Busy day

This morning we straightened up the living room a bit.  E was able to reschedule the physical therapist's appointment for today; we'll be in Alameda the day of the original appointment.  She is very pleased with e's progress.  Everything looks just fine, she is on track if not ahead in every way we can tell so far.  The PT thought e looks about ready to crawl and said visits to new places provide additional stimulation; in her experience children often return from vacation with new skills.  Then after a nap e and I went to the post office to mail a package to San Diego.  When Sarah and Erik were here for Father's Day, Erik left the book he was reading, The Martian, about an astronaut stranded on Mars.  I read it, then E did, so we are just now returning it to Erik.  The book has been made into a movie starring Matt Damon, due for release this fall.  It will be interesting to see how the book, full of exposition, adapts to film.

Monsoon! Part two

By this time it was midnight, and my brain was not at its most alert after the evening's events.  I had no connections or family in Burbank to call on for assistance, and no smart phone to help me search for a hotel.  The airport was closing as soon as we were all taken care of; no cabs lingered out front.   I had chosen to re-book on the 7:15 AM flight to Oakland since I have so little time at home on weekends, so even if I could get to a hotel there wouldn't be much time to sleep before I had to return to the airport.  Putting all of these factors together I decided to join several other passengers who also had elected to spend the night at Burbank Bob Hope Airport.

TSA regulations require the gate area to be closed since there were no flights, so we trooped out to the ticket counter area.  Most people had luggage to pick up, some of which was wet inside due to the rains.  At least they had toothbrushes; not me, since I travel with just a book to read and odds and ends.  (I now have a toothbrush in my bag, just in case.)  I chose a chair and plopped down with my iPad open to a book.  After a while some Southwest people brought out cans of juices and water, cups, ice in a cooler, and bags of peanuts to snack on since restaurants in the terminal were closed.  The cleaning crew vacuumed, the lights stayed bright, the background music blared in the quiet, every few minutes we were reminded not to accept bags from strangers---not a quiet night but we were in a cool place with restrooms available, all in all not awful.  When E was in Paris years ago, she slept on the sidewalk when the train terminal closed and everyone had to leave the building.

I tried a time or two to put my head down and nap, but it didn't work.  At least one man lay on the floor, covered his eyes and slept; I heard him snoring.  But I didn't want to lie on the floor.  I walked around a bit, but mostly I read and talked to others who were stranded.

By 5:30 TSA opened the security checkpoint and we began to move back to the gate area.  Coffee shops opened by 6, providing caffeine and food.  My plane was already sitting there; I guess it also spent the night at Bob Hope.  We boarded via the stairs to the front and back of the 737 and left on time.  I arrived in Oakland about 8:15, Randy picked me up promptly.  After a quick shower I left for my committee meeting at church, having discovered that I am usually fine in the morning after a sleepless night but fatigue sets in by late afternoon.

The Southwest agents were calm, at least when I was fourth in line.  Perhaps by the last passengers, after repeating the same information and apologies many times, they were not quite as polite; I don't know.  One traveler said she would never fly Southwest again.  I won't go that far, but I will brush up on what my rights are as a passenger on a cancelled flight.  In all my trips to and from Phoenix this year, this is the worst experience.  I've had delayed flights, which are tiresome, but no cancellations.  I've never been stuck in a plane sitting on the tarmac for hours.

The return trip to Phoenix on Sunday left on time.

Monsoon! Part one

Last Friday I had the unexpected--and unwanted--opportunity to explore the Burbank airport due to a monsoon in Phoenix.  How did that happen, you ask?  Let me tell you about my adventure.

Friday afternoon I checked the status of my flight, glad to see it was on time.  I noticed the wind was picking up and the sky filling with clouds, but didn't worry about it.  K and I stopped at Jamba Juice on the way to the airport; while I waited in the car I saw quite a bit of lightning to the west.  As we merged onto the freeway the clouds burst and rain poured down, slowing traffic.  My first monsoon, or summer storm, had arrived.  "I hope your flight isn't delayed," said K.  We arrived at Sky Harbor safely, and I went through security quickly.  At my gate I was relieved to see the flight was still expected on time, though I heard announcements of diverted and delayed flights.  (Today I heard there was an hourlong ground stop during the storm, which included a dust storm.)  Soon, however, my bubble of relief popped as my flight joined others diverted to Las Vegas.  The gate area was full of passengers waiting, eating, reading, talking, uncertain of when they would be on their way.  Some of the sound system did not work, so I kept getting up to check the monitors for the latest information.  Even when I could tell someone was making an announcement I often could not tell what they said due to people talking.

Finally, my plane, which had left Nashville about 2:15 Pacific time, arrived and we boarded, taking off at 9:55, three hours behind schedule.  The 1 1/2 hour flight to Burbank was smooth, we landed, some passengers got off, others boarded and prepared for the trip north to Oakland.  After a few minutes the captain announced the flight was canceled; the co-pilot had " timed out" and could not fly any more.  Since they had not been able to find a substitute we were out of luck.  I hurried off the plane in order to be one of the first in line to get a new ticket and whatever else was offered.  Southwest gave us each a travel voucher for $200, and booked many on flights to Oakland Saturday, but they had no hotel vouchers, I suppose because there had been other flight problems.  What were we to do?

Another walk

Based on Liz's insight on yesterday's post, I decided to try a walk again this morning.  The 86 degrees didn't seem quite as warm today, perhaps because the sun stayed behind the clouds the whole time.  I took water for e, but she apparently did not feel the need for it, since she swallowed very little.  And when we got back to the house it didn't take me as long to cool off as yesterday.  So maybe I will try more often to be outside.  The change of scenery is good for both e and me.

Thanks, Liz!

It's hot!

When I saw the cloudy sky about eight this morning, I stepped out on the deck to see how warm it was.  Since it didn't feel too bad I got out the stroller, got my sunglasses and water bottle, and took e for a short walk.  Perhaps "stroll" would be more accurate.  We saw sprinklers watering grass, heard doves cooing, noticed a couple of children carrying backpacks.  In less than thirty minutes we were back home unlocking the front door and stepping into the house, which felt cool even though the thermostat is now set at 77.  Then I checked the weather report; it was 88 outside, heading toward 106.  We both drank some water.  It was our first walk in two or three weeks.

Going from the house to the car to a store, the heat doesn't seem too bad, though parking lots are much hotter than grassy areas.  Perhaps if I walked every day I would get used to being out in the high temps, but I don't expect to try.

Bounce!

Yesterday I put e in her jumperoo, which is a seat surrounded by a tray with various toys that spin or move and suspended by three large springs (covered, of course, to prevent injuries).  Previously she has just sat in it; even though her feet reach the floor she didn't try to bounce.  Until yesterday.  What glee on her face as she realized what she could do by bending her knees and pushing!  And E and I also beamed.

"Round and Around"

Several months ago I saw a picture of a similar quilt on Bonnie Hunter's blog.  Someone (her name was not given) attending one of her workshops had brought it in for the show-and-tell time.  It intrigued me:  the use of small pieces, the movement, the randomness.  It seemed a great way to use lots of scraps.  This is the second piece I've made at E's.  I finished it last week.  It's about 46" by 48", composed of over 900 1" by 2" (finished) rectangles.  As I worked on it, I called it a Legos quilt because the pieces reminded me of the little blocks.  Most of the rectangles were cut from odd-shaped scraps left over from other projects.   The stitching began with two blocks side by side in the center then each round increased by one on a side till I decided it was large enough; the outermost row has 22 rectangles on each side.  As I approached the end of the pieces I'd cut, the quilt seemed to call for some kind of border or frame; I had enough of the bright blue to do the job.  I had planned to try a new quilting stitch, a spiral, but after 5 or 6 attempts, I just did stitch in the ditch, outlining the long rows.  The binding is a rainbow stripe.

It was really fun to make; I smiled a lot as I sewed.  I did not buy any new fabric for the project, using scraps I already had on hand.  It will live in my room at E's house.

I've already begun the next quilt, which is a mix of four-patch, 4" squares and 4" by 8" rectangles, again made from scraps and fabric I have on hand.  I'm trying to refrain from buying anything new until I make a significant dent in my stash!