And I'm back

Relatively uneventful trip back, even though we had a detour - I am not sure why. We backed into the St. Louis station and then, instead of backing out and turning, we went BACK across the Mississippi into Illinois and south from there. (The only town I could see a sign for - it was getting dark by then - was Dupo, Illinois. I know Dupo because Dupo Prairie was one of my field sites all those years ago). Not sure where we eventually DID cross but we must have, some time late in the night, because we made all the intermediate stops (Poplar Bluff is the next one after St. Louis).

A new (at least, I don't remember having him before) car attendant named Manny. I liked him - he had "hustle" - he put out extra bottles of water and saw that the coffeemaker was perking and he took extra care in making dinner reservations for people and asked people when they got on when they wanted their beds put down at night. (I appreciated that; I like to go to bed early and sometimes it's hard to find the "car guy" when you want it set up). I cringed inwardly when a couple women getting on after me joked about how their last car attendant "partied with them" (no, he didn't, as it turned out) and they did their best to present an image of "wild and crazy gals" (which, I will be judgemental here, is kind of off-putting once you're past 50 or so. I would say it would be off-putting for someone MY age - not quite 50 - but I have a different way of facing life, anyway). They also claimed to be "high maintenance" which made me cringe inwardly also. (I try very hard not to be. If something's wrong or if I need help, I ask, but I don't make crazy demands or have crazy expectations). There was also someone on the car - not those people - who would keep punching their "call attendant" bell so it dinged constantly until he showed up - never mind that it lights up a light so the attendant knows where he's needed if he's attending to something else.

(Yes, I did tip Manny, and I thanked him when I got off the train).

So we were a little late getting in. My car was OK (I had been slightly concerned, apparently there have been a lot of storms in the area and hail is always possible). My house was similarly okay and the person I had casually asked about mowing had remembered, despite my not having brought it up recently, so my lawn looked good. And I have groceries ahead - lamb for a lamb loaf in a few days, and some chicken breasts, and veggies, and some on-sale raspberries. And I even got to the natural-foods store, and hooray, they had a fresh stock of the canned pureed sweet potatoes I love so much (and relied on so heavily when my gut was bothering me - it was one of the few things I felt comfortable about eating).

(And I figured out my GI issues over break, because they did recur once, right before my gyn appointment.....apparently it is, ta-dah, inflammation resulting from hormonal fluctuations with possibly an exacerbation when I'm concerned about something. So the good news is that it will eventually quit on its own, and also it is nothing serious. The bad news is there's not a lot that can be done about it other than using heat on it and just realizing this is the result of my age and hormonal status. Oh well. Knowing it's not my gall bladder or some other internal organ goes a long way to making me feel less worried about it).

At any rate - I'm about half unpacked, the house has cooled down acceptably (I set the air conditioner on 80 when I'm gone), I need to wash my hair. Mail-getting will happen tomorrow as we've had ongoing storms and I'd just rather not go out for something not 100% necessary to do today.