Back home again

9 a.m. on this overcast damp TUESDAY morning.  Going to get in a little computer time before I head off to Sequim. Am meeting John O'Brien and my sister-in-law Lill at Costco parking lot so we can all head to Highway 101 for lunch.  Think I'll hit a couple thrift stores too.  Otherwise, it's going to be a quiet day and I don't expect to get much accomplished as I recover from my busy weekend in Renton.

The hardest part of traveling to see my youngest grandson is having to drive on the freeway.  I'm okay once I'm on it but it's that getting on and off stuff that makes me drive white knuckled.  Unfortunately, I don't do it often enough so that it gets easier.  I just deal with it as best I can. Actually, I've come a long ways as I used to have to park my car at my cousin Cindy's place in Gig Harbor and make Mary come get me.  I'm such a baby.

Maddie and I got a late start so we didn't arrive until 9:45 p.m. on Thursday night. Went straight to bed. Mary wasn't going to leave for Dallas until Saturday morning so she was home to entertain us on Friday. We went to Coulan Park and had lunch at Ivar's fish & chips bar there.  Crowded but we got there early enough so Mary didn't have to stand in line as long as the people did who were arriving as we ate.

Andy and Mary had quite a time at Wrestlemania. It was the first time for both of them and Mary was quite surprised that it wasn't anything like she was expecting. She felt like she was at the SuperBowl.
Things she told me later:  The Super Bowl has about 77,000 in attendance but Wrestlemania had close to 102,000!  Besides a lot of rednecks (hee hee), she was surprised at the International fans in attendance. She heard all kinds of different languages from around the world.  By the time she placed her order for tickets, all that was available was club seats so they had cushy chairs in a really nice area with lots of extra little perks.

Always thinking like a marketing person, she was estimating the bucks earned at this event. Average cost for seats was $300 and with the merchandising products (like $400 for championship wrestling belts) and not to mention the pay-for-view income, she figures they made $30 million easy. The camera often panned famous people in the audience and stars on stage included The Rock, Snoop Dog, Shaquille O'Neal, and Fifth Harmony, among others.

Exiting afterwards was a nightmare and took a long, long time. City vans and cabs were being drove by several guys from foreign countries WHO COULD NOT DRIVE WORTH A DARN and often got lost. She upgraded to first class airline tickets for the trip down and was especially thankful as she wasn't sure they would have even made their flight in time because getting through security was backed up super bad.  Man, I'm glad I don't fly anymore.

Maddie and I left Renton at 9 a.m. once the nanny arrived and M&A got back home around 3 or 4 in the afternoon.  Needless to say, Jake was mighty glad to see them.  I think he enjoyed all the attention he got while they were gone, though. Between me, Maddie and Catie, he was kept busy.  Running in the sprinkler, watching cartoons, going to swimming lessons, riding his various trikes, bikes, and motor cars, wrestling, pla-doh projects, reading, sandbox, stroller ride while Maddie ran, and just plain PLAY!

On Saturday my cousins Ann, Katy, and Anna came over to visit. Ann is my first cousin and Katy is her daughter. They live in Tacoma and Anna (Katy's daughter) lives not too far from Mary.  We killed off a plate of veggies and Uncle Dan's dip and caught up on family gossip before our group picture.

On Sunday, a high school classmate of mine (Ann Robson) came over from nearby Issaquah and picked me up so we could go back to her house for a visit.

One of my favorite activities while over there was getting computer and cell phone instructions on things I wanted to learn.  Catie fixed my phone so the keyboard is larger. I was having a heck of a time trying to text and avoided it as much as I could.  Maddie set up the maps app for me so I'll always have GPS to guide me when I'm out and about and wondering where I am.  I also got Pandora music app downloaded to my phone so I'll always have easy access to my tunes.  Got some direction on how to post videos on Facebook without having to go through Youtube first. I was spending so much time waiting on Youtube when I didn't need to.  Mary gave me some tips on using my computer that were helpful, as well.  Making lists into columns, deleting what I didn't need, etc.

Talked to Mary on the phone this morning as she drove to work. Tomorrow she starts consulting at Microsoft but today she's in her home office in downtown Seattle. Will be in a training class all morning with over 300 people.  The guys of "Shark Tank" are scheduled to talk.

Next week I have two doctor appts. Ophthalmologist on Thursday and my doctor on Friday. Decided it was time I looked into what my options are at diagnosing my low back problem that limits just about everything I want to do and places I want to go.  Monday I'll be babysitting a friends dog overnight.  Maggie is a real sweetie.

Mailman just brought my "held mail" and I was surprised at just how little there was.  And every single piece went straight to the recycle bin.

Gonna go online now and see if I can't find a USB port extension that Mary told me was available. Some of my ports on my laptop quit working now and then and she said her laptop did the same thing.  Next computer I buy will be a regular computer desktop. They're cheaper than laptops and the parts are easier to replace if things quit working.

Plan on getting back into the sewing room tomorrow and I just might set up a jigsaw puzzle in the kitchen.  Yep. Life in the fast lane.