SPLASHDOWN!

 So much for my plans today and tomorrow.  Not that I had much in mind, really.  It's going to be a rainy 50 degrees today, meaning there will be snow on the mountain tops.  If it's 50 here, it's snowing at the Ski Lodge.

Mr. Cooper could care less.  MOM ... I was SLEEPING!!  Never wake up the sleeping kid unless you have treats in your hand,

It started off nice enough ... just a few clouds ... but soon the lightning began.  That's so unusual for this area.  No thunder, just lightning and ominous looking clouds.

I do try to be quiet when I have company, but when Cooper thinks there are treats in the air, he barks.  In other words, everyone was up by 7:30 for their 9:00 appointment.

This is Kitters wake up routine.  She immediately goes outside to roll and roll on the patio, pretending to be a vacuum and picking up every single piece of flotsam and jetsam to bring back in the house.  It sticks to her like glue until she gets inside, leaving a trail to her favorite chair.  

Luckily on this day there were no dead gophers or lizards seen.  They are probably hiding out under the furniture.

Upon her return, Cyndae and I went to lunch at Applebees.  Remember that menu that showed the price of $10.99 but we were charged $18.99?  I went online to complain.  Amazingly, even though I wrote that I did not pay the bill, so there was no receipt number, and before I even closed my computer, they sent me a $25.00 gift certificate.  LET'S EAT!!

We were smarter this time ... sort of.  The big banner hanging outside on the wall says LUNCH $10.99.  We get inside and peruse the menu to find absolutely EVERYTHING is $18.99 and up.  No kidding.  Even Habit Burger is cheaper than THIS!

Cyndae had a mushroom Swiss burger and I had this magnificent Bourbon Bacon Burger.  The patty was huge and an inch thick.  As you can see, bacon was hanging out every side, followed by crispy fried onions.  I had to smash it down just to take a bite.  

I admit, it was really good, and thanks to the certificate, lunch came to $16.00.  MUCH more reasonable.  Truly however, they should try to lower their prices.  We were there on a Friday at noon and there were maybe eight people inside.   With these prices, they won't be in business long.

So you know what a big meal does to us old folks ..... back home, Cyndae went for a 2 hour nap.  I dozed on the couch a bit until the downpour.  YIKES!!  It began to rain hard in the blink of an eye.  Hey, this wasn't predicted to happen until tomorrow!

Though I only ate half my burger, slothfulness took over.  I did very little the rest of the afternoon, still trying to catch up from Bingo and Board Meetings.  My excuse is the rain.  What can you do when it's raining!!

It quit just in time to watch the splashdown.  This was an amazing video that I thought I was filming, but only got a still shot.  How fascinating to see the earth move under you as you come in for a landing in the ocean.  NO ... I would NOT want to be there.  

I don't know how they could make such a pinpoint landing.  The view from the ship waiting for them to come down, turned from a negative image to a positive one.  WOW when those chutes open.  Watch to the end and you'll see when it hits the water.  I thought one chute would not open, but apparently they are made to open very slowly so as not to come to a screeching halt and snap the lines.  

Who thinks up this stuff?  There are some brilliant minds out there inventing things I could not even dream about.  I mean think about it ... who says okay, I can put little weights all around the edge with explosive devices, so when the parachute starts to open, it won't open all the way until I hit the EXPLODE button.  Fascinating stuff.

So after ten days in space, they are all back on the ground safe and sound.  Now to be poked and prodded to see how they fared.  I was intrigued by the fact that while in space with no gravity pulling down on your body, you actually grow an inch or more when your spine expands.  Arriving back on earth must feel like I do when I try to get up off the couch after sitting for a few hours!  

As for the black tank dump problem, we ALL could have told them how to fix THAT one!!  So maybe there's a little bit of astronaut in every one of us.