Home at last... what a week! If you follow me on twitter or instagram, you may have noticed we were caught in the Atlanta airport power outage last Sunday. Overall we fared better than many, but still have plenty of stories to tell... Station Eleven, anyone? We spent Sunday night in a downtown hotel and finally arrived home around 1AM Tuesday. I still cannot fathom how the busiest airport in the world lost power, backup power, internet, and cell service for twelve hours... apparently without any kind of disaster plan in place!!
The rest of the week has been spent decorating, shopping, and baking. Our two daughters in NYC are coming home (on separate trains!) today. My husband will provide shuttle service, while I spend the day wrapping.
Finished this week//
by Erik Larson, narrated by Richard Davidson
by Daniel Keyes
My Rereading High School project is off to a strong start. I remembered only the barest plot essentials and had vague positive associations with this book, but did not recall having such a strong emotional response. In addition to Charlie's story, at this stage in life I'm struck by his parents response to their mentally disabled son. Bottom line: I loved this book and am glad it's still assigned to junior high/high school students.
Currently reading//
by Deborah Levy
Coming up//
I'll be back sometime next week with my 2017 wrap-up and list of favorites. In the meantime, I wish you all peace and joy during this holiday season.
I saw you were stuck in ATL. I had another friend stuck there as well - she and her husband were headed to Houston for medical treatment for him. Thankfully, his mother lives in a suburb so they had somewhere to stay. It's a reminder on how fragile our infrastructure is.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas to you and your family!
Kathy - I'm glad things worked out well for your friend, too. Such a scary situation there in Atlanta. Merry Christmas!
DeleteSorry to hear you had travel woes! I'm glad you are home safe and sound. Thanks for the First Book Of The Year reminder. I hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
ReplyDeletePat - Can't wait to see which book you choose... Merry Christmas!
DeleteI don't know what happened to my comment but it disappeared while I was typing it out!
ReplyDeleteThat airport situation was unreal and even though I was not in it, it did remind me of Station Eleven!
Ti - As we were sitting there in the dark airport, all I could think of was Station Eleven! Such an eerie situation...
DeleteI'm glad you're home...and wishing you a Merry Christmas and a very happy new year!
ReplyDeleteAudrey - Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you, too, my friend. I look forward to continuing our Palliser Party in 2018 :)
DeleteOh no sorry to hear you were at the airport during that time! I'm sure you were so exhausted when you finally got home. Now though to look forward to your family time! Hope you have a wonderful time!
ReplyDeleteIliana - It took us a couple of days to recover from that trip, but we are happy to be home with the entire family now. I hope you have a very Merry Christmas!
DeleteWelcome home.
ReplyDeleteI really want to read Isaac's Storm. I know a little bit about the destruction of Galveston. It was a terrible event but it seems fascinating.
Brian - The extent of the devastation in Galveston was much worse than I'd thought. The story of the storm itself was riveting and I've long had a fascination for weather, so this book was interesting on several levels.
DeleteWhat a fiasco! Our granddaughter flies (unaccompanied minor service) through Atlanta every summer and I can't imagine what we would do it she happened to be there during a power outage like the one you experienced! Good grief! Thankfully, she'll be 16 next summer and hopefully will be able to deal with a situation (with help, of course) like that, should it ever occur again.
ReplyDeleteI've been baking a lot this past week, too. I should be ready to deliver the treats to our neighbors later tomorrow, as long as this scratchy throat doesn't get any worse...
You've convinced me to get a copy of a Flowers for Algernon from the library early next month. Wasn't there a movie adaptation called Charlie? I vaguely remember watching it after reading the book.
I love the First Book of the Year event and need to peruse my shelves for that special book for 2018.
Merry Christmas to you and yours, dear friend.
Les - The power went out around 1PM and it took them until 10PM to get everyone off the planes on the tarmac. Relatives expecting people in wheelchairs or unaccompanied minors were frantic as no info was provided. At some point during this ordeal, Delta stopped boarding unaccompanied minors anywhere in the country! So hard to believe your granddaughter will be 16... I've enjoyed seeing her grow up through your photos.
DeleteI'd forgotten about a movie adaptation of Flowers for Algernon, but that does sound familiar. Will have to look into it. Strange I didn't remember having such an emotional response to the book in junior high...
Hope you and Rod have a very Merry Christmas!
Vicki - I have a feeling we'll be talking about that trip for a long time. Can't wait to see what you'll be reading in 2018. Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteWhat a disaster the airport had to have been! But I am happy that you are safe and sound and home! Have a wonderful holiday!
ReplyDeletePatty - The airport was crazy... you definitely see the best and worst of humanity at a time like that! So happy to get home relatively unscathed. Merry Christmas to you and Den!
DeletePatty - and Merry Christmas to the Girls, too!!!
DeleteLovely photo!
ReplyDeleteBeing stuck in an airport has to be very frustrating! Glad you made it out of there.
Hot Milk is a book I enjoyed, although parts of it were boring, IMO.
Have a great week! Thanks for visiting my blog.
Laurel-Rain Snow - I hesitated to read Hot Milk because of lukewarm reviews, but am enjoying it more than expected. There are definitely some slow parts though! It will be a while before I'm ready to fly again...
DeleteGlad you got home! That does sound like Station Eleven Part 2. The power outage seems mind-boggling. Will they get to the bottom of it? Merry Christmas to you & your family. And happy reading over the holidays.
ReplyDeleteSusan - The power outage was due to a fire in one of the 'sheds'... supposedly related to construction. Evidently the back-up system was in close proximity to main system and was also taken out but he fire. Not a good situation. Hope you are enjoying your holiday in California!
DeleteMerry Christmas JoAnn. Looks like both of us are in for a white, white Christmas.
ReplyDeleteDiane - Our Christmas was so white, it prevented us from traveling to my sister's for our family gathering. We had a very peaceful day with our daughters at home instead... it was wonderful!
DeleteMerry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteVintage Reading - Hope you had a very merry Christmas, too!
DeleteMerry Christmas, JoAnn. I’d venture to say you didn’t have such a strong emotional response to Flowers for Algernon as a teen. Having lived more of life and becoming a mother would make the story have more of an impact I’m sure! Cliff Robertson played the lead in the movie, Charlie and he was excellent. Try to watch it if you can. My granddaughters symphony teacher was stuck at Atlanta too and they had to postpone their Winter concert because of it. Sounds like a grand adventure to look back on!
ReplyDeletePeggy - There is a copy of the movie available through inter-library loan. Hope I can get it before we head south. The stories of our Atlanta adventure are fun to tell now that they are in the past ;-) Hope you had a very merry Christmas!
DeleteTesting 123. WOW! about Hotlanta! Glad you made it home...
ReplyDeleteCare - Woo hoo! It worked!! Loved your Christmas photos of the pups :)
Delete