I'M PROCRASTINATING

I promised myself I would work on taxes today . . .  so far that isn't happening.  We have eaten breakfast, done laundry, talked to Kyle on Skype, emptied suitcases, made beds, you name it, I have toyed with it just to avoid this horrific task. Every year it is the same thing. I put it off till it gives me night mares and then once I get to work on the taxes they are done in no time and I wonder what I was worrying about. But to avoid it just a little longer how about sharing some photo's with you?

Kaelin's birthday . . .  Uncle Kyle and Aunt Bridget sent Kaelin the Snow White costume and she wore it ALL day! She looked just adorable and was the perfect princess who's mommy made the perfect princess cake. At least that is what Kaelin told her mommy. You don't get a better review than that!

And since I am not ready to work on taxes how would you like to see a picture of the Lawlor family in England? This photo was take at the London aquarium when we were visiting the family in January.
As I mentioned earlier, we talked to Kyle and family today and they are doing well. Roman and Abby look wonderful and they are starting to look forward to their trip to the USA in April. Not as much as we are looking forward to having them here in Florida for a while. Last week the kids were off from school and they all took a long weekend trip to western England. Part of the trip was a visit to the Cadbury chocolate factory where they got to taste LOTS of yummy chocolate. (Sure, they take me to see FISH!) I think I may have to add that to the ever growing list of places to visit in England.

And are we missing seeing my  little man?  I am missing seeing Smith. since  coming home with the flu we have been keeping away from this perfect little guy so  mom and dad have been very good in sending us pictures. They all took a trip to a park yesterday and sent these photos along to us.  Hopefully we will get to see Smith first hand next weekend when we get to baby sit for the little guy on Saturday night while mom and dad take a mini-break. My fingers are itching to hold this baby who is growing up way to fast. Can you believe he almost weighs as much as his cousin Kaelin?

Well, other than adding some photo's of Ger sleeping on the couch or me blowing my nose I guess I better get my butt moving and start in on these tax papers. If you don't hear from me you'll know I am buried under a pile of paper and am not coming out till April 16th.

HANDKERCHIEFS

What in the world were the inventors of the handkerchief thinking?  Taking a piece of cloth to wipe your nose and then stuffing it in your pocket to save for a later date is just plain disgusting! Thank you Kleenex for creating the facial tissue that we can dispose of once we use it.
The yuck factor of a handkerchief has hit an all time high here in Flu Central. I have always loved my tissues.  Never leave home without them. Husband, on the other hand, is a handkerchief man. For all the years we were married his mother gave him a new box of handkerchiefs EVERY Christmas. Figuring 4 to 6 hankies in a box that amounts to about one hundred and eighty handkerchiefs filling Ger's sock, underwear and tee shirt drawers. He usually doesn't have much use for the nasty little things because Ger is one of those people who NEVER gets sick. And when he does get sick it is usually just for a day or two. But now that the Flu Bug has caught us he is taking full advantage of all 180 hankies. They are littering the floor next to his recliner like dandruff on his shirt. They are NASTY ! The thought of picking them up and washing them is beyond my gag reflex. I cannot go near them without dressing in a full Hazmat suit. And the idea of washing them in with my clothes . . .  UGH !  But since we have 180 of the little snot rags we can just throw those soggy rags out and use a new one.

W M D

Mr. President, I have found the weapons of mass destruction that President Bush was searching for. They are hiding in the form of two to six year old children and are lethal to anyone over the age of fifty.
I had thought that when I started teaching kindergarten, all those many many years ago, that I had contracted every disease know to man and thus should be immune to future attacks from these nasty germs.  It seems that once you send your child off to day care, school, story hour, or any other gathering place of little people, (children, not dwarfs), your child instantly becomes a Petri dish of disease. Thankfully God, in  Her divine wisdom, sees to it that the child just carries the germs and does not usually display severe symptoms for any length of time. There is about a 3 day period where the little person comes home sneezing, coughing and spewing boogies in a 5 mile radius. Nothing and no one is safe from the attack. Try as you may there is just no way to contain these germs. The little one spews for a day or two, rests for a day or two and then totally returns to normal complete;y rejuvenated and ready to go. Unfortunately . . . the entire neighborhood has now been infected and unlike the child, is down for the count for two to three WEEKS!
The really diabolical part of the plan is now put into motion . . . you, (the mom, dad, grandma, grandpa) are now feeling like you know what warmed over. All you can manage is to hold up your head to see the three year old standing by your bed saying, "Do you want to play kitchen with me Grandma?" And of course there is only one response to that no matter how bad you are feeling. So off we go to lay on the floor of the bedroom to cook up some spider spit soup, bees knees bread, or some alligator tail cookies. Grandma can hold it together long enough to play kitchen but when the sight of a plastic french fry makes me gag you know it is time to go home and recover alone.
I feel for all you parents who can't escape to your Florida home in the sun to recover from the flu. You have to remain functioning moms and dad in spite of feeling like crap. The energy level of your child has been recharged to the max after their 3 day bout of illness while leaving you and the rest of the neighbors to  die slow and painful deaths. But you won't die alone . . . the little voice will always be there asking, "Do you want to play kitchen with me?"

I have to add to this that days before we arrived in Maryland our daughter, Keri, (who is 8 months pregnant) came down with the "bug". She went to the doctor, got some medication and was recovering nicely by the time we arrived. BUT . . .  the day before we got there Keri was SICK! She said she couldn't get out of bed and just wanted to die. Kaelin, who had not yet turned three, took care of her mommy with the tenderest care possible. Kaelin covered Keri with her precious princess blanket and even brought Keri her Princess Minnie doll to help Keri sleep. Kaelin shared her juice with mommy and helped daddy take care of the daily chores without disturbing mom. Keri was feeling much better by the time we got there thanks to Kaelin and Steve's great nursing skills. You would think Kaelin could have taught Grandpa a thing or two about how to take care of Grandma but I don't think Grandpa was paying attention, Fox News was on the TV.

DEAR KAELIN AND ABBY

Hello my beautiful little girls who I love so very very much . . . I just want to tell you that even though I miss you terribly and will ALWAYS choose to be with you rather than be any where else in the world, I am glad to be home.
After spending the past 2 months flying back and forth to celebrate your birthdays with you Grandma needs a rest !
It is soooooooooooooooooooooooo  good to be home in my own house, sleeping in my own bed. Even though I brought some very nasty germs home from your houses I will always love you, love you, love you ! Now I will sleep for 2 weeks and get ready to see you both again real soon.
I love you my little girls and I miss you terribly already.

BOOGIES !

Runny noses and three year olds are a terrible thing. We are here in Marylland celebrating Kaelin's third birthday with her and her family. The day before we arrived mommy got sick. The day we arrived Kaelin got sick and so naturally now Grandma is sick. The germ of choice in Maryland is simmilar but not the same as the English Germ that Grandma brought back from our birthday celebration with Abby. These American Germs are more of the Flu sort and come with severe runny noses and sinus congestion. Kaelin does NOT like runny noses. At 11:30 PM the other night, just as we were all falling asleep, there was a blood curdling scream of "BOOGIES". Kaelin has not perfected the art of blowing her nose so when it runs she just wipes with her hand, fist, arm, shirt or what ever is accessable. Because the boogies had woken her up she was doubly upset but tossing 4 or 5 tissues at her seemed to do the trick. Through out the weekend there would be a sudden out burst of "BOOGIES" and a mad rush for the nearest tissue box. Keri is so good with her little girl. She talks in a soothing voice and calms Kaelin right down so the boogie attack is over in no time.
Now that Grandma has the boogies attacking Keri is taking very good care of me also. At 8 months pregnant my daughter spent two and a half hours of her day off today sitting with me at a Walk In Medical facility. These are treasured moments for both Keri and I but I was feeling so lousy I really didn't even appreciate it. Grandpa got to stay home with Kaelin playing Candy Land and Princesses.
In spite of the boogies and  all the accompanying germs and ailments we had a wonderful Princess Party yesterday for Kaelin's third birthday. (Photos to follow once I get home tomorrow.  If I don't die on the plane.) Uncle Kyle and Aunt Bridget, Abby and Roman sent Kaelin a Snow White costume that Kaelin wore for the day. She looked like the perfect princess. Kaelin also told her mommy that Keri had made the perfect princess cake. It was a fun three year old party and I don't think we thought about the boogies once.

LOOKING GOOD OR FEELING GOOD

It seems that I can't have both looking good and feeling good at the same time.  It seems to be an either/or situation with me. And that's a tough call.

Coming back from England feeling like death warmed over put me into bed for 3 days and curbed my eating so that by the 4th day, when my neighbor brought me some home made chicken soup, I was just at the very beginning of thinking I just might live after all.  Esther arrived with her delicious soup and warm wishes for my recovery. As she stood talking to me she kept shaking her head. "You look fantastic!" she finally said to me. "You look like you are 20 years younger". Now at that point I had just about decided this was how it must feel to be 100 because every bone in my body hurt and my brain just couldn't function. And here is my neighbor telling me I have never looked so good !

Today I got up and looked in the mirror, thinking that I actually was feeling pretty good and yet my reflection showed that haggard looking old lady who is always there looking back at me. I have, of course, returned to eating and thinking and cleaning and cooking and washing and . . .     I guess I either need to be so sick that I can't move or eat but I will look WONDERFUL. Or just keep on feeling healthy but looking like I should be 6 feet under.  

I can't decide which way I want to go with this but I really did like looking younger and that sore throat really wasn't all that bad . . .  was it?

SNOW BOARDING IN WEST PALM BEACH

Probably not your top 10 pick for locations for snow boarding in February but that is exactly what was going on in West Palm today.
House guest Lynne and I started our day with a WONDERFUL massage at Massage Envy. (If you like massages and realize the benefit of them you should check this place out.  They are all over the country and   are the best thing since peanut butter.) After our massage we oozed ourselves back home in the pouring rain and decided that it was the perfect day to take Lynne for a ride to see what City Place was all about. Lynne is down here condo shopping and has been hearing a lot about City Place but didn't have a clue what or where it was. Husband, Lynne and I  packed ourselves up and off we went down 95 to the exit just before the airport. (I can't tell you the name of the exit because I can't spell it.  OKEECHOBEE  or something like that.) Then you head East for about a mile and find yourself in this jumping little shopping area filled with up scale shops and restaurants. There are condos above all the shops and lots and lots of people wandering the 4 or 5 streets that make up the area. We stopped for lunch and then jumped on the FREE trolley that took us to down town West Palm Beach where all the clubs and "hot spots" are. When we got off the trolley in the middle of town we walked toward the inter coastal water way to look at some of the multimillion dollar yachts that are anchored there. But there in the middle of the park was a very strange sight. There were several tents set up, (that is NOT strange for that area, there is always something going on.) But in the center of the grassy area was a huge ramp covered in snow. (Actually it was ice but it looked like snow.) We had happened upon the Red Bull Buttercup Snow Board Competition.
Why would you have a snow board competition in a city who's average yearly temperature is 78 degrees is beyond me but that is what was going on. We got there while they were still setting up the "hill" but we had a great time watching the mechanics of this whole event. Then the snow boarders started arriving, all 60 of them. Probably all under the age of 22. They began their practice runs down the hill and across some sort of wooden platforms that gave them the opportunity to slide, jump, spin and fall. We spent about 2 hours watching all this before the actual competition began. . .  just as it started to rain.
Ice + 70 degrees + rain isn't a great mix for snow boarding so as we ran to catch the trolley before we got soaked we wished them all well and then laughed our selves silly at the thought of the whole thing.
We missed the story on the news tonight so I have no idea what happened after we left but it sure as heck isn't a sight we will be seeing again any time soon.
As for Lynne and her condo shopping. . .  she is pretty sure she wants to find something up here near where we are and will go out again tomorrow morning to check out a few new prospects in Jupiter.

YOU KNOW YOU'RE IN TROUBLE WHEN THE ARTIFICIAL PLANT DIES

 We have been back from our 2 weeks in England for about a week now and I am still finding signs of Sharon and Bob's stay here. All the signs make me smile and some even inspire me to write a blog about them.
We have known Sharon and Bob for almost 40 years now. They have been friends for all of that time and we love them like family. (Even better than some of the family!) So when we were planning for another trip to England and Sharon said they had hoped to come down for a visit with us we saw a WIN WIN for both couples. They could come before and stay after we departed and returned and in turn we would have the joy of their company for a few days before and after and the bonus of house sitters while we were away. For some strange reason Sharon and Bob found this AMAZING. That we would invite them to use our house and car for 3 weeks was beyond their belief. And so Bob started to worry! He worried that they would break something. He worried that he wouldn't be able to take care of the house the way we do. (Who is he kidding, we are the world's worst home owners.) Bob worried that he would worry too much. But we talked them into it and so they arrived in Florida for their stay. Ger showed Bob all the things he might need to know about the house and he showed Bob lots of places to go and things to do.  We had a great time with Sharon and Bob and then off we went across the pond without another thought about the house or anything.
Upon our return the house never looked so good. Bob and Sharon washed EVERY window (all 15 of them) and every sliding glass door, (all 6 of them). Not only do they shine like I have never seen them shine but we now have the secret recipe and the tools to perform this task ourselves. (Like that will ever happen.) Bob does nothing HALF ASSED (like someone I am married to). The man takes pride in all he does and when he does something it is done RIGHT. (This does drive Sharon crazy on many occasions but  I have got to tell you these windows are CLEAN!) There are other little things Bob did for us like rolling up the garden hose. A silly thing but something that we NEVER do but it looks OH SO neat and you don't trip over the hose as you are walking across the yard. They replaced the food in the fridge, the flowers in the vase and the cereal in the cabinet. AND THEN . . . they bought us a flat screen TV !  I don't know of a single house keeper, cleaner, caretaker that pays you for working on your house. These people are something else.
But Bob is not alone in all this. The quiet little one in the back ground, named Sharon, is in on all of this. She cleans and straightens and washes and putters. BUT Sharon's greatest fear is that I will ask her to take care of my house plants. For as long as I have known her she breaks out into twitches when ever I ask her to "Water my plants while I'm away". This is worse than anything I could ever ask of her. She thinks she has the kiss of death on house plants. Meanwhile she has a garden at home that is envy of her neighbors. But the thought of being responsible for 3 African Violets for 2 weeks makes her tremble with fear. (Just because I told her these 3 plants are descendants of an African Violet that was my mother's and is the only thing I have left of my mom who died 40 years ago . . . she seems to think it is a big deal.)  I tell her to just ignore the plants, they will be fine but for the entire time we are gone she worries.
But sure enough when we came home from England the house plants were FINE! They are looking healthy and happy and their reflections are just beautiful in the shinny windows. But then as I was walking through the house this morning I took a look into the living room and there stood the saddest looking mess of droopy green leaves that I have ever seen. The plant had been fine 3 weeks ago but here it is today looking like an elephant stepped on it. The plant needs to go, it is wilted and droopy and looks just awful.
Sharon,  how did you manage to KILL the artificial plant?

A "WE WE" PROBLEM

Husband has a "WE" problem.  (Not like a physical wee wee problem, this is a WE problem.) It seems he cannot talk about doing anything unless the sentence begins with the word, "WE".  As in "WE have to get some milk." "WE have to get gas in the car."  "WE have to get the taxes done."  "WE have to write the Christmas letter." Actually, I should be delighted that the man is even aware of the fact that any of the above things need to get done but it just bugs the hell out of me that he man actually thinks he is going to do any of the above. I guess he knows better than to TELL me that "I"? "YOU" HAVE to do something because he knows he would be in for the onset of WW III. So rather than search is brain for a better way of  making me aware that he is indeed, IN CHARGE, and up to date on all that needs doing, he uses the expression . .  WE . . .
 I often want to stop him and ask who he has in mind to do these things with but so far I haven't had the energy to go around on this one.  I am always reminded of the old Lone Ranger joke from years ago in which the Lone Ranger and Tonto are galloping down the trail being chased by 300 crazed Indians. The Lone Ranger shouts to Tonto, "Tonto, what are WE going to do?" To which Tonto replies, "Who you calling WE white man?" Still cracks me up to this day. And that is just how I feel every time Ger starts out with "WE".
I am alone here riding down the trail and some days the crazed Indians seem like a welcome respite. Today "WE" spent the day relaxing in the sun with the occasional spurt of energy. My wonderful neighbor Esther brought over some home made chicken soup that is sooooooo  good and soothing to my throat as well as my soul. (Has husband offered to go out and get me some soup or ANYTHING? NOT!) He did wander into the kitchen last night to ask if he could "help" do anything. I told him he could DO for himself but I didn't need any help. He looked quite puzzled at that and just wandered back to the TV. Today I asked him to go to the store and bank and he was delighted to do that for me. And he bought me a magazine so I know he is trying. But what about the bed that needs making and the guest room that needs cleaning and the laundry that needs washing and the clothes that need sorting or the dishwasher? Well, WE need to get away from the computer and get working on all those before WE have to get dinner ready.

GUNK

I have Gunk in my throat and I don't like it one bit! I am totally done with this nasty germ as I am sure you are done hearing about it. But I don't have a baby to blog about, or pet stories to entertain you with and I am sure as hell not going to tell you intimate details of my sex life. (HA, got you there, there is nothing to write about even if I wanted to.) So I will bore you to tears with my cold.
I did go back to the doc today to follow through on my blood pressure check and she was delighted with that. My BP is that of a 105 pound twenty year old. Too bad she is lost in the 200 pound 65 year old! But the good news is I can drop one dose of my old BP medication. Isn't medical science just amazing.  So how come they CAN'T cure the common cold?  I did get an antibiotic for the next 6 days so hopefully I will be back to feeling better before we travel up to see Kaelin for her birthday.  We can't have grandma hacking her lungs out on the princess cake.
Turning 3 is a big deal to Kaelin and I hear we are having a PRINCESS PARTY! I must check my wardrobe to see what I have to wear. I think my fairy wings are at the cleaner. I got out the things I bought for Kaelin for her birthday and the dining room table looks like the princess aisle at the Magic Kingdom gift shop. Last year Minnie was in, this year the princesses have taken over. Kaelin's mom and dad are rearranging their house so that Kaelin will have a new room and the new baby can take over Kaelin's old room. Kaelin's new room is being referred to as "THE PRINCESS ROOM" and grandma has promised to make new curtains for the windows. I have hopes of working on that tomorrow if I am feeling a little better.
Lynne B arrives Wednesday morning for a 4 day stay here to hopefully finish her search for a condo. I better get rid of this bug before that so I can check out some places with her. And go out to lunch, dinner and have drinks of the day.
So now that I have thrilled you with my exciting news of the day I have to go make dinner for Husband who has been sitting in front of the TV all afternoon. If only I could get him to watch cooking shows and try making something.

ENOUGH ALREADY !

I have hit the limit of endurance for this sweat soaked, booger coughing, knife swallowing, ear splitting bug ! I am done with it! I am getting something from the doctor tomorrow to kick this bugs butt or I'm taking a long walk on a short pier.  It is one thing to feel like shit but looking around at all that needs to get done in the next 10 days and not having an extra drop of energy to do anything  is just the icing on the cake. Husband just went out for a walk. Lucky for him he didn't ask me to go with him or give me the guilt trip of, "The doctor said to WALK every day." I guess I do have to credit him with some intelligence for that but he did come into the kitchen to inform me that I MUST be feeling better because I am beginning to "putter". If I had a voice I would have screamed that this is NOT PUTTERING but is in fact called CLEANING so that we are not over run by cockroaches! How the house got away from me so fast in the time since Sharon left yesterday I can only guess. I have spent most of that time in bed so I would guess that the MESS IS NOT MINE ! There are shoes in every room, (the man only owns 3 pairs of shoes), crumbs on every open surface and MAIL MAIL MAIL MAIL MAIL all over the place in messy little piles. You know how we would say the "dust bunnies" under the bed were someone either coming or going? . . .  well, I have the entire state of Florida's dead mail men lying around my house in messy little piles of paper. Husband seriously thinks he is helping . . . and for the most part I let him think that. But I am  not my normal self these days. I am sick and I feel sick and I am whining and I need to stop but for the LOVE OF GOD would someone please give this man a shake!
And then we have the food issue. Is it a genetic malfunction that a man cannot enter a kitchen and cook? I'm not talking Coco Vin, just peanut butter and jelly. IMPOSSIBLE ! Rather than make an effort to make something for himself husband will not eat for an entire day. Then he will start to whine that he has a headache from not eating! I wonder how his head will feel once I start pounding on it with my cast iron skillet?
I know this too shall pass and the man is not Satan but right now, right at this moment, I would give anything for a husband who would say, "Honey, you are sick. Take a nice hot bath and get into bed and I'll make you some hot soup and tea. I've taken care of everything." I would really know I was sick if that ever happened. Not just sick but delusional and mentally flying over the cuckoo's nest.

PICTURES FROM PARIS

PIcture one is the street outside our hotel. It was rainy and cold but Paris is beautiful no matter what the weather is.
Notre Dame cathedral - The Eiffel Tower - L'arc de Triomphe - Entrance to the Lourve

BRITISH GERMS

Once again, after 6 "Flu Free" years, I got a flu shot this year and I got the flu, or a cold, or the bubonic plague. What ever this germ is it came from England and it is a KILLER! I think it is a British conspiracy to sell tea. They infect you with one of their killer bugs and then tell you to drink lots of hot liquids. I am at the point of pouring melted lava down my throat if only it would end this sore throat. For six years I took a homeopathic "flu" pill and I never got the flu. The 3 years before that I got a flu shot in the fall and I got the flu every January. Then we moved to Florida and I found a doctor who gave out these funny little pills that tasted like sugar. You took 5 of them, let them melt under your tongue and then waited a week and repeated. After 3 weeks of that you were done AND I NEVER GOT THE FLU ! This year I ran out of my little magic pills and have since changed doctors so I figured I give the shot another try. So much for that plan.
Abby was sick and off from school the day before we arrived in Windsor. She had a cold . . . sore throat and drippy nose. She spent one day sleeping, kicked the bug and was pretty much good to go for about a week. She had a minor relapse the day we went to London but Bridget got her some magic medicine from a pharmacy and that seemed to do the trick. About the time Abby relapsed, grandma started to feel a scratch throat. I took Zycam, sucked on vitamin C lozenges and drank everything within reach. No luck! The bug had bit and wasn't letting go. By the day we left England I was feeling crappy but didn't think it would affect my trip home. WRONG !  Don't ever attempt this at home folks. If your ears are clogged DO NOT FLY! That was 3 days ago and I still can't hear. My ears are clogged and crackling, my throat is as raw as it was when we left and I have a killer cough that makes me sound like a frog under a pile of mud. Thursday I went to the Florida doc and she gave me some nose spray . . . NOSE SPRAY ? I am dying here and she is giving me nose spray? I wanted some heavy duty antibiotics, decongestants, swabs of my throat and pain killers and she gives me nose spray! By Friday I was on deaths door, (or at least I thought I must be because you just don't feel that bad and not be close to dying). Sharon, Bob, Jeanne and Frank were still in town and we were getting together for our last fling as they all left today for the snowy reaches of Long Island.  I adore these 4 people and would rather spend time with them than just about anything else in the world. (Grand kids are the exception.) But I thought yesterday would never end. We had our traditional Leg Of Lamb dinner that the "boys" all love and by the end of the meal I had to excuse myself and go to bed for the night. I just couldn't go on another minute.
I slept 14 hours last night . . . "slept" being a very loose term for lying in bed trying to find a comfortable spot while not gagging, choking or going into the constant coughing fits that come every 15 minutes. But I did sleep in between and I do feel a little better today. I think I can get one more day out of this before Husband starts wanting me to cook and keep him company again. 2 days is about the most I can get for sick leave. The best thing about this germ is I have no appetite so I may even lose a pound or two.

GOOD EVENING . . . OR IS IT MORNING ?

You always know when it is time to stop traveling when you wake up in the middle of the night and have no idea where you are AND, even worse, where the bathroom is.
That was my jet lagged brain last night at 1 AM.  I went to bed at 11PM,  Florida time-4AM England time,  woke up at 1AM and had no idea where I was. I knew I had to pee but my brain just wouldn't focus on where I was. I kept looking at the sliding glass door of our bedroom and trying to figure out why the wall in Roman's room looked so funny and far away. I staggered out of the bed heading in a general direction with hopes of bumping into something familiar but it just wasn't coming into focus. At some point I knew I was at home in Florida but I still couldn't get my bearings to figure out where the bathroom was. It honestly took me 2-3 minutes to find the bathroom and even then I wasn't really sure I had the right place. Since none of my clothes in the closet or my dresser drawers were wet this morning I think I must have gotten it right.
The trip home from England was easy and almost enjoyable. I think a lot of people got scared by the STORM reports and changed their flights to Philly because our plane from London to Philly was half empty. Ger and I had a whole row of 4 seats to ourselves and could have had an entire row apiece if we had wanted it. I chose to watch movies and managed to time it perfectly that I got to see 4 full movies before we landed in Philly. There was NO SNOW in Philly and our connecting flight left on time so we were home in our house by 9:30 PM, thanks to Sharon and Bob who not only took fantastic care of our house and cars but washed ALL the windows and glass doors in our house while we were away. ( I am scheduling them for a visit every 2-3 months.) The house never looked so clean and all Sharon can do is worry about what they DIDN'T DO !  I have to hit her with a stick one of these days to calm her down.
My sore throat was a little better on the flight home, thanks to some good English medicine that I picked up at the airport before getting on the plane. Forgot about the pressure problem with clogged ears so the souls in Purgatory got a lot of pain offered up to them during take offs and landings. I still can't hear that well today but the ears are starting to unclog a bit.
Today we sat around in the sunshine trying to warm back up after our winter visit across the pond. I don't recommend England or Paris in January but we are so glad we went and were able to spend Abby's birthday with her. It will take a few days to recover from the trip but Sharon and Jeanne are still around to help me with that. There is nothing like a couple of GREAT friends to cure Jet Lag.

TIME TO GO HOME

We are never ready to go home but the time in England has come to an end and we have to head home tomorrow morning. That is if the massive winter storm doesn't get in the way. The storm is sweeping across the middle of the USA and we have a connecting flight in Philly tomorrow afternoon at 3. I am hoping that we will miss the snow and ice part of the storm so we won't have any problems but we are packing a change of clothes in our backpacks just in case.
We have had a wonderfully cold 2 weeks in England and France and are now ready to return to our warm winter weather in Florida. Sharon and Bob will be there to meet us and we'll have at least 2 days of catching up to do on all their adventures and ours.
Abby and Roman have voiced their disappointment at our leaving. Roman even suggested that he come back to the states with us and his parents could pick him up there in 9 weeks when they all come over for Easter Vacation. Hi's parents didn't think that was a good idea. Neither did grandpa!
I'm looking forward to returning to the US and the cold and flu aisle in CVS so I can get something I recognize to kill the sore throat that I have. I haven't had a sore throat like this in years and I don't know the meds that are on the shelves over here so I don't know what to take. Bridget gave me some DayQuil and NyQuil so I will survive till I get home. In the meantime I found some yummy BLACK CURRENT throat lozenges that I am sucking on day and night.
So, fingers crossed, the plane will leave on time tomorrow and our wonderful trip to Windsor will come to an end. WE are very comfortable here and it will be hard to leave "home".
Thanks K&B for giving us a wonderful, relaxed and very happy 2 weeks with you and your beautiful family. I love you all !