And So It Goes!

I am living vicariously through Sheila and Bob onboard the s/v And So It Goes via their blog...and they were kind enough to give me a "shout out" on their blog. Check it out and tell me you aren't envious! Sheila sent me a note saying:

"We are currently anchored in Simpson Bay (outside of the Lagoon), Sint Maarten. We have wifi and we are both in the forepeak typing away on our MacBooks."

What is not to envy???

Check out their blog, All About Boats and please pass me the rum!

Sunday Afternoon

It's a quiet Sunday afternoon here at Casa de Tres Gatos...

Norm has been in Dallas since Thursday, attending a reunion of fighter pilots and Forward Air Controllers--people he worked with and flew with when he was active duty Air Force. He has had a great time catching up with friends, and his voice has gotten hoarse--I suspect there has been quite a bit of hoopin' and hollerin', along with the consumption of adult beverages, among this bunch. He is on his way home, and called me to let me know his plane diverted to Nashville (BNA) because of a medical emergency with one of the passengers onboard. I hope the passenger is okay, and that the Flight Attendants handle the situation well.

That is one of the things of flying as the only Flight Attendant on the 50 seat or less planes that I don't like. I am the only one making the decisions with no one else qualified to assist. I am trained in basic First Aid, and know how to administer oxygen, perform CPR, and how to use the AED. In fact, next week I go for my annual required "recurrent" training, where all of this information is reviewed and we get tested, and "checked off" on it. I hope the right decisions get made at the time they need to be made.

Recurrent training is always fun. There are usually 20 of us....some from each of our bases. The classes are fast and furious--they cram a lot of information into two days. We review equipment, security, CRM, firepit practice (we put out a small fire wearing a PBE ), AED/CPR and take a written test. We fly in on the morning of the first day, and fly home the evening of the second day--so it is a lot to cover in a short amount of time. We all work hard to get what needs to be done, done...and have fun while doing it. It is one of the ways we get to know other people from other bases.

Tomorrow I am going to see a doctor about laser eye surgery. If I am a candidate, I won't get it done until next year. I need to find out what it will cost so I can set up my Health Spending Account accordingly. I have been wearing glasses since the 3rd grade when I was 8 years old. Got my first pair on Valentine's Day...and the cute boy in my class, Steve L***** told me he liked my glasses. (Green eyeglasses! UGH!) He even played a game with me at lunchtime. Sweetie-pie! I am terribly near-sighted, with astigmatism, and am starting to need reading glasses. Something tells me I am not going to be eligible for this....

One of the things I enjoy doing the most is reading the Sunday Post with Norm...and I sort of saved it for when he got home this afternoon and we could read it together. It appears he will be much later than planned, so I think I am going to curl up in the chair, fireplace going, kitty cats purring, and enjoy the solitude of what's left of this afternoon....

Celebrity On Board

Forgot to mention this--a couple of weeks ago, I had Ted Lange aka "Isaac the Bartender" from The Love Boat on my flight. He was flying from Omaha (OMA) to Los Angeles (LAX). I asked him for a picture while we were on the ground....but, then we were delayed. As he was deplaning, he asked me if I wanted the picture still. Since we were so late getting to Chicago (ORD) and I would have to dig out my camera, I did not want him to miss his flight to LAX because of a picture. He just hugged me as I thanked him. What a sweetie-pie!

Floppy Headed Baby

I was flying #2 on my last trip--I sit in the back of the plane. Last flight of the night to IND (Indianapolis) and we had a woman onboard who spoke NO English and was carrying her baby boy--he looked to be about a year old. It seems they had been traveling for a long time....and the baby appeared to be drugged. His head was in the crook of her arm and she just kept moving around and his head was loosely swinging back and forth--she appeared to have no concern about that and his little head just kept flopping about as she moved around.

Apparently, she ran out of diapers. She was adamant in her tone and gestures that I get one for her. We do not carry diapers onboard. Fortunately for the baby, there was a woman onboard with a younger baby. I asked her if she would spare this woman a diaper, and she very generously did.

It seems that the little boy had soiled his pants....and did not have a diaper on to begin with. His "liquid run-off" was caught, unbeknownst to me at the time, by a quilted diaper bag. I gave the woman the teeny-tiny diaper from the generous lady, (she didn't even attempt to say thank-you--not even a smile or a nod of her head--nuthin'!) and she went into the lavatory to change him. I had already put down the changing table, and she carried her baby in there, head floppin' all over--like a cow's tail switching at flies--and changed him.

One of the things I have to do is make sure no one is in the lav just prior to landing....so, when told to prepare for landing, I popped the door open, as required. Can't say I was surprised, but there was a large, poopy rag, laying on the floor of the lav. Gross!

After everyone deplaned, I noticed the lady had left her diaper bag under the seat. Probably so busy taking care of her baby and she forgot, right? So, I, being "Super Stew," grabbed it to run after her and return it. Imagine my surprise when I reached for it and received a hand full of "no-longer-warm-liquid-baby-run-off." She had emptied it out (except for the run-off) and left it for someone else to clean up! Ni-iiiiice!

Pictures from Kona....finally!

Steam vent of one of the volcanos.

Laupahoehoe Point -- Triggered by an Alaskan earthquake,
a tsunami here killed 5 teachers and 16 children at this Point.

Laupahoehoe Point

On the drive back from Hilo, we could see a rain shower over the water, and a rainbow in it.

I have never seen a sign warning of "Falling Coconuts and Fronds!"

We went on a terrific snorkeling trip on the Fair Wind. What a terrific job the crew did! We had a light breakfast served, snorkeled, saw tons of fish and three dolphins came by, and then the grilled hamburgers and hot dogs for lunch. Nice, nice job these folks did!

Belize Lady

I have been organizing pictures on my computer, and I ran across this photo. We were in Belize City last year--this lady decided she was tired, and plopped herself down on the sidewalk to take a nap!

San Antonio

This is a great picture of my Dad! This was at his house last weekend in San Antonio. (He's single, ladies!!)


This is the biker bar my Dad goes to occasionally called the Hangin' Tree Saloon. He and my cousin, David, ride motorcycles up to Bracken, TX, where the saloon is. We stopped in Sunday afternoon for a quick drink before heading to the airport. Neat place!



I did all my favorite "San Antonio" things while we were there. First was the Thai Cafe for lunch on Friday. Then we picked up my sister, Donna from the airport. On Saturday, Donna and I went shopping at La Cantera...and that was a fun day--the mall is outdoors, and the weather was beautiful and warm, and I found a pair of pants at Nordstrom that fit perfectly. That evening, we had dinner at Sorrento's Ristorante and had their divine eggplant parmigiana...it is to die for! Sunday morning we went to my Dad's church--it is a very small church, and everyone knows everyone and they all make Donna and me feel so welcome. The best part of the day: the church folks had a potluck lunch! Home cooking at its' finest! It was delicious!

Today, here in Northern Virginia, it is finally raining. It has been close to 40 days without rain...and a real chill is in the air--finally feels like October.

I have a great line for November--I fly Fridays through Mondays...which gives me Thanksgiving off. I generally bid to work on Christmas Day, since Christmas Eve is the real day I want off, and then someone else gets the day off. I'm so nice!! :) Anyway, I have Recurrent training on November 5-6 and hopefully will get my 4 day trip on November 9-12 dropped. That's when Shelly and I are going to Buenos Aires for a week.

Sleeping baby

Old and achy--my new status quo!

Just finished a five day trip--actually it was a three day backed up to a two day. Since I am able to fit into my uniform skirts now, I have been wearing my black pumps. Well, I broke a heel on them a couple of weeks ago, and have been wearing my navy blue pumps. OMIGAWD I have been in so much pain this trip! These shoes hurt my feet so much! And, there was no layover where I was able to go buy new shoes....so, I wore my "servin' slippers" as much as I could. These are old, beat up flats that I wear while in flight...certainly not for public consumption off the aircraft. Still, after this trip, I want to saw my legs off....

Tomorrow, I am heading to San Antonio (finally) to spend the weekend with my Dad. He has some lovely friends that I adore--a couple named Jeanie and Joe. Joe is twice retired and between my Dad and him, tell the same stories over and over! He is a pistol! And his wife, Jeanie is fun! My sister, Donna will be there too--so we will all go to dinner at least once. There is an Italian restaurant that we go to and it makes the best eggplant parmigian. And, Donna and I always hit up the San Antonio Stein Mart while there. On Sunday, we'll go to church with my Dad, and then head home.