This year, M-t decided to be brave ( or is that foolish?? ), and spend the Christmas holidays with me and my family.  So, after discovering that he had absolutely NOT enough room in his luggage for all the gifts he was bringing to lavish upon us, he did a quick change from suitcase to hockey bag.   (And he laughs at me for being a panicky packer when I come to see him!)

His arrangements were for a cab to transport him to London, Ontario where he would board a shuttle bus to the Detroit Airport, then onto his Northwest flight and touchdown in Kansas City to be spirited down the Kansas Turnpike to Wichita in the Momboat.

The first cab arrived and left, without M-t, about 10 minutes ahead of schedule.  So, the second cab arrives, and who is the driver but none other than a man by the nickname online of RevKen,  a longtime Yahoo'er and lay minister that married a couple that met online, about 5 years ago.  So, you can imagine that 30 minute conversation on the way to London!  Next came the bus ride to Detroit which was basically uneventful, except for the slight delay at the border.  Remember, there were alerts all along the U.S. perimeter about terrorists wanting in to do dastardly Y2K deeds in major cities.  Evidently no terrorists decided to hitch a ride on M-t's bus, and they were passed through the gates without incident.

Meanwhile, I'm in the Burg of Pitts, trying to leave town to get to the airport.  My younger daughter (Mouse) was along for this sojourn, and we had a heck of a time getting everything done that needed done before taking off for the weekend.  The car was loaded, we thought, and we headed out to gas up, check the tire pressure and have breakfast at McDonald's before hitting the road.  I'm sitting in the booth inhaling my coffee fumes when I remember that I hadn't packed the cooler into the car. (M-t was bringing real Canadian Back Bacon to share with my family and we needed to keep it cold, or so we thought.)  So back we went for that after breakfast was done.  Then, I'm at the gas station and realize that I've forgotten the travel mugs we planned to drink out of during our drive times.  Another trip to Chez Ness and I decide that whatever else I've forgot isn't that important.  After a lovely clear skied drive to KC, we arrive at the airport in time to watch M-t's plane land and taxi in to the airport.

He goes to claim his luggage, and discovers that his hockey bag has been tagged bright orange... "HEAVY - Get help to lift".  I head out to get the car from the parking lot while M-t and Mouse 'enjoy' the fumes from a tanker truck filled with hot tar parked beside the sidewalk.  We hit the road after muscling even more luggage into the back of the Momboat, making a quick stop in Kansas City, Kansas for drinks at Taco Bell.  While at T.B., we discover that the fender my older daughter bashed in on my car earlier in the year is rubbing against the side walls of the back passenger side tire.  We attempt to pull it out, or bend the trim out of the way, because each bump of the overladen car is putting the fender in contact with the tire.  Not a lot of luck there, and I have the brain flash that the car is equipped with air shocks ( or at least it WAS).  Off to the nearest air pump to fill the shocks, and we discover that they no longer hold air.  A shift of the luggage, to get the heaviest things on the driver's side of the car, and we're on the road again, figuring to investigate the situation further when we get to Wichita.

The Momboat finally wends its way onto the Kansas Turnpike, and we make a few stops along the way for a bite to eat and more go-juice for the car.  As we near Wichita, the sun is very slowly sinking in the west on Christmas Eve.

The majority of the weather during this visit was nothing shy of astonishing.. an average daytime temp near 60 degrees, no snow at all, no rain worth mentioning.  So much for my blatant wish for a White Christmas while M-t was here!

We arrive in Wichita and check into our motel in time to join my family for birthday dinner and cake, celebrating the first of my two younger brothers (Keebler).  Introductions and reintroductions are made around the dining room, upon which my grandmother emphatically tells M-t to call her "Gramma" just like the rest of the group in the room.  She's 80+ and quite the character, even though she is a couple of years younger than M-t's mother would be if she were still among us.  Personally, I think she enjoyed having him around to move her chair in and out from the table for her, M-t spoiled her with attention but good!  After dinner and visiting, it was back to the motel rooms near the airport to wrap presents (M-t couldn't wrap ahead of time because of going through Customs at the border) and try to get some rest before the Christmas festivities began.  You know how it is on Christmas Eve, giggly kids can never sleep!  LOL

Saturday morning we hung around the motel and munched a bit of continental breakfast to go with our morning coffee while we finished up the wrapping we were too tired to do the night before.  Then it was off to my parents' house (Mert and Bert - long story to those nicknames ... ask me sometime!) for a late brunch including homemade lemon muffins and M-t's special treat, Canadian Back Bacon.  Mert firmly explained to M-t that there were rules in the kitchen on holidays.. that nobody's allowed in the kitchen unless they have a specific purpose assigned by the Queen.  He was welcome to stand at the doorway to the dining room and visit, or give instructions on cooking the back bacon, but that he was not to come in and hang around in the way.  King Bert is allowed in, cuz he keeps the dishes caught up.  Princess Sang is allowed in to carry things to the table and to reach top shelf items during momentary absences of the King.  M-t carefully planted his sneakers ON the dining room carpet while he gave a few easy instructions on proper Canuckian bacon preparation.

My baaaaaaaaaybee brother (The Kid) was with us for brunch, and was rather impressed with this new taste from the Great White North.  After brunch, we were regaling The Kid with stories of how Widget had re-designed the Momboat and we headed outside to show him.  He took a tour around the car, and said "Holy Moly Sis.. you drove 300 miles with a Maypop on your car!"  M-t and I exchange quizzical looks, trying to figure out what kind of wildflower must be stuck to the grill of my car and just how it might have gotten there.  He points to my left front tire and says "This tire is so bald it may pop!"  A thorough inspection of all the tires on my car, and my two brothers sprung to action, making plans to replace them before we hit the road again on Monday.  (Okay, so I've gotten a little lax on vehicle maintenance lately.  Speak to my good buddy Twylatime on that subject. LOL)

So Christmas Day was winding along nicely, we took a short trip back to the motel to get into proper attire for Dinner in the late afternoon.  We arrived back in time for me to help with a few last minute table setting details, and join the conversation with Keebler, his wife and daughter.

During dinner, King Bert attempted to get a rousing round of "Hang Down Your Head, Tom Turkey" going, but the ensemble's heart just wasn't into it.  As is par for the course at Castle Ness, the holiday dinner conversation frequently wound its way back to childhood memories and we three kids telling our OWN side of the story.  Ya know, it's not exactly ratting someone out when the statute of limitations has expired and none of us live in the house anymore... LOL

After dinner, it was time for the mayhem known as unwrapping of the Christmas presents.  After many "oh wow!"s and "thank you!"s were exchanged, there was a bit of tidying up in the living room and then back to the dining table for dessert, coffee and more conversation.  (Among the gifts M-t brought were cans of Tim Horton's Coffee .. a delicacy he has spoiled me with since our first Christmas together)  Of course, during dessert, the Great Pot Pie debate was again sparked up, with the Brothers Ness needling the Princess about her preference for Cornish Hen over Turkey.  All I'm going to say on that score is... We had turkey this year, and the celebrated pot pie was served next night, from the leftover turkey.  Now, back to our previously scheduled pie and coffee.

On Sunday morning, M-t, Mouse and I decided to take a look around the Village Flea Market on the south side of Wichita before heading back to Castle Ness.  Mert and Bert loaded the whole gang into their station wagon to head off for a bite of lunch.

All aboard the train leaving for lunch!!	Four generations of Sang's family females

Then, the Kid came over to do his fixing up on the front end of the Momboat, in the nick of time.  The 'may pop' didn't blow, but it's partner did, sometime during the night while the car was parked in front of Castle Ness.  YIKES!  Baby bro also popped the pesky fender back out for me, using the winch on the back of his tow truck.  Keebler's contribution to the Princess' safety was two new back tires, which we had mounted on Monday morning before heading back to the SE corner of Kansas.
 
 

Monday, after a bit of shopping while we waited on the back tires to be mounted, we checked out of the motel and went for yet another lunch outing with Mert, Bert and Gramma.  This time it was off to Ryan's Family Steakhouse.  M-t was remarking on the yummy smell and reasonable price of the steaks.. I pulled him into a leaning over the railing position and pointed into the dining area... "Look, Honey.. see ALL THOSE SNEEZE SHIELDS?? That's the MegaBar.. you won't NEED a steak.. trust me!"  And was I right?  Yes, I was.  M-t and Mouse got into a bit of an unofficial dessert eating contest.. i'm not sure exactly who won!  Then the big trick became keeping from taking a nap while we drove back after eating such a big meal.

Along our sojourn back to my cozy little burg, we did spy a roadside sign that caught our eye, because of my evil_twin's hubby's nickname.. SmileyG...

As you can see, this concludes the weekend in Wichita.. now on to the rest of the week!
 

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