Sunday, January 10, 2010

400: parental visitation


My parents came for a visit this weekend. They hadn't come since my wedding two and a half years ago, so some of our small adjustments--the rearrangement of living room furniture, the economizing of bookshelves--were a surprise. We took them to Norton's, a place I like to call "swanky" for our town, had tapas, and back home, they played their first Wii games and we ended it with the ever-popular Apples to Apples.

They brought their geriatric dog Lanie (full name: Cristalana, after some song my sister liked years ago, and I'm certain I've spelling it wrong; I shortened it to Lanie thereafter). It was her first road trip, her first time out of the city where they live, perhaps one of the few times she has been anywhere aside from the place where she was born, the vet's, and home. She was sweet and grunty and noisy and because her back legs are going out, she walks a lot like those ROUSes--an awkward galumph.

Today we went eagle watching, and my parents saw the most bald eagles at once they've ever seen before. I'd say there were maybe half a dozen, maybe eight, swooping around, inspecting the backwaters of the Mississippi. I've posted a handful more photos from our trip on the natural curiosities blog.


Despite my frozen eyelashes and my husband and my later trip into the basement to work more on insulation, it was a warm, cozy weekend. It's always good to see my parents, and I'm glad old Lanie came along.

2 comments:

KeLL said...

I haven't seen Lanie in years! She looks so much older than I remembered her. This makes me sad. We're growing old too fast. Miss you...

Molly said...

She's incredibly old and not expected to last a heck of a lot longer, though I have to admit, she's really hanging in there spirit-wise. If only her legs weren't so bad... she walks like a drunk. Poor girl. Part of me wished she could have stayed with us!