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How can one week go by so fast? I am referring, of course, to my Spring Break, and tomorrow, it’s back to the grindstone, as I fondly refer to Nutrition, Microbiology and Anatomy and Physiology. Also, back to work after a couple of days off.
Jimbo and Jessica had their break a week earlier than mine, and I was thrilled when they decided to spend part of it here with UltraDad and me. Unfortunately, Jimbo was sick through about half of it, but he graciously let me and Jessica fetch him medicines, ice packs and delicacies, though he would not usually let us win a game of Canasta, Gin Rummy, Rummikub or Cribbage. Jessica had to leave after a few days, but Jimbo ended up staying all week. On Friday, while I was at work, he got my pond and waterfall up and running for the season, as well as patching up one of the holes in the fence where Rowdy has been escaping.I LOVE my pond and waterfall! UltraMom had several big tests and a big lab report due that week, but Jimbo spent a lot of time studying himself. Really, it was nice just to have the kid around. I really enjoyed getting to spend time with my almost new-daughter-in-law also.
I have just, today, returned from a little spring break outing, combined with a birthday celebration spent with my favorite daughter, Heather, her favorite guy, Heath and their rather idiosyncric cats Callie, Nimbus and Rocky.
I left last Thursday on the actual day of the birthday. I won’t say how many, lets just say its more than 30 and less than, oh, say 32.  My Honda Accord had an appointment with her favorite mechanic for a little oil and lube job, so that got me going much earlier in the AM than is my wont. I walked around town til she was ready, and we were on the road before 11 AM. It is always a challenge to get through Twin Falls without stopping to shop at favorite, seldom seen stores, but my browsings through Shopko and TJ Maxx only set me back an hour or so. I arrived in Pocatello, accurately guided by my GPS (this was a pleasant surprise, since she does not have a great track record; trying to get to Jim’s apartment in SLC, she sent me on an endless loop of U-turns before I gave up and called Jim) to Heather and Heath’s in ample time for a little walk through the neighborhood before going out for a birthday dinner at Chili’s. I, (uncharacteristically I know), indulged in a celebratory strawberry/raspberry margarita with Heather while we waited for out chicken tacos (we each ordered a different kind); Heath had steak and a coke, our designated driver. After a while, mine and Heath’s dinners arrived, but Heather’s dinner, we were informed had suffered an accident of gravity. Far from being upset, Heather ‘made some lemonade’, so to speak, and had a free cup of the baked potato soup she had been debating about, though in the end it made her too full to eat much of her dinner. We also had to get the chocolate birthday dessert in a to-go box, but Heather and I really enjoyed it several days later. We had to save it, cause that night we were obliged to have a piece of the birthday ice cream cake from Coldstone Creamery.
I really like the way Heather and Heath have their place fixed up. I slept on a very comfortable futon, convenient to the bathroom. The cats really have it made with cat trees, scratching posts, toys, food and litter boxes readily available, as well as a slight stream left running in the tub to cater to their penchant of drinking fresh, running water. Callie, a beautiful gray tabby Main Coon Cat, (and not demonic, as Johnny will claim) actually takes a bit of a shower under the running water, and loves to curl up in the bathroom sink for a little nap.
Anyway, after the birthday dinner, we had a great Skype chat with UltraBob and, later on, with Johnny. There was a post a while back about a diary Heather used to keep when she was a kid. The greatest entry was this one: “I feel okay today. I am pretending my cabbage patch doll is real and I’m getting tired of her crying.” Anyway, we laughed a lot, and UltraMom was NOT drunk, contrary to what UltraBob and Johnny seemed to think. NO ill effects whatsoever the next day!
This was Heath’s only day off while I was there, so he missed out on the Spring Fair at the Idaho State University Holt Arena the next day. Translation? Lots of people selling and advertising lots of stuff. Heather and I took our time wandering through the exhibits and signing up for free drawings. In the end, we indulged in soup-in-a-breadbowl, and bought some hand-made pottery mugs, some award-winning Russian honey mustard (REALLY good) as well as a large bag of kettle corn. That evening, UltraMom spent over an hour working out on Wii Fitness, where she found out that she and Jessica share a common challenge: neither of us can hula hoop worth a darn, though I about threw my hip out trying. I was a little better at some of the balance games and yoga, though not great. Still, it was a lot of fun, and, contrary to Heather’s prediction, I wasn’t even sore the next day.
In the night, I had to use the facilities and was puzzled to see what looked like ground leaves or dirt in the tub, sink and floor.The mystery was solved the next morning when I followed the trail to the chewed open baggie on the kitchen table, surrounded by even more ground up leaves. It seems the cats had been having a party with the bag of catnip Heather had given me, and which I had left on the table in my bag of stuff. The funny thing was that we made sure the kettle corn bag was put up so they woudn’t get into it; we didn’t even consider they might chew open the bag of cat drugs. Anyway, the cats were all pretty mellow that morning, and had shreds of catnip clinging to their fur.
Heather and I had debated on how to spend our Saturday, my last full day there. In Heather’s bank, a poster advertising the Titanic Exhibit in the Idaho Falls Museum helped us make our decision. We would go bowling!
Just kidding! You really fell for it didn’t you? We went to the museum of course.
When we first arrived in Idaho Falls, Heather asked to see the house where UltraMom used to live. “No problem,” said UltraMom, “I know right where it is.” Twenty minutes later…UltraMom again, “Where the heck are we? Heather, just turn that GPS on and see if you can put Scorpius Drive in, won’t you?” Again, GPS lady saved the day, and for some reason, after that Heather became twitchy and nervous when UltraMom claimed to know exactly where she was. Go figure.
The Titanic exhibit was interesting, and featured many actual artifacts from the Titanic recovered from the ocean floor. After purchasing an exhibit ticket, we were given a card with the name and information about an actual Titanic passenger. At the end of the exhibit all of the passengers were listed, divided into categories of First Class, Second Class, Third Class and Crew, and each of those were further divided: those who survived, and those who didn’t. My card listed Captain John Weir, age 60, a Scottish merchant, who was traveling First Class, and was on his way to Salt Lake City on a regular business run. He did not survive.
The whole story of Titanic was told as we moved through the exhibit. In one area, a stateroom from a First Class cabin was recreated. I was astonished to learn that in today’s money, luxurious first class accommodations, complete with private bath, bedroom and parlor would have run over $70,000. We also saw a Third Class cabin, with 4 bunkbeds. Some cabins had 8 beds, and were shared only by those of the same sex, who might not even know each other or speak the same language. This was comparable, however, with 2nd Class rooms on most other ships.  It was interesting to read the stories of several individual passengers: Mr. Ismay, whom I believe was the director of the White Star Line, survived by entering a lifeboat, and was pretty much scorned the rest of his life. One adventurer, who had booked passage on the Titanic to return home after traveling around the world for several years, was shanghaied the night before, so missed the voyage. He escaped his captors in Egypt a year or more later.
We really have Jimbo to thank for this very nice day; he funded our Titanic adventure as well as the following dinner at Johnny Carinos where I introduced Heather to my favorite Italian Nachos. After dinner, we indulged in a little mall shopping, including Bath and Body Works, before heading back to Pocatello.
We were just in time for a fun little skype chat with Linc, UltraBob and UltraGirl.  Linc sure did want to do some programming on his daddy’s computer. He is growing so fast, and continues to get more adorable, though I did not think that was possible.
That evening, for some reason, Heather and I were in the mood to watch the movie “Titanic”, and after waxing enthusiastic about the exhibit, we convinced Heath that he wanted to watch it too.  I don’t think any of us made it clear through, but the hour or so I did see was made more interesting in light of new information I had gained. The next morning, Heath wanted to know if anyone else had dreamed something about the Titanic. I think I did, though my dream remembering is usually pretty fuzzy.
After fairly nice weather over the past several days, today was snowy and windy. This, of course, was the day I had to drive back to Nevada. But I made it in fine shape, and only encountered a very few patches of really bad visibility. The trip was made more enjoyable by the snacks and delicious sandwich supplied by Heather. Thanks, Honey.
Anyway, its more than time I was in bed. See you tomorrow, Microbiology.  For some of you lucky ducks Spring Break Week is only beginning.  This means YOU, Pat. Hope yours is as good as mine was. .