MY MINI-VACATION ... Part Two: Miami
I forgot to mention that it was rainy and cold when I left home on Saturday morning. I hadn't gone very far when I realized the heater in the car wasn't working. Fortunately, I had a jacket and gloves in the car but, by the time I got to Anna's, I was just about frozen. I didn't realize how cold my toes were until I got in the house, and when Marshall hugged me, he exclaimed, "Grandma is COLD!!"

So, I left the cold rain of Charlotte behind and flew into the warm sunshine of Ft. Lauderdale. Katie picked me up and our first stop was a Japanese grocery store that also had a sushi bar. We had a nice little lunch and then strolled through the store looking at all the Japanese goodies (and weirdies). We bought these green tea treats and enjoyed them later. They have a spongy, gooshy texture (like marshmallows) and have red bean paste inside. Is that right, Katie?? Anyway ... Yummy! We stopped to get gas and then home to Miami Beach. That evening, Sebastien (a friend from our Haiti days) took us out to a Japanese restaurant. Katie can probably tell you what everyone ordered, but what I know for sure is that I didn't have sushi. I had cooked pork and Japanese veggies in some kind of delicious sauce and white sticky rice. Katie and I shared green tea ice cream for dessert. Here are Sebastien and his girlfriend Neysa, and Katie who actually knows how to use chopsticks. I guess everyone knew how to use chopsticks, except me. The waitress noticed and brought me a fork :-) It was so pleasant to be walking wherever we went and not getting cold or wet.

On Monday, Katie had to work (she works from home), so I took out my Japan stuff and pictures from 2 years ago and got everything organized and put into empty scrapbook pages. A lot of good memories, and when I have some time to start scrapbooking again, it'll be smooth sailing. After Katie had had enough of work, we walked to Cheeseburger Baby and had ... cheeseburgers, baby! and fries. Wow! Talk about delish!! It was almost painful to walk home, but so worth it :-)

On Tuesday we went to see Slumdog Millionaire. What a fabulous movie. It affected me the same way as reading Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt ... awful but wonderful. Our evening meal was at a cute little French cafe, Cafe a la Folie. We knew we were going to have dessert, so we ordered sparingly. I had French onion soup and Katie had a wonderful salad, and they brought out some crusty yummy rolls, of course. We shared our entrees with one another and then each ordered creme brulee. What can I say?? We're like little piggies when it comes to good food.

And then it was Wednesday already, my going home day - and it was raining a little. Before heading to the airport, we decided to go to IKEA in Ft. Lauderdale. Although a new IKEA just opened in Charlotte, I had never been to one, so we had a good time checking out all the stuff. And, of course, we had to be a little silly. There was a mirrored vanity and the doors were also mirrored on the inside, so we stuck our heads in and took a pic. And I thought this sink would be good for Weldon to wash up in when we get our new wash/laundry room done. Time to check out and head to the airport. So sad :-(

I got to there in plenty of time, especially considering my flight was delayed by an hour!! Anna was waiting for me when I arrived in Charlotte (about 6pm). We went back to her place, I picked up my overnight bag, and I drove on home. Aren't little getaways grand?!