to Chicago

Ted and I ended up spending our weekend in Chicago after his grandfather died last week. I just returned home this afternoon, and Ted will be home late tonight. We were only there for a couple days, but we did manage to pack a lot in.

My car is still at the body shop in Spokane. Originally, it was scheduled to be done December 21st. With my weekly calls to check on the progression, the date has been pushed back time and again. I called last week and was told the car would be done for me to pick it up on Friday, so Ted and I were going to head up to get it. Sure enough, I got a call Friday morning saying one more part is needed, and the part is nowhere to be found in the U.S. The guy "hopes" the part will be in Spokane by tomorrow. For some reason, I'm not getting my hopes up!

I took the body shop up on their offer of a loaner car since they have had mine for 7 weeks now, so I took a taxi to the shop today from the Spokane airport. I had called from Minneapolis to remind them I was coming and they said the car would be ready to go. Of course, when I got there, the car was not ready to go and no one could find the keys. I waited for 20 minutes before they managed to find the key, but at least I have the car. It's a sweet Chevy Lumina.

The pets are definitely glad to be home. I arrived home to find the rugs askew and overturned, the toilet paper and paper towels shredded to bits (hmmmm...Miss Pazza must have been on the kitchen counter since she's the only one with claws), and the cat grass plant overturned on the sofa. Yes, the kitties were busy.

Hitcher has done nothing but sleep since I got home. He gets so stressed at the kennel. This time he also had his vaccinations, which they say makes the animals not feel well, so he's under the weather too.

Ted and I had our hopes up that the snow would be melted enough for us to ride outside this week, but the Pullman streets are a slippery mess. I just attempted to do a short run and came home early after nearly falling several times. Ted discovered Yaktrax this year and they are fantastic when it's slippery outside. The only problem is that my pair is with Ted on the way home from Chicago. That's okay, though. I'll get a good trainer ride in tomorrow. Time to start counting those calories again after a couple days of misbehaving!