I awoke around 8 to the sound of my phone alarm going off, triggering a need to take my antibiotic. After I took it, I went back up to bed, telling my mom that I would be up shortly. Not long enough later, she was harassing me out of bed because, "Jolene was up". I get up, and I think we putz around the kitchen, make Welsh Cakes, I took steps to not feel horrible, and we went to open gifts.
Mom and some of her gifts.
I took a photo of my scrap wrapping from another angle. I ran out of clear tape, so I used the other kind available.
Jolene holding cover-alls for her boyfriend, which were too large. Note the slogan on my dad's shirt.
After gifts were opened, Dad did some Santa Claus posing.
Then I arranged and photographed "my loot" in a makeshift studio of sorts.
Jolene arranged her loot, then joined Mom to make potatoes. I went with Dad to the barn.
This one is half Belted - in two ways. His mother was bred to a Belted bull, and the belt only appears on this side.
After the barn, we went outside to the back where Dad showed me the crick.
The garden in winter.
Dad is pointing at things and explaining them.
When we got back in, I photographed my sister's loot, and she got shots of her boyfriend's loot.
I arranged mine to take back to Texas, and then other things happened. After a while, it was time to go to my aunt's house for the traditional Christmas Dinner.
Simple, but tasty.
People were there, food was eaten, then other people showed up with babies! I gave one baby a gift, but the other baby's gift was at her aunt or grandpa's house.
Later, suddenly, an unexpected baby [well, she's 5 now] came in the door. Then her brother arrived, who promptly yelled with delight about arriving, and then their parents came in. We talked and told stories - well, I told stories, because I talk a lot. Just before my family went home, I had those kids open their gifts. I couldn't figure out which gift each kid should have, so I just said that they were sharing gifts. Well, the little boy opened the Kinetic Sand and said something to the effect of, "this is exactly what I wanted," which was just perfect.
After that, we went home, but did a half hour tour [technically, 29 minutes, 4:43 to 5:12] of Rudolph, starting with 5th Avenue, then going through the town.
Rudolph Street Lights
At home, we did things, surely. I made an origami box for some of the little rocks from Little Rock that I would be leaving with my parents. Then it was time to decorate the cookies. I started with the tiny cookies, then went to the big ones. They took a very long time, and eventually, my sister helped with a few, which weren't photographed.
We cleaned up the cookie decorating area, and I went on to blogging, interrupted briefly by my reminder that I had to take the antibiotic and other necessary items to help me feel a little better. I'm watching Portlandia in the dining room now, possibly editing some photos, and going to bed to start my long drive back down to Texas. I take solace that at least I'll be driving down the map, so gravity should be able to help my car out.
Today was packed, but a lot of it was filled with sleeping. I had been awake until 4am with some surprisingly bad illness-related symptoms, but I was able to sleep until 1pm.
When I awoke, my mom had me help sort out gifts, but I did other things, mainly around making myself feel better. Eventually, I showered and my mom and I organized gifts for my cousins' children.
My parents were also busy preparing food, and we were waiting for Jolene. She arrived home, and I called to renew my car's warranty protection for another 5 years.
More gifts were sorted, I think, and much talking was done. At about 4:30 or 5, we had a dinner of Moravian Squirrel, potato dumpling, and cabbage, with a salad, and some shrimp from our 'crick'.
After dinner, I wrapped gifts, and finished wrapping things for cousin's kids and my mom and I went to deliver them. After we got home, Mom and I baked some cookies, but decided to wait to tomorrow to decorate them.
There are other things as well, including the wound from Catcher. I was playing with her on a chair, and turned to talk to my family. All of the sudden, she jumped up and got her teeth into my wrist. Jolene says that I had her all riled up, and she saw the cat's bloodlust before the jump.
Woke up in the morning feeling a little less [bleep]y.
"If only I had a bottle opener, I could have one of my Topo Chicos," I thought. Check out is at 11, but I should be nearly out of Arkansas by then. I injured a toenail on the hotel bed, early in the morning.
I spent the first hour I was awake getting ready and writing down tedious directions to I-55N, only to discover at the end that I only saved 20 minutes by taking the tedious US highway system instead of 55 the whole way to 39. I took my elaborate combination of medications - prescription and OTC cold medications - and added some photos to yesterday's post before I set out.
The TV in the hotel room taught me that I do not understand Pokemon.
I left my hotel and went through Little Rock before dawn, in the rain. One of the radio stations on the low end of the dial - 88.3 - had this gravely voiced guy as a DJ, and he introduced me to this song.
As I continued to drive in Arkansas, I found a Throwback Hip Hop station, and went back to the station that "played everything", which was mainly pop hits from the last 40 or so years, but it was more diverse than most stations.
I stopped at a Love's in Palestine, AR and caught a glimpse of a magical truck. I drove over to the truck area, inadvertently, and as I realized my mistake and began turning around, I saw that another car had decided that I looked like I knew where I was going and followed me. After parking in the car area, going in the store, then back out to photograph the magical truck, I took a picture of the birds in the sky.
Finally, I walked over and took a photo, including a (not shown) selfie, of the magical truck.
You're seeing that right.
I spent an inordinate amount of time in the Love's, then in my car, doing Facebook things and texting. Finally, I left the truck stop and was back on my way.
No, thank you!
I was back on the road again, and at one point, passed a car completely engulfed in flames. Eventually, I left Arkansas and the amazing radio stations to enter the state that I would later come to despise.
You keep using that word. I don't think you know what it means.
At first, I was able to tolerate the billboards. Then, I was offered a candy cane at Burger King when the worker wished me Merry Christmas. Obviously, I celebrate Christmas, but knowing people who don't (Jewish, Russian Orthodox who have Christmas on a different day, former Jehovah's Witnesses), it felt very aggressive.
[photo of the building for sale in Scott City]
Then there was the final billboard that I saw when I stopped for gas. At that point, my goal became to get the hell out of this state as fast as I could.
I had to photograph this, come on.
It's just THERE.
Then, before I knew it (seriously, I missed the Welcome to Illinois sign and forgot my US geography), I was in Illinois. 55 stretched on forever, then I stopped in Atlanta again for gas and some dinner. The wrap I had was terrible, but I ate it, and resolved to just go to Rudolph.
I got to 39, finally. Passed many signs for Peoria, the home of one of the prophets of my Taco religion (though he doesn't know it yet) and favorite blogger, and got to the toll before the border to home. Across the border, a Culver's billboard welcomed me to Wisconsin, then another one advertised the Ho-Chunk Casino. I felt it fitting.
Before I knew it, I was in Janesville and decided to stop at a Kwik Trip. However, the exit I got off on had no such things, despite the signs, so I went one exit up. I discovered that I was at the end of my rope at that point. Problems at the gas pump made me get all yelly, but I got out and back on the road.
About 20 miles south of Plainfield, perhaps more, the fog set in, making visibility impossible. I slowed to the 40's and watched for deer. I saw a sign for Hancock, the exit before Plainfield, then finally, I got to Ed Gein's hometown for the most harrowing part of my journey.
State highways, in the dark, in the fog. Thankfully, deer hunting season had just ended, so there would be fewer deer out. One car kept on my bumper until I pulled over at an intersection. Then, finally, I got to town - sort of. Over Lake NEPCO, and past the Tractor Supply Store, into Wisconsin Rapids I went. I sent my mom a photo from one of the last red lights before the few miles between Rapids and their house.
5-10 minutes from home.
AAAAAAANNNDDD, by 11:20, I arrived at home in Rudolph.....
My clock is 1 hour, 6 minutes ahead.
I talked to my parents for a while, then had a hard time getting to sleep. It appears, in retrospect, to have been the worst of my congestion, since no nights since have been that bad. I finally got to bed at 4am on Christmas Eve...
It started with a tickle in my throat on the morning of the 16th. I took some ibuprofen, acetaminophen, and a whole heaping load of denial before work and went in, determined to at least leave early. I shelved cookie re-decorating that night to "rest" instead, then awoke at 2:30am with a low, but increasing fever. I would not make it in for the Year End Team Meeting, which was therefore canceled. A trip to Urgent Care got me an antibiotic and a recommendation to stay out of work for at least another day. I still felt awful Friday, but went in and got my computer. I updated my flight plans to depart early morning, Tuesday, to give me more time to recover.
After a strong Mucinex tablet, the ear pain intensified, and Saturday morning included another trip to Urgent Care and a steroid shot. On Sunday, the pain migrated to the other ear, and I knew that I could not fly. Suddenly, it hit me: I could drive to Wisconsin. I have a car, my mom made the drive last year, and I had the time, so long as I gave up my Monday to drive. But how to get two days of activity into just one? Easy, stay up late and leave later. Around midnight or later, Monday morning, I was still awake and decided to rearrange all of my books, the bookcase, and the chair and ottoman in the corner. I'm happy I did it, because it all looks nice, but I ended up sleeping in, feeling horrible in the morning, and not leaving until 1pm on Monday.
In the morning, I started doing laundry, but couldn't put things in the car or take out the trash until that was done, as all of my pants, apparently, were tied up in said laundry. So I did some work things, packed, fed Bruno, cleaned, packed, cleaned some more, texted, and finally had my pants. But then I had one last work thing to do at 11, so I finished that and started on a "just 5 minute" survey that took me about 20. Then I dragged on, not wanting to leave Bruno, who was still freaked out from the pet sitter visit on Friday and was hiding under the bed again. But at noon, or just after, I took my final items out of the apartment and left.
But before driving out, I needed food, so I went to Tacos and had a taco salad, talked to people (though I shouldn't have, what with my dreadful voice), and wrote down directions to ...
TEXARKANA! Home of the Continuing Legend, the Boggy Creek Creature!
But first, I had to navigate the Interstate-less East Texas highways and stave off lingering throat pain and congestion.
In Atlanta, I stopped at Jeff Peace's financial firm parking lot for illness-related reasons and made a Facebook post.
Long story short, I drove over the Sulfur River, past Texarkana, and into Arkansas. At a Flying J, I had a cheese sausage and $2.39 worth of cooked green beans. The first taste was boring, but suddenly, I found myself wolfing them down as it they were manna from heaven. The cheese hot dog was still good, but I guess my body really liked those beans.
Then I got back on the Interstate - thank Eisenhower - and after a couple hours, I made it to a Super 8 Motel just south of the Little Rock Loop. A phone conversation with my mom, football watching and blogging, item rearrangement, shower, and now it's time for bed.
