Jump in the Fi-YAH!

I have to laugh at some of my vacation traditions I've kept alive. Things like finding out my shoes aren't waterproof until I'm overseas in a deluge, my sleep schedule being totally off to the point I nap on a train, and being unable to do something because of factors beyond my control (G7 in this case). I maintain I couldn't go to the Vatican this time cuz last time I did the pope abdicated a week later. I ordered new shoes, time for a wardrobe purge. 

My office when I got back. My boss says I'm dead to him for being gone for 2 weeks, so that's why the ghoul is in the middle.

Vacation is great, but coming home from vacation is kinda like jumping right back into the mess you left. I really thought that certain things would be resolved or changed by the time I got back, but that turned out to not be the case. Instead some things just were... paused... somehow. So when I got back, it was the same stuff, just post-vacation. Kinda rude, really. The fun part is that I'm back out watching my friend K's menagerie for a week. Unfortunately that means I'm still missing my hubby for another week! We just aren't getting to spend a lot of time together this month. 

But look at this FACE!

I thought I'd be bottle feeding a lamb this time around, but she's proving stubborn about actually taking the bottle. Sigh. The good juju is this time I don't have to feed the cows in the AM. Just PM for cows and peacocks. AM and PM for dogs, cats, and sheep. There is a chance another sheep may be having a lamb or 2... but as long as it goes fine and I don't have to intervene, we good. The primary pup is good as always. Sweet boy. Hard part is just missing my hubbs. I didn't see him while I was on vacation, then we had a busy weekend back, and then another week of staggered schedules, and then I was out at K's. Sigh... life gets busy really quick. I swear, we are going to be crazy busy until the end of the year. Nov is nuts, and Dec is slightly less so, but only because no one has mentioned Christmas craziness yet. 😁

A and I had a good time on Friday. We went out for margaritas and Mexican food on thurs night, then on Friday we went out for coffee at the historic hotel on the square before having lunch at the red star Cafe. Then I headed to Glen rose and the ranch. 

Saturday I went to Burleson to check the mail for my Halloween costume and see the hubby for a bit. We had lunch together and then got some groceries before I had to head back. I fed the cows and found what I can only describe as a friggin lake near their water buckets. Turns out a hose broke and had been leaking all damn day. Sigh. So I filled up their water again, and I'll leave a note for K and her hubbs. I'm a little worried about the lamb since I can't get it to eat, but it's also being super energetic and stubborn, so maybe it's ok... sigh. Even if it's not getting a lot of milk out of mom, it must be getting SOME nutrients from somewhere. Anyway, that's me for now. We shall see what happens in the coming weeks as I keep on working on my certification. I finished my rural grant writing class, so hopefully I'll get us more $$. Our latest was $35,000 for maternal health. So woot. 

It was my boss's bday last week, and we decorated his office. Hehe.

Yes, that's an adult diaper and fall risk bands on the walker. I've never tied so many balloons in my life!

Anyhow, I hope all of you are doing well, that you've been enjoying your October's, and you are in good health as we move toward the end of the year. Sending hugs and love to all, and may you all have a happy, spooky halloween!! 🎃🧛🏻‍♀️🐈‍⬛💀👻 

Bougie Me

I will say it. I prefer direct flights. My flight was delayed. The first plane was taken out of service, so they had go find a 2nd one (just as I was decided the universe meant for me to have a 2nd alcoholic beverage we moved to the 2nd gate that did NOT have such service readily available). My flight that was supposed to leave at 245 actually left around 5. So instead of getting in at 8 I got in around 10, which was fine. I got thru immigration and customs just fine and found my bus to take me to the metro and found my hotel. Thankfully they had my room ready to go, so after a quick jaunt out to get a working charger cord (I grabbed the wrong one) I spent a good hour or two in the room charging my phone and myself before venturing out for food. 

My bags

Travel bloody mary

Dinner on the flight

Coming in

On the bus 

Welcome to Rome

Preparing for the Jubilee 

The door to my hotel, not that you can tell.

The foyer.

SO MUCH better than a hostel 😁

I went easy for food and went to the Rome central Mercado. A giant food court next to the train station. I got a sammich. On the way back I stopped at a pharmacy and got a fantastic. Took it back to my hotel and had a little solo dinner. 

Delicious.

I continued to relax, took a lovely shower, and eventually gave in to the exhaustion. I also put my breakfast order out cuz you know, why not? Room service in Rome, I will eat breakfast for that 😉

The saga of picking people up and getting to the villa is extensive, so I'm gonna spare you the agony and just share the result.

Villa and surrounding area. 

it's quiet, almost serene out here. 

From here on you will have to deal with no pix because Google is being a jerk. We had a wonderful time. There were just a couple flies in the ointment. 

First, our cohorts had a couple cancled flights so they got in way later than they intended, meaning that we drove to the villa at night. No problem except that they shut down part of the autostrade for construction, so Google routed us through narrow, winding country roads, small towns, up and down, and all around the roundabouts. It was ever so slightly unnerving, as I was already nervous about driving in italy. Then, what is the last thing you want to see in a rental car? Yep. "Engine failure, repair needed." So yeah, I'm driving an unfamiliar car down unfamiliar roads in an unfamiliar country and now its possible that the car could die on me. As we got to the dirt road that the villa is off of, I got a new message: break system failure, pull over now. Of course I didn't. We were so close. So we got there. The next day we had to get to Florence for a wine tour. So the 2nd car followed us in, and sure enough, we lost power on the autostrade, and the car died about 5 or 6 times on the way to Florence, at least once in Florence, and when I tell you that my stress levels were off the friggin charts, I'm not exaggerating. I contacted the rental company and ended up basically demanding they find me another car, which they did. It was newer and nicer. I felt much better driving in Italy with the 2nd car. I almost got comfortable, in fact!

The wine and food tours were amazing, I highly recommend them. Also, be sure to schedule lazy days on vacation. They are also needed. I went horseback riding for the first time in approx 25 years, and boy did THAT feel like mean math. I did not go to the Vatican because the last time I went the pope abdicated, instead I went to assisi and wasn't able to see the basilica because the G7 were there. Dash it all. We had a few travel snafus: food poisoning, lost luggage, flight issues, but all in all it was an AMAZING trip, we had a lovely time, and we would love to go back. I do wish my hubbs had been there, but perhaps next time. The hotel I had on the water in rome the last night was amazing. Id for sure go there again. 

Anyway, I'm home now. And our kitty is being super cute laying on me. I'm still VERY jet lagged, and NOT looking forward to work tomorrow. I did get food for the week and as of Friday I'm off to GR to watch the animals again. Maybe by the time my friends get married in a couple weeks I'll be back to normal. You know, in time for daylight savings to end. SMH.