A single moment....

There are several things about flying that I love......the rush as the plane goes from taxiing (that's really how you spell that word - I looked it up!) to full power for take off....the indirect lighting in the cabin when you're flying and it's dark outside....the speed at which you get from one place to another.....but mostly I love looking out the window.

When you're taking off, rising into the clouds makes me feel like I've entered a secret cavern where everything is hushed and clean and cool and perfectly safe.  It's a moment of possibilities - yes, plural possibilities in a singular moment.  What's above? What's below? What will appear in the mist?  During the day when the plane rose above the clouds, it felt like the sun jumped out at me!  At night, it was the stars.  'And the moon on the crest of the new fallen snow gives a luster.....'  That's really the image that came to mind when I saw the moonlight on the clouds.

Wow!  I so have to interrupt my own thought for a thought!  Recently, my counselor and I have been discussing the fact that the restlessness I'm experiencing currently is the result of great freedom giving way to more choices/ more possibilities than I've ever experienced.  A single 'moment' (realizing my worth and value) that gives way to so much choice that I'm restless from the opportunities!

Back to the window.....Of course landing is also full of surprises - especially at night!  Descending out of the clouds, in a moment, the lights of the city below 'magically' appear like the discovery of a hidden city.  It brought back to my mind the discovery of my Mayan king in my neighbor's backyard.  No matter what the city looks in the daylight, at night it's a sparkling treasure inviting discovery.

My most recent flight experience was just this past November.  John and I flew to Indiana to spend Parent's Weekend with Katie in her senior year...what the heck - better late than never!  We had the most 'individual' pilot I've ever experienced.  From his first enthusiastic announcement at the beginning of our flight to his final goodnight as we approached our landing in Houston, he entertained us - he sang a song of goodbye and debarkment before we landed!  And as he flew us into the airway of Houston, he circled the city, aggressively turning a tight circle dipping the left wing deeply.  It was exhilirating and so spontaneous!  I've never had a pilot have so much fun 'showing off'.

And not only did it NOT frighten most of the passengers (I couldn't see all of their faces), it brought spontaneous 'Ooohs' and 'Aaahs' and applause for his daring flight maneuver.  It actually gave me more confidence in his ability as a pilot and made me eager to fly again soon!

A singular moment....over WAY too soon!

Toilet Seat Cover Etiquette

'First pull up - then pull down'?  Geez! That's a lot of steps if you have to pee!  Oh, and despite the fact that they give you the instructions how to pull the toilet seat cover out of the holder, they DON'T tell you that after pulling it out, you still have to unfold it!!  This particular holder was in the waiting room bathroom of the hospital where John recently had surgery.

This was actually not the first toilet seat cover holder that caught my attention....and yes, I have a life! :)  I started 'noticing' them at my doctor's office.  There is no restroom in his actual office, it's in the building in which his office is located.  And the toilet seat cover holder is on the wall BEFORE you enter the stalls.  Outside the stalls so that anyone else in the bathroom can see if you take a cover with you into the stall.  Talk about pressure and anxiety.....If you don't take one, other women may judge you for it.  And then, if you notice someone not take one, do you want to use the stall they used??  

Because we travel so much, I've been in a LOT of bathrooms..some not so clean...and I taught Katie how to improvise a cover if there weren't any available.  Since I've begun to really pay attention to the seat covers, I now use two whenever possible or create my own.  (Probably more than anyone ever wanted to know about me!!! :p)

And I've made a discovery - there is a lot of variety in toilet seat cover holders and their placement in the bathrooms: beside, in front of, over the back, single, double, in half again folded - and Katie and I even discovered at a restaurant in IN ('Granite City'), a holder approximately 5 feet above the back of the toilet.  Honestly!  Not sure what that's about - I guess they really want to work for that cover!!

It's frustrating when the holder is empty....then you have to create your own.  You better not have to pee very badly in that case!!  I'm thinking I may need to get a supply of my own....just in case.  Who knows?  There are a lot of bathrooms out there still to be discovered!

The fun starts here!

(Disclaimer: The fun was actually in two places - IN and TN!)

Oh, if only I'd known, I could have been here sooner!!  And actually I've been in the area several times, I just didn't realize where specifically the fun was!  Where? You ask?  Coldstone Creamery in Fort Wayne, IN!  Get there soon - you have no idea what you're missing.



The rain today and what is expected tomorrow reminds me that it was just a week ago that I was in IN headed for MI, and it was raining....it rained through Michigan, through Ohio, through Kentucky and until I got to my hotel in Dickson, TN.  Wednesday morning was refreshingly cool and dry!  Soon after getting back on the road Wednesday morning, I passed through the town of Jackson, TN and saw signs for 'Christmasville Rd'.  No way!  A road called Christmasville!  I had to stop - it just so happened that I needed to stop - so I stopped!  

Now besides being a great hotel in Dickson, TN (Best Western), the guy at the desk (Jack) was great!  Really personable and fun - especially great after having crappy weather all day long.....He said, "Oh, so you brought the rain!  And here I thought it was because I washed my car yesterday."  I told him that the two places I had been in the past couple of days - IN and MI - both got snow....after I left, of course.  He told me that even though surrounding counties were predicting snow, we probably wouldn't get it there in Dickson because he had just bought his daughter a sled!  And he was right!  The town of Jackson not only had Christmasville Road they also had snow!  Jack had effectively created a no-snow bubble!


It's a funny story....about the snow.  I was almost to Jackson, TN when my aunt called to see how the trip was going.  As we chatted, I passed the first exit for Jackson and could see a hotel from the freeway.  What was that on the top?  Wow!  They put fake snow on that hotel...(I know what you're thinking.....but I thought the snow was all behind me and when my brain believes something it really believes it.....:p)  The next exit, a mile from this first one, had a couple of hotels - they had also put fake snow on the top!  That's amazing that those hotels would do that for the winter - probably to generate more business.  (I promise you, I'm not making up this thought process!)  Remember, that I'm still talking to my aunt on the phone.  All of a sudden, I realize that there's something on the ground.  Whaaat?  Wait?  Is that sn----Oooohhh!!  It's not fake snow on those hotels - that's real snow....and there was more and more of it!  Holy Crack!  I have to get out!  I have to stop somewhere!  It just so happened that there was a rest area right after the second exit.  Absolutely - I pulled in, got out of my car and got into the snow!!  Oh, yeah, my aunt -- she laughed and hung up so I could play a bit.


And to think.....I have brown hair!