Grandpa the Poet

Sometimes Grandpa doesn't quite get the right word. I don't hold it against him; he's eighty five years old, for Pete's sake, and has had TIA's, after all. ( Transcient Ischemic Attacks...or if you like, strokes.) And very often the slip twixt the brain and the lip can be quite comical.

The other day I was sleepily eating breakfast to the mellifluous sound of a chainsaw somewhere in the neighborhood. I commented on its dulcet tones to the other occupants of the breakfast table- Grandpa and Aiden. However, Grandpa was not convinced that it was a chainsaw. He thought it might be one of those things that "...sweeps...clouds... or seeds." Strangely enough, I knew instantly that he was talking about a leafblower. I don't know what was funnier - his words, or the fact that I understood them perfectly.

It was a much more interesting way to say it, rather than just "leafblower." Sounded kind of poetic.

VACATION!

For a long time, we have wanted to go on vacation. This year it's been hard to find the time. But suddenly, on Monday morning, the possibility of getting away for a few days presented itself and we grabbed it. We left for Savannah on Wednesday morning and I can't remember the last time I was so excited and happy to go somewhere. ANYWHERE. But especially Savannah. We've wanted to go to Savannah for just about as long as we've lived in Georgia. And I have to say, it did not disappoint.

First, we drove through the city and beyond it to Tybee Island, where we snagged some lunch, walked on the beach and introduced Aiden to the ocean. It was a little chilly but spectacular. Then we drove over to the lighthouse, huffed and puffed to the top, and enjoyed the view. After all that, Aiden was pretty ready to have a nap and so we went to the Hyatt and checked in...
( thankyou Brad, the fearless Priceline Negotiator) and were totally stunned when we opened the window drapes. We had a fantastic eastern view of the river and River Street. (See Flickr pictures.) There was a trumpeter down below on the street who was playing Christmas tunes for the tourists. And City Hall was right next door, with a bell chiming the hours.

The next day we payed a small fortune to go on a trolley tour of the city. And all I can say is, thank God for Cheerios, because we probably would have gotten thrown off the trolley bus in the first five minutes without them. They kept Aiden reasonably quiet...until we really got moving, and then the jolting and bumping kind of lulled him into a happy stupor. We really enjoyed the tour; we learned a lot and were completely overwhelmed with beauty. I was afraid that going to Savannah in the winter would mean we wouldn't get to enjoy the trees in all their glory, but they still had all their leaves! I mean, to look at them, you'd think it was August or something. I am a great fan of trees in general, but these trees were magnificent. I wanted to eat them. Beautiful trees, beautiful houses, and history...What better combination could there possibly be?

That tour was one of the fastest ninety minutes ever, and we wanted to get back on the trolley bus later and jump off and on at different stops so we could walk around and take pictures etc. - b/c we'd paid extra to be able to use it all day- but it didn't really work out with Aiden's schedule. ( We learned a lot about what it means to travel with a not quite one year old. Not quite the same as vacationing as a couple. But we couldn't imagine leaving him behind.) It was a little hard to take pictures from a moving trolley bus, and the next day when we went out walking, it was cold and rainy and we didn't have a lot of time...So we need to go back in the spring and take a baby back-pack ( Brad abhors strollers) so we can walk everywhere, and take really excessive amounts of pictures of trees and houses and fountains...now that we know what's out there.

We daydreamed about buying a townhouse and moving to Savannah someday. We really didn't want to come home.

We were watching TV in the hotel and I can't even remember what we were watching but suddenly a phone rang... and it sounded like our phone at home... and instantly, my stomach just tightened. Then I realized it was just on the TV, and I turned to Brad and told him what my instant reaction was, and he said the exact same thing had happened with him. I guess we really needed this vacation!

The Autumn Blahs.

You know how some days you go to the fridge and just stare inside, hoping that something interesting will appear so you can eat it...? It's kind of become like that with this blog. My mother said something the other day about checking to see if I'd written anything... and then I found myself coming here, for no apparent reason, and wondering why I haven't written anything... and getting SICK of looking at Aiden squawking at the Red Sox in helpless fury.

I guess I've been in a bit of a slump since late October. Or busy. Or uninspired. Or something. But whatever. The blog must go on. I guess. I don't know why, but it must.

I went to Sam's Club yesterday with Aiden. They were having this special Holiday event where they had all these booths with samples of food... I mean, this is Sam's Club where that kind of thing happens every day, but this was more than usual. And it was no coincidence that I was there on this special day. I needed to buy eggs. And salad dressing. And toilet paper. Which I could have gotten very well at some other store, but I knew that this event was happening. Free samples of delectable food? Wild horses couldn't keep me away! ( When have wild horses ever tried to drag you away from something? I mean, really! Why do we say this?) I was not disappointed. The thing was, Aiden was not content to be left out. He was reaching for everything I got and insisting vociferously that I share. So I did, a little bit, with a couple things. And you give that kid an inch, he will take a whole shhhhmorgasboard. Probably because the thing that I let him taste, an apple crisp type of thing, had barely touched a little bit of vanilla icecream... (Aiden's first taste of icecream! At Sam's! How prosaic.) He strongly approved. Don't worry - it wasn't much. A toothpickful, perhaps.

It is the opinion of some that Aiden is not fat enough, and I tend to agree, somewhat. I mean, I'm not terribly worried about his relative leanness, ( his fat is just well distributed, shall we say) but I wouldn't be sad to see more chubbiness on his bones. Maybe I ought to take him to Sam's for free samples every day.

So... it's not War and Peace, but I'm back on the blogging wagon again.