On the eve of another departure

Once again, I bid you au revoir for another week. The plan is to leave tomorrow morning early, but knowing us we will be late, as usual. This time, it is Hubby, Little Princess, her BF and I who will be traveling to points west, the first leg taking us to my husband's ancestral home for a weekend of birthday parties (his brother's surprise 50th, and his dad's and brother-in-law's the next day). I am also hoping to hook up with the magnificent teranika and her much-lauded, newlywed husband K, as they will be attending a conference at the university in that city. What serendipity! For soon she will be gone to the land of the lotus eaters, three time zones west, and I have no idea when I shall see her again.

This will be followed by three days in a lovely B&B on Georgian Bay at an annual summer music festival and harp convention where Hubby is having a solo harp piece premiered and where we plan to have a little vacation. We are doing the liberal parents thing and have booked two rooms, one for us, one for the other couple. Even at Grandma and Grandpa's house, we'll be tenting in the backyard, and we have two tents: one for them and one for us. Of course, Grandma needn't know that, and you won't tell either, will you?

Speaking of grandmothers, my mom called me this evening just to vent. My brother and his wife and son are visiting her from their home in the middle east (great time to be on vacation, n'est-ce pas?) and she's finding that she's not really enjoying this visit much. My sister-in-law, while being a good person and very generous and warm-hearted, is a bit abrasive in her manner and can be rather irritating. According to my mom, she cannot have a conversation with someone unless it's on a topic on which she considers herself an expert. The sad thing is that she really doesn't know that much, and my mother knows a lot. So instead of having a dialogue, she attempts to show how smart she is and my mother finds this rather pathetic and annoying all at the same time.

So the visitors went out this evening to dine at the home of a longtime friend of my brother's, leaving my mom in blessed peace, and she phoned to let off some steam. She's always cold and her daughter-in-law is always hot. The air conditioning has been running at its maximum, especially since the guests are living in the upstairs of the house, which tends to get quite warm. She's going to have a whopper of an electrical bill next month, for sure. She felt better after venting to me, which I suppose is what daughters are for.

So, I must pack, set light timers, water plants, yadda yadda yadda. Oh, we bought new dinnerware today to replace our old chipped dishes and glasses when we went out shopping for birthday presents. How could I forget something so earth-shatteringly important?

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