Sunday Salon - winding up the vacation

I haven't done a Sunday Salon post in quite awhile, but today, as I finally relax at the almost end of my three weeks on the road, I have time to reflect on vacations, leisure time, family time, and of course, a little reading.

As you know, I left Maine on January 31st to drive to Baltimore to pick up my 86 year old Mom so we could drive her car to her condo on Hilton Head Island SC where she has had a timeshare for over 20 years.  Since the condo has 3 bedrooms it means there is plenty of room for various children and in-laws to come and help mom enjoy a respite from the cold winters.  When Dad was alive, it was golf, shopping and day trip time.  This year, two of my sisters joined us for various parts of the two weeks, along with their golfing husbands. 

The girls all spent a lot of time just lounging...we did 'exercise' on the Wii (mom loved it), and I got in several nice long alone walks on the beautiful beach, a luxury I don't get in Maine until much further into the summer season.  We did some power shopping, ate at some excellent restaurants, heard a great sermon at the local church, and did a lot of needlepoint (sister Cheli), embroidery (mom) and counted cross-stitch (Tutu).

We also spent a LOT of time indulging in another family passion--competitive card and board games.  We played HONG KONG Charlie and/or Trivial Pursuit almost every nite.  All of this meant I didn't get a lot of extra time for reading, but I did finish two complete print books, and another 1/2 book on the Nook.  I listened to The Tenderness of Wolves as an audio while I was walking and sewing, and hope to finish it on my drive home in the next two days.  It's an  awesome story, and I'll give you a review when it's finished.

Tonite I'm relaxing at the home of sister #3, after having spent the afternoon with my kids and beautiful grand-daughter.  Tomorrow AM, I have a brunch meeting with old friends from my old job, then I'm on the road back to the land of the snowmen.  Hubbie assures me that the mailman has been generous while I've been gone, so next week's Monday Mailbox post will be full.

The chance to spend quality time with family is (as they say in the Mastercard commercials) priceless.  The books will still be there when the family can't be, so I'm glad I spent this time with all my favorite people.  I may talk to them every day on the phone, and chat online, but there's nothing that beats sitting across the table trumping their HK Charlie pile.