The Food is Better at Grandma's

I'm sorry about the lack of posts recently. After posting every day for the month of November, I had very little left to say. Then we had the holidays....

The kids and I got on a plane last Friday at 5:40 am (don't rub your eyes, you read that right) to fly to my mum's house in Victoria, British Columbia. After three flights and ten hours, we arrived to typical winter weather in the Pacific Northwest. Rain. Vast quantities of stuff. Biblical. As in Noah and his bloody ark.

In spite of the damp, I was once again awash in the feeling that comes when I go home. I think it might be awe. As soon as I step out of the airport, the visual aesthetic of the northwest blows me away. EVERY TIME.

And the air tastes...I don't know.. clean somehow. It's hard not to be impressed when a single 360° view produces mountains enrobed in mist, towering evergreens, lush holly trees in full berry bloom and the cold, gray fury of the ocean. Rain or not, the beauty of this area is unparalleled.

It goes without saying that my children love being with their grandmother because her sole purpose in life is to exist as the antithesis of me. They are lavished with attention, stuffed with all sorts of sweets and generally waited on hand and foot. When we get back to the US, they'll wander around our house asking for ridiculous things like a home cooked meal or a bedtime story. It will take WEEKS to deprogram them!

We spent Christmas day like a lot of other people: eating ourselves into a coma and talking with far flung relatives on the phone. I was sloth-like. I got up from the couch to...um....well...I guess "got up" might be a slight exaggeration. I probably slid off the thing a few times to amble to the fridge or the bathroom. Other than that, I did a whole lot of nothing. It was pure bliss. Tomorrow is Boxing Day and I intend to go shopping. I am well aware that hitting the stores on the day after Christmas is a lot like having an ice pick jammed repeatedly into your brain but the advertisments use language like, "clearance", "sale of the season" and "80% off". The cerebral self understands gimmick marketing but I am an imperfect woman and if there is the merest whisper that a real deal might be had, I feel compelled to participate.

Hello. My name is Beth. I am a female with a little money and a babysitter. Why don't you just preauthorize my Visa right now so we can get this party started.