A Visit

The Internet would have you believe that I have been pretty quiet as of late. 

In case you didn't know, the Internet lies. 

First, my computer, my beloved Compasaurus who is still a month short of his first birthday, began experiencing symptoms of death. I wasn't quiet then. Nope, not quiet at all - there was begging and pleading, pep talks, threats, and more than one moment of frantic desperation. Just as I was about to relinquish all hope, tech support flew in and saved the day.

The day before tech support arrived, the situation was dire. Like, I was pressing the power button and nothing was happening. Then Dad rocks up and 48 hours later, old Compasaurus is comping along as usual. 

Tech support brought his Chief Cook and Bottle Washer with him, and let me just tell you how quiet I was not once this lady arrived. When the Chief asks a question, she is not one to take monosyllables for an answer. Our last face-to-face chat was in early January anyway, so we had a lot to discuss - books, crypts, cats, German, the Wien Museum, bicycle safety equipment that I don't own, and what to use in place of a rolling pin when you're too cheap to buy one.

Then it was Thanksgiving, the first Thanksgiving I have celebrated with family in five years. We went to mass with the Vienna Boys Choir in the morning and cooked up a fine dinner that night. It was my kitchen, so I was in charge. I've never been in charge of Thanksgiving dinner before, but I only needed rescuing a few times. The Chief gave about half the chicken we roasted to the cat, but there was more gravy than expected to go with the remainder, as well as the cranberry sauce that I'd cleverly brought home from England. The Chief didn't complain about the tasks she was assigned, which included, among others, scooping pumpkin puree out of the tin through a tooney-sized hole that I had to make with a Swiss Army knife because I didn't have a can opener. Nobody complained about having to drink wine out of mugs or eat off plastic plates either.

Finally, last weekend, we ran off to Hungary. That is another post in itself. Maybe two or three. We were there five days, and these were not days of peace and quiet. There is no room for quiet when one has castles to see, goulash to eat, history to absorb, and these two to chase around town.

Tech Support and the Chief flew home on Thursday. Since then, the quiet has been almost unnerving. Pi fills much of it with her bleats and chirps and cat-song, but still. 'Twas a nice visit.