16 posts tagged “gin”

I have been on the go quite a bit since arriving home from Wisconsin, and a very important date went by without my even realizing: Ginger's 3-year anniversary as my roommate!  I can't believe it was only three years ago that Gin first set foot in this apartment, having flown from Chicago only a week or so before that after my Grandma Emily died.  I feel like we've always known each other, and I hope we continue to do so for many more years!

My little Gion and my suitcase, that is. 

Well, I arrived in Madison last night, two hours later than intended because of a series of airline issues.  When I got to SFO the ticket counter lady told me that my flight was running 40 minutes late, and asked me if I would change to a later flight (to Milwaukee rather than Kansas City) because the first flight had been overbooked.  I said I would rather stick with my original 12:20 flight, and so headed off happily to my gate.  I was more than an hour early, so I wandered over to the Sunglass Hut to see if anyone I knew was working there (I knew Andrew wasn't working, but I thought I might see our friend George).  But I didn't recognize the girl there, so I went back to my gate and sat down to wait.  It seemed like forever, but 1:00 sloooowly approached.  At about 12:45 the plane showed up, which was good, I guess.  But we continued to sit around and wait, and I watched the tarmac guys unloading the baggage from the plane (while in my head I am screaming "THEY ARE STILL UNLOADING THE F-ING BAGS?").  I had only an hour layover in Kansas City, you see, and with the 40 minute delay I was already a little stressed about catching my flight to Madison.  But still.  I watched the tarmac guys unload two cats and a dog in pet crates from the plane, which was kind of cute and kind of sad, since I can't imagine how stressful the hull of a plane is to an animal.  Then finally I saw them loading our luggage onto the plane, including my bright blue suitcase.  By this time it is about 1:30.  So, I got a call from my stepdad in Madison, advising me to go talk to the agent at the counter since there was no way in hell I was going to catch my flight from KC.  Hmm.  So I got put on the later flight, the one I had been offered before.  But, my bag was stuck on the other plane, and according to the agent it would be impossible to get it off.
So, I got here eventually but my suitcase didn't.  I am still waiting.  My computer would like its power cord, and I would love to sleep in some jammies tonight (and change my clothes, okay) Oh yeah, and I had to sit next to the bathroom on both of my flights.  So boo to Midwest Airlines.

Well, I am off to Wisconsin in a few days.  I am definitely ready to travel, as I think the last time I took a trip was last August, when I went to Italy.  Well, I guess I have been to Tahoe since then, but that was only for a few days and a Greyhound bus was involved, so I really don't think that counts.  I'm so excited to see my family, can't really believe that it's been almost a year and a half since I was last there.  It will also be nice to escape the stresses of my life here in San Francisco for a week, fo sho.  Only regrettable thing is that Islands will be in town while I am gone, and I would have LOVED to see them live.  Oh well, I'll live.   And of course I wish little Gion didn't have to be alone for so long, but her last kennel experience was so traumatic (for me, anyway) that I think she'll be much better off staying in my apartment alone, with occasional visits from Andrew the bringer of food and fresh water.  I just hope she doesn't get into too much trouble...

Also, le sigh...

A snapshot from our day of no activity:

A cute photo from the other night... I guess she was ready to turn in earlier than usual.

Although I haven't been online lately, I have been up to my usual pursuits.  That is, brewing kombucha tea and photographing my silly cat.  My latest KT venture was to add frozen cranberries before letting the bottles sit in the refrigerator, and the result was a gorgeous red.  They taste good, too, without being overwhelmingly fruity.  The first photo was taken on the day of bottling:

And then after five days of settling in the fridge:
Pretty. 
Gion pretty much hid from my family when they visited my apartment, but managed to show her sweet side when my mom came alone.  I don't think she hates my brother and sister, she just prefers a small group.  Like, two people or so. 
Her latest hobby has been to track the moths that get stuck in between the apartment windows and partial screens outside.  She waits patiently for a victim:
When a moth stumbles foolishly into her trap she pounces:
...only to be stymied by the fact that a pane of glass separates her from the moth:
Which all leads, inevitably, to embarrassment:
Poor thing.  If only I lived in one of those apartments with a view of the Telegraph Hill parrots!!!  I don't know if she could handle the excitement...

In the course of doing some badly needed cleaning in my apartment the other night I swept under my bed, revealing a treasure trove of long lost cat toys, along with a shocking amount of dust.  Most of the toys ended up down there because Gionna was uninterested in them, but there was one in particular that she was overjoyed to reunite with:

Wednesday is always my longest day of the week, 9 1/2 hours today.  BUT it is sometimes the most enjoyable work day of the week, as it's the day of the baby's music class with the cutie music teacher (who today told me I have a pretty singing voice!  Hot!)  After class the kids' mom dropped big sister off with me and the baby at the park, and we spent about two hours there eating a packed lunch and generally basking in the sun.  I was talking to another nanny, and we agreed that, on a sunny day, nannying is the most awesome job ever.  The day wasn't totally flawless, mostly because big sister is dealing with an upset stomach and had a bit of a diaper explosion during her nap, if you know what I mean.  Honestly, though, I am almost immune to being grossed out by poop at this point.  I was actually so thrilled about her napping for a change that I was willing to deal with the mess. 
On Monday my coworker from the book store lent me the MGMT cd I so desperately wanted, and today I played it for the kids... they seemed to like it.  It was a departure from the classic rock radio that we usually listen to, but luckily their musical tastes are pliable.  Since, you know, they're babies.  This was our favorite song of the day:

THIS, however, I'm not so sure about...

I think she looks a little annoyed because her little sunbeam migrated off the pillow she was sitting on.  I really need to move to an apartment that gets more than 15 minutes of sunlight a day!