A trip in adjectives

Long: The trip to Spokane for the memorial service. seemed long. After a straightforward Friday morning (teaching for me, writing for Otis) Putnam Pater and Mater picked us up for the ride to the airport in the afternoon. After check-in and security and meeting up with family friends Tev and Berry, we still had an hour-and-a half before boarding. The flight itself took about a half-hour. I figured our elapsed travel time flying was almost exactly the same as it would have been had we driven (but a lot easier, of course).

Surprising: Otis and I rented a car, a since we were going to see Gweekers and Mikey rather than stay with the rest of the party. The company gave us a PT Cruiser, what I usually refer to as "that silly little car." It was surprisingly comfortable and maneuverable; Spoke still had a lot of packed snow on the roads, and we got through it fine. And being inside the car meant I didn't have to see it, so it was cool.

Lovely: Gweekers and Mikey prepared us a wonderful dinner and dinner dessert and we spent a long evening sitting and talking as the snow fell outside the window, blanketing the street in fluffy whiteness and adding a seasonal note to the panoramic view outside their window.

Slightly disturbing: The snow continued to fall as we went to bed, and through the night.

Startling: There was between six and eight inches of new snow on Saturday morning. of course, since we were in Spokane and not Seattle, the city did not shut down, there were no major alerts, and the huge civil defense siren, unused since the cold war, remained silent. People just seemed to allow a bit more time for travel (like Mikey did, when he left for a morning meeting after he made us all lattes and we had a yummy vegetarian breakfast).

Troubling: It continued to snow throughout the morning, and by the time we had to leave for our luncheon, the road conditions were such that even calling upon all my Wast Coast driving skills, we couldn't get the rental car up the grade to get out of G&M's street. We had to park the Cruiser and take Mike's four-wheel-drive truck. If we had been able to get out of their little dip, we would have been fine.)

Wonderful: The memorial service was beautiful, sweet, and touching. There was a low-key luncheon and then a simple service comprising remembrances and poetry set off by musical pieces. All of the speakers resonated with the kairos of the situation and fit it perfectly. Otis gave a short presentation and read a poem that captured her relationship with her grandmother, and she did a fine job. After the service, there was a reception for all the locals who had known Grace back in the day and had come to pay their respects.

Heroic: We returned Mikey's truck to find he had snow-blowered the driveway and much of the street. That, combined with the snow's having been packed a bit by some traffic, allowed us to actually leave after saying our fondest goodbyes. We got out of the dip and made it to the airport with no worries.

Very long: We met our travel companions in the Spokane airport two hours before boarding, only belatedly realized that the fairly nice table-service restaurant next to the security barrier had been replaced with a food court inside the security barrier. Instead of a formal together, it was Quizno's and pizza at a wobbly table. The Spokane airport is quiet and clean, but clearly lacks in diversion. the trip home was delayed for de-icing but we only got in a little late.

Reassuring: Selkie and Mountie survived on their own; the temporary litter box worked and was full!); there appeared to be no lasting physical or emotional scarring on either cat. Otis slept well.

No pics because we didn't bring the camera.