No SOAP...but VODKA!

Gosh, has it really been 3 weeks since my last post?   

So, a lot has happened in those 3 weeks…we went for a week in Palm Springs to get away from the weather.*  The trip was on the spur of the moment, I was fortunate to be able to get the time off from work; Buster's Auntie Pam was available to babysit; and we used miles to purchase the airline tickets. 

We rented a small house in Cathedral City with a pool.  Everything was provided, kind of like a hotel, except no bars of soap!  When I called the management company they said, "Oh, we don't provide bars of soap."  Whatever, it wasn't a big deal.  But it WAS weird, considering when I opened the freezer to look, there was an almost full bottle of vodka.  Soap…no, vodka…YES!

Not "just" vodka, but good vodka...Belvedere!

The house was small but the pool area was great!

A friend of ours came from San Francisco and shared the house with us for a few of the days.  We also have quite a few friends who have retired and moved there so we had a pretty packed social schedule…it was fun!

One night, we went to see the Palm Springs Follies…this is their last season, due to the downturn in the economy, people just aren't going to see them like they used to.  Which is sad, they are wonderful.  The Follies basically are older folks who were professional dancers in their prime; when they retired in Palm Springs, they joined the Follies.  Let me tell you, these people were an inspiration.  Everyone was at least 55, the oldest showgirl was 78 and was gorgeous, and the oldest gentleman dancer was 84 and very spry. 

They didn't allow any photography in the theater so I got this photo off the internet...this dancer was in her 70's.

We also went up on the aerial tramway, on a particularly beautiful day…

View of Palm Springs and Coachella Valley

All in all, we had quite a lovely time, sunny and 80 every day (aside from 2 big dust storms they had while we were there; during one they even had to close some major roads due to lack of visibility.)

Unfortunately, I came down with a head cold...but at least it didn't start until the last day when we were on our way home.  It seems I get a cold every time I travel even though I am very careful to wash my hands all the time and not touch my face.  I think part of the trouble this time was the dust, which made me sneeze a lot, and I think opened me up to any virus passing by.  Nothing like coming back from a vacation, working for half a day, then being off sick for 2 days.

So I spent the weekend on the couch.  (Didn't even do Kyra's Virtual 5K that I signed up for a while back...sorry, Kyra!)  Today I was in a REALLY boring building code class all day; tomorrow is another code class, this one on hazardous materials (not so boring, I am interested in this subject).  Wednesday it's back to normal work, except I am waaaaay behind and have a lot of catching up to do.

I love vacations but to tell the truth, it's good to be home.

(*Tragically, as a result of the non-stop rain, there was a horrible mudslide about an hour north of Seattle…several people were killed, and there are still many people missing...please pray for these victims and their families)