#MicroblogMondays: Recuperating!

Long time no see/write!  (Seems like it to me, anyway!)  I've been in Manitoba visiting my aging parents for the past two weeks, and we just got back home last night (and I'm still pretty exhausted today!). As you can imagine, from my absence from this space (and others online), I didn't have a lot of time to write while I was there. I barely glanced at my email, and I am SO far behind on so many things. 

(Despite family time and helping my parents taking precedence, I did bookmark some of the articles & blog posts I did get to read, and hope to share some of them with you soon.) 

It was our first summertime visit "home" since 2019.  Many of the "annoying things and small pleasures" described in this post as well as this one still apply. ;)  On the "annoying things" side of the equation, a few new points: 

• It was horribly hot & humid for most of the time we were there. Fortunately, my parents' house has air conditioning. 
• UNfortunately, we had a running battle with my mother over the air conditioning. She hates it running constantly and complains she's cold, and will often just get up and nudge the thermostat temperature upwards until the a/c cuts out. (My sister will often do the opposite when Mom is not around...!)  She'll also do the same thing late at night when the rest of us are in bed -- so that we'll wake up in a warm, stuffy room (windows closed, because the a/c WAS running when we went to bed...)  with no air circulating from either the vents or the windows. (Grrrrrrr.....).    
• My parents continue to bicker -- and complain about each other to us -- which is tiresome, awkward and annoying for those of us who have to witness it.  :(    
• My American-born mother insisted on watching the Republican National Convention on TV (despite loathing Donald Trump). Even if she was in the basement family room, we could still hear the TV upstairs, because she had it on top volume. Ugh.  
• It's summertime in Manitoba -- ergo, there were mosquitos, lol.  :p  But because it was hot & humid, I wasn't outside a whole lot, and certainly not out in the grass, where they tend to lurk -- so I didn't get too many bites.
• Despite my sister's threats that she was not going to help with any gardening this year, my dad still planted half his garden space. (Even more annoying thing:  he dug up the first new potatos for dinner -- last night, AFTER we left...!). 
• We still got enlisted into helping my mom water her hanging baskets and planters full of flowers every night after dinner -- three baskets and two planters in the front, one hanging basket and two planters in the back, one full 2-litre pop bottle of water on each hanging basket and 1/2 bottle on each planter.  
• My parents' over-the-range microwave oven/fan died just before we got there.  :(  Granted, it WAS 40 (!!) years old (!!) -- they bought it not long after they moved in.  And it was well used! 

Small pleasures:  

• My sister proposed we buy our parents a new microwave/fan as a combined birthday/wedding anniversary present. She took measurements, did some online research and found a Frigidaire model for a reasonable price (their oven & refrigerator are also Frigidaires). 
• Annoying thing:  there were none to be found in the city, and to special order one would have taken two weeks.  
• Small pleasure:  BUT, there was one in stock at a Home Hardware store in another small town, about a 40-minute drive away. Road trip!  Dad called a woman he used to work with, whose son is an electrician, and he came over two days later to install it. Yay!  
• We celebrated my dad's 85th birthday while we were there, with cake & ice cream in the backyard with PND & family and some of the neighbours.  
• PND was too busy to join one of our card games :(  but she did pop by with Little Princess #3 (11 months old and adorable) at least every other day.  The two older Princesses (now almost 13 & 10!!) also came with them a few times. 
• Visits with a cousin, who drove up for the afternoon from my mom's hometown in NW Minnesota (1.5-2 hour trip, depending on time at the border), and a longtime friend, who drove out from the city to have lunch with me.    
• My sister & I drove into the city for a few hours one afternoon to shop:  she needed a new dress and makeup for a job interview.  
• Dad's barbecued steaks & potatos (sliced french-fry style into a foil pie plate with onions, topped with butter, covered with foil and cooked on the grill -- YUM!! -- I have so missed that...!).  
• Several visits to the local drive-in (a local fixture for 60+ years! -- albeit no longer owned by the original family) for ice cream.

One very BIG pleasure started off as a very annoying thing:  the morning we were leaving to go there,  I woke up (very early) to find a message from the airline (Air Canada, if you're curious):  our flight had been CANCELLED (!) -- and they would be in touch re: rebooking.  

After I peeled myself off the ceiling (!), I found another message that they had, in fact, booked us on another flight -- slightly different flight number, but leaving and arriving at exactly the same times that morning as our original flight. Well, that was a relief.  We had to download new boarding passes, and discovered (annoying thing) that we were now in Zone SIX -- i.e., we would be among the last to board. Dh immediately started fretting about whether there would be room in the overhead bins for our suitcases by the time we were allowed on the plane. We were also now in seats D & F -- we usually book seats together. "Maybe the person in seat E will let us sit together," dh mused. (If not, no biggie.)  

When we got to the gate/waiting area at the airport, I noticed there really didn't seem to be a huge lot of people waiting. I speculated to dh that perhaps this was a smaller plane, that maybe they'd had to rebook people on multiple planes and we just happened to luck into the one that left at exactly the same time as the originally planned flight. 

The first three zones were allowed to board -- and then they announced zones 4, 5 & 6 all together.  Dh took off like a shot with our suitcases (lol), leaving me trailing behind, struggling to put my mask back on after showing my face to the gate personnel.  

I walked onto the airplane, and HOLY COW. This was, by far, the nicest plane we've ever been on.  Instead of six seats in each row (three on one side of the aisle, three on the other), there were two and two. The seats were wide, and made of leather, or a leather-ish material, with wide armrests and drink holders. The tilt-back mechanisms were automated, and there was also a footrest that popped out when you pushed a certain button. There was plenty of room in the overhead bins for our carry-on luggage. There were no screens to watch, but as compensation (?!) we were offered free wi-fi.  We also got free snacks (which used to be standard, but haven't been offered in quite a while). The aisle was wide enough for two people to stand in, side by side.  And behind us were two rows of seats, facing each other in a "quad," with a table in the middle.  

"Enjoy the nice seats," the captain said at the end of his welcome message. Believe me, we did!  

Dh later overheard one of the flight attendants chatting to some people across the aisle and behind us:  apparently this particular plane was not part of the regular fleet -- obviously, it got pulled into use as a substitute for our original plane. It's normally used as a charter by corporations and sports teams (e.g., the Toronto Maple Leafs, Raptors, Blue Jays...). Those spacious seats obviously come in handy when you're dealing with big, tall, professional athletes, right?  

I doubt we'll ever get a ride like that again, but we sure enjoyed it while it lasted...!  

You can find more of this week's #MicroblogMondays posts here.