"We're off in a gale of hen feathers!" This was my mother's mantra whenever we - or she - or they (my parents) embarked on some travel adventure. This could be as exciting as a long awaited trip to Nantucket or Maine or it could be to the grocery store. The gale of hen feathers always conjures a wonderful image for me - of a flivver roaring away from the house scattering chickens from the road and from their feathers all at once before bursting onto (probably an unpaved) road out of Dodge.
Today is a travel day for us - a peerless blue sky, not a cloud to be seen, anywhere from Concord to the Manchester, NH airport where we got on a plane, without incident, to Michigan - and my sister and her family. It was so smooth today it was uncanny - we blew through the long-term parking action onto the shuttle bus to the terminal, checked in and went through security in under one hour. Last year we tried for three days to fly to Michigan and still never made it. True, on Christmas Eve Northworst - oops, of course I mean Northwest - slip o' the keyboard, dontcha know - offered to get us to Kalamazoo via...are you ready for this??? ...via Salt Lake City. Even the geographically challenged know going via the Mormon Citadel is not exactly direct.
So here I am. In Michigan. With my sister who goes by Yammy or Cici, if she's in her clown mode, or Sistah if it's just with me. And two of her three children, so far, and their broods - eleven in all. And we are planning movies. Because that is what I do with the kids. Take them to the movies, their choice, my wallet. So tomorrow, it's been decided by the small fries to see Alvin and the Chipmunks: the Squeakquel (oh horror) followed by Old Dogs for the middle set. A double feature. Could anything be better? Well, yes. Large buttered popcorn, enormous drinks and maybe some rubber nachos and cheese as an encore. If I write tomorrow, I have survived the cholesterol overdose.
Truffle: Holly imitating her Uncle Andy. "Heh dude."
Quote of the day: I never believed in Santa Claus because I knew no white dude would come into my neighborhood after dark (Dick Gregory)
