretty rose teaset-for-two that Cuteness and I will use when she's old enough for bone china, and a book on indoor plants that's 5 years older than me. Mom and I picked out a cup for each of us to have tea while chatting on Skype, and one for Mom to use when she comes back. I actually found a Limogne tea cup and saucer, but it simply wasn't as pretty to me as the one I ended up getting. Plus it was damaged.
After dinner at the Plaza (which Mama A came for as well and insisted on paying), where Mom was introduced to the true nature of a 3" tall carrot cake, Mom, IDK and I went shopping for boots, as IDK has managed to tear out the toe on one. I do NOT know how that boy burns through shoes and boots so bloody quickly.
Payless didn't have boys boots either. I had admitted to owning a grand total of three pairs of shoes and boots, with no idea of where my three pairs of black heels went. Mom then insisted on rectifying this horrible situation, so we go check the women's section. There were a pair of plain black Thinsulate boots in my size and I had a Brilliant Idea.
"IDK! Come try these on!" I call. Sure enough, my son and I have the same size foot. *facepalm* We got him the boots, here's hoping they actually last the rest of the winter. Mom was firmly of the opinion I needed another pair of work shoes, after much debate, we found a nice pair of Mary Janes that support my feet. I now have summer work shoes. Whoot. We also found a pair of peep toe heels with a snazzy knot. Wish I had had them last weekend, even if it did mean sitting next to the door changing shoes for my traffic control duty. Oh well.
Another quick trip to Wallys, as Mom needed a new toothbrush, and we got socks for IDK and trouser socks for me to wear with my new Mary Janes. Then back home until bedtime for the kiddos. I drove Mom to the hotel, where I collected the slightly damaged suitcase for storage purposes in IDK's room, and we said goodbye. Mom cried all over my shoulder. Strangely, I did not feel guilty for not crying myself. I'm sure the desk clerk enjoyed the scene.
Wolf took her to the airport Friday while I went to work and some expressed surprise that I bothered to come in. I'm glad I did, as I was able to catch up with everything. The Boss called me Wednesday freaking out over my not being there and I did have to do some remote rescheduling, but it wasn't bad.
I intend to keep the house as close to the cleanliness I achieved before Mom's visit to the best of my ability. I realize it will only be me, as Wolf is lazy and the kiddos have to be prompted for every little chore. I also know I am lazy too, so we will see. If I can do it for a month, then it should be easier to keep going.
In completely unrelated news, the first gaming round with Bu, K and Zim went really well. Tech bugs were almost nonexistent and while the action had some lag, I think that was more a case of all of us trying to figure out who was what on the map. I'm going to see if I can find some figurines for Bu to use, so we won't have to rely on tacks and dice. Every other week sounds like a good plan. We survived our first encounter, even if the weapon users sucked and the one magic user kicked kobold butt. I am a Rogue...and snarky. Very snarky. This may or may not get me in trouble with the Wizard. The Dragonborn will be much fun.
Mom (Yes, I'll use that term for this entry) seemed dead set on spoiling, well, all of us. She paid for her first lunch, bought The Cuteness and I several articles of clothing, bought IDK and I shoes and boots, and went nuts in the Rose Garden curio shop. Wolf was not included in the general spoiling, but that was probably because he stayed home while I did all the driving. Yes, me driving Mom around was kinda weird, but she really was proud of my mobility. *fistpump*
Wednesday was a late start, for obvious reasons. I took the kiddos to pick her up. We had to get her a new suitcase, as the one she brought was losing structural integrity along the zipper. One buzz up to Kohl's, and we walk out with a snifty purple suitcase for her, three spring outfits for Cuteness, three tops for me (including one with a brown and gold scarf that turned my basic blue jeans into something snazzy) and two more pairs of pants for her. Boots for IDK were not available, so we decided to look elsewhere later.
After lunch at Friendly's (clam chowder a BIG hit), we went home and visited until Mass, then we went to dinner. I can NOT remember the name of the Italian place, it's on the East side of Binghamton, starts with a C, and is pricer then we normally frequent (read 15-30/plate). Lots of pretty religious art, a slightly pushy waitress, and really, REALLY good food. Mom and I had scallops and I got chatty on my one glass of wine. *sigh* Wolf drove home after dropping Mom and IDK off at the hotel. IDK was required to get homework done that night, which he did with minimum fuss.
Thursday was a slightly earlier start. We visited for a while, then Mom and I took off for some girl time alone. The Rose Garden was another big hit. We sat at the window table, had a lovely chat, and I actually got to pay for the meal. After lunch, we went to the antique and curio shop next door. $85 dollars later, we walk out with a fat English 6 cup teapot, three mismatched tea cups and saucers, a really pretty rose teaset-for-two that Cuteness and I will use when she's old enough for bone china, and a book on indoor plants that's 5 years older than me. Mom and I picked out a cup for each of us to have tea while chatting on Skype, and one for Mom to use when she comes back. I actually found a Limogne tea cup and saucer, but it simply wasn't as pretty to me as the one I ended up getting. Plus it was damaged.
After dinner at the Plaza (which Mama A came for as well and insisted on paying), where Mom was introduced to the true nature of a 3" tall carrot cake, Mom, IDK and I went shopping for boots, as IDK has managed to tear out the toe on one. I do NOT know how that boy burns through shoes and boots so bloody quickly.
Payless didn't have boys boots either. I had admitted to owning a grand total of three pairs of shoes and boots, with no idea of where my three pairs of black heels went. Mom then insisted on rectifying this horrible situation, so we go check the women's section. There were a pair of plain black Thinsulate boots in my size and I had a Brilliant Idea.
"IDK! Come try these on!" I call. Sure enough, my son and I have the same size foot. *facepalm* We got him the boots, here's hoping they actually last the rest of the winter. Mom was firmly of the opinion I needed another pair of work shoes, after much debate, we found a nice pair of Mary Janes that support my feet. I now have summer work shoes. Whoot. We also found a pair of peep toe heels with a snazzy knot. Wish I had had them last weekend, even if it did mean sitting next to the door changing shoes for my traffic control duty. Oh well.
Another quick trip to Wallys, as Mom needed a new toothbrush, and we got socks for IDK and trouser socks for me to wear with my new Mary Janes. Then back home until bedtime for the kiddos. I drove Mom to the hotel, where I collected the slightly damaged suitcase for storage purposes in IDK's room, and we said goodbye. Mom cried all over my shoulder. Strangely, I did not feel guilty for not crying myself. I'm sure the desk clerk enjoyed the scene.
Wolf took her to the airport Friday while I went to work and some expressed surprise that I bothered to come in. I'm glad I did, as I was able to catch up with everything. The Boss called me Wednesday freaking out over my not being there and I did have to do some remote rescheduling, but it wasn't bad.
I intend to keep the house as close to the cleanliness I achieved before Mom's visit to the best of my ability. I realize it will only be me, as Wolf is lazy and the kiddos have to be prompted for every little chore. I also know I am lazy too, so we will see. If I can do it for a month, then it should be easier to keep going.
In completely unrelated news, the first gaming round with Bu, K and Zim went really well. Tech bugs were almost nonexistent and while the action had some lag, I think that was more a case of all of us trying to figure out who was what on the map. I'm going to see if I can find some figurines for Bu to use, so we won't have to rely on tacks and dice. Every other week sounds like a good plan. We survived our first encounter, even if the weapon users sucked and the one magic user kicked kobold butt. I am a Rogue...and snarky. Very snarky. This may or may not get me in trouble with the Wizard. The Dragonborn will be much fun.
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no subject
Date: 2010-02-20 06:22 pm (UTC)The current situation with the mapping sucks, and it'll only get worse with larger maps. However, Zim pointed me at a free, Java-based program called MapTool, which not only allows me to create maps using a computer program, but can also run in a server mode, allowing players and GMs to connect to it and actually play the game on the same electronic map. It has useful features like the ability to handle visibility, "fog of war" (i.e., you don't see the whole map, just the parts you have seen), movement, etc.
I'm thinking I'd like to try it next time. I'm working on putting in the maps for the current campaign.
no subject
Date: 2010-02-20 07:08 pm (UTC)Elistara: "And it's Madame Elistara to you, fool!"
Kire: "Where's the ale?"
no subject
Date: 2010-02-20 09:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-02-20 10:35 pm (UTC)