Maggie's Least Favorite Day of the Year

Little did she know what was coming. Calmly on the lap this morning.

Second round of lap.

"Wait, why am I in the carrier? Why are we in the car?"

"Why are we at the weird-smelling place?"

"Why?"

"Why?"

"Why, Mama?" (Notice the love blink: not happy, but not 100% stressed.)

"They'll never find me here."

Annual exam. Rabies shot. And senior bloodwork, to make sure there isn't a bad reason behind her eating more recently but not gaining weight (in fact, she lost a little from last year, though she's still at a healthy weight).

On the way home (mom was driving), I had a finger in through the grill, in case she wanted to sniff it, and she put her paw through the next square and kept it there for five minutes, touching my finger, which was the cutest thing ever.

As we got close to home, the sky to the east was looking ominous, and 5-10 minutes after we were in, there was enough rumbling to send her under the bed. At least it didn't happen while we were out! That would have made her morning even worse. Poor baby.

Change, Even Small, Is a No Right Now

On Sunday, I opened my Gmail as usual on my computer, and it looked different.

I may have actually recoiled. What did they do?

Now, functionally it was much the same. But it looked different, and I felt like a rug had been pulled out from under me. It's different, what's different, why is it different?

Also, I tried to open Settings to see if I could change it back, and Settings wouldn't open. Just nothing. I couldn't deal.

So I've been making do with it, but today it was bugging me again, so I looked at the settings (which opened this time), and saw this:

I thought that was odd, because this definitely isn't the "view" I had before, but hey, give it a try. I clicked on the link, and got this:

Soooo, I think Google got confused there! I did go back to original view, and it looks like it did on Saturday, whew.

Life is exhausting sometimes.

Boston Trip, Part Six (the end, finally)

Look at me, finishing up a trip wrap-up only a month later!

Yeah. July has kicked my ass, people. I know that months are arbitrary human concepts, but let's hope August will be better, hmm?

So, on that Tuesday that we'll pretend isn't long ago, it was off to the airport (I did write about some of this before, but it lacked pictures, and we can't have that!).

If you're a Bruins fan, you get the camera ready for where the highway goes alongside Boston Garden.

Of course, if you're a Bruins fan, you might already have set your letter-combination lock to something easy to remember.

Tuukka!

JetBlue was very indecisive about my flight's departure. It went from on time, to will be 20 minutes late, is on time, will be over an hour late, will be 20 minutes late, and is on time.

(For more details about this part, read this.)

Finally pulling away from the gate, and here's a familiar sight from the airport, which, when I was a kid, I called the giant with the golf ball head.

Views from the runway. Click on any to see them bigger.

Anyone else suddenly thinking of Star Wars?

And up in the air!

One spot of blue.

And more, between many clouds.

My previous post has more detail about the annoyances of the flight, so I won't rehash that, but I will show you again Miss Oh-You're-Home-Are-You.

Snub.

Snub.

Snub.

Stink-eye.

Reluctant lap.

Comfy, though.

Forgiven but, by the side-eye, not forgotten.

Whew, that's done at last!

Boston Trip, Part Five (not quite the end, but almost)

On my last full day up north, my friend and I had a quiet hanging-out morning, part of which I spent smiling in their garden.

Her nephew brought over a seedling and said it was a cucumber. Some time later, we suspect sunflower.

Tomatoes-to-be!

After an early lunch (yum, Bertucci's), we drove by where I used to live (looks much the same; yelling neighbor was not out and audible), and then went back to Wilson's so I could get more peas, and also hit up one of my favorite ice cream stores, Rancatore's, so I could get some gingersnap molasses, serious yum. 

I needed to shell the peas, of course, and it was a lovely day to sit outside and do that.

We had been invited to another friend's for dinner, but J had something erupt at work that she needed to take care of, so I borrowed her car and went on my own. Turns out that you don't forget how to drive on 128, even at rush hour. At least, I haven't yet.

I had a wonderful time visiting with them, so I don't want you to think the evening was all about the cats for me, but I hadn't met one of their cats before, and it was so nice to get to do so. And I'm not putting up people photos without permission, but the cats don't mind if I do.

They have two cats. The older one I have met before: she is floofy.

I mean, your hand sinks in.

The younger cat has similar coloring, but is not floofy.

Pretty view from above.

Wild coloring on the tail.

And while some of my photos of her are not blurry:

Many of them are. She's young, energetic, and a semi-perpetual motion machine. So while I got some of this:

I got more of this:

And also this:

But she looks so innocent, when she sits still.

Okay, I lied, I'm going to crop my friend mostly out of this photo, but look how patient the older kitty is. She just sat there, not troubled at all, for some time.

"What, like cats don't always sit on laps this way?"

I eventually wrenched myself away from some of my favorite people to get to my packing, for Tuesday morning it would be off to the airport. Always sad to end such a great trip.

The travelogue is almost done! Just the return trip to whine about. I would say the fun part of the story is over!