This is my last vacation for 2023. And it’s an important one. This year marks 30 years of marriage to ‘Christabel’, my wife. We’ve known one another since 1991, we met on the old computer service Compuserve which actually predates the World Wide Web as we know it today. Back then, it most definitely wasn’t ‘plug and play’ you had to have a little know-how in order to get online. By no means did you have to have a Computer Science degree, but at the very least you had to know the ins and outs of the computer you were using. Or have someone else get you online.
Since the vast majority of our anniversaries went by without much fanfare (even our 25th), we decided this year to do something a bit different. Instead of going out to dinner sometime in the ‘near future’ as we always would, instead we rented an AirBnB house about an hour from where we live to spend a few days living the ‘good life’ as someone would who owned a house on 7 acres, with a professional type kitchen, automated heating system and so on. I made lasagna last night, and I’ve never actually had a kitchen with a $7000 stove, an $8000 refrigerator and more than enough room to move about and not trip over things. About the only bit of angst I had was the (for whatever reason) seemingly lack of utensils that would have made it easier in some respects to cook. The only colander available was one for a small amount of pasta, and there seemed to be NO spatulas in the entire kitchen to scrape out pots and cans with. Though, if you wish to bake cookies they have you more than covered. I think for the most part the house is designed for families with kids in mind.
It does sleep 10 easily, there are enough games and activities salted through the house to keep an entire summer camp well-occupied. Mom & Dad could go somewhere while someone else kept an eye on the brood. There are 4 televisions in the house (even one in the kitchen!) along with a 6 person hot tub and in-ground pool. As I mentioned, there are 7 acres of property, and while it is on a street in the town, it’s not a busy thoroughfare. Very off the beaten path.
Bella ‘celebrated’ her 1st birthday yesterday. While ‘officially’ she’s graduated from being a kitten to a cat, I imagine I’m still going to be treating her as a kitten for the time being. I doubt she’s going to mind. Before we left yesterday, she managed to get into the bedroom overnight, when Christabel had gotten up, and the little stinker snuck in when she came back from the bathroom. At 6 am I felt something walking on the bed, and when I thought I was dreaming and moved my legs, it happened again. Looking up, I saw a little furry face looking at me and I knew something was amiss. I got up and removed her from the bedroom and went back to sleep for a little while longer.
At any rate, this will be my last vacation of this year. We went back to where I grew up for my HS reunion last month, anniversary vacation this month, and back in May my dear friend was able to come visit for a spell after a long winter. 2024 will have its own vacations but I think I managed to do 2023 justice after the pandemic ate up most of my time for the past few years.
Happy anniversary to you both. I hope your stay in what sounds like a mansion will be a good one. I would have loved to have been able to cook in that kitchen or look across the 7 acres of land. I’m sure Bella will always enjoy being treated like a kitten, what pet wouldn’t love to be spoiled all the time. Congratulations on the 30th anniversary. That is an accomplishment.