And then they were gone

Wednesday, December 28, 2022

Benjamin and Sean were originally planning to go home yesterday, but they lingered longer, extending our Christmastime by a day. Wooohoooo!

I made a lasagna for lunch, because I had gotten fresh mozzarella and needed to get it used. Sean can’t have noodles, so that wasn’t the best idea, but we had leftover from tacos the other night (and she learned that she really like freshly fried corn tortillas), so she was happy with that. I made a batch of wreath cookies, because they are the best, and because I had leftover marshmallows from the first batch. Apparently with this group, a batch is a single serving – not necessarily eaten by one person, but it will all be eaten when put on the table.

After lunch, Benjamin finished a bit of work, then he and Sean were ready to run errands. In order to spend maximum time with them, I volunteered to join in on the errands. First, we dropped off Sean-made treats at their friends’ house. We tucked them into the mailbox to keep the visit short, but Benjamin did stomp through the snow to help the penguin in their inflatable get back to spinning.

Next, they needed to drop off some things at their friends’ business, Snake Escape. Snakes escaping seems really bad to me, BUT this is such a great, great business. Emily and Ed (the friends and the business owners) have a popular YouTube channel (oh, I am making up words right here – I could be all wrong about that YouTube channel thing, but I have heard of a YouTube channel and it sounds like something on YouTube where a single sharer would have a bunch of videos. Emily and Ed have a bunch of videos) about taking care of reptiles (or something educational, and probably creepy. You will recall I do not like frogs. I do not have much personal experience with reptiles, but I suspect I would not like it. (Frogs are amphibians. I know this. I like fluffy animals that purr). Anyway, they started with some educational videos and then started a mobile reptile petting business (is it petting if it isn’t fluffy? I say no. It is touching. A mobile reptile touching business). Then it got really popular and they were able to make a zoo and a party place and have a non-mobile business. They are rock stars with their followers and when we went in and asked for them, the woman at the check-in desk was obviously keeping them safe from their adoring fans and said she could give them whatever we needed to drop off. Sean had to explain she really was an actual friend of theirs and the lady called back and Ed zoomed up and got us.

We walked by many tanks and ended up in the party room for a little visiting time. As we left, I stopped to read about the funky alligator and Benjamin pointed out that I could climb in under his enclosure and pop my head up next to him. The alligator and I could be the picture of the day. OKAY! I had to disentangle myself from my mask and scarf and coat. I leaned down and looked into the tunnel that led to the pop-up stop. There was a big plastic tortoise there, which I thought was an absolutely adorable step stool so kids who were too short could pop up and see. I was still handing things to Benjin when Sean said that the tortoise wouldn’t bother me. Benjamin said, “What are you talking about? It’s a plastic tortoise.” Sean said no, it was real. WHAT? A real tortoise just hanging out in the tunnel? Not possible. Benjamin insisted it was plastic. Sean is so sweet and believes things, so I was sure she was mistaken (you are seeing this already, right? This was a real tortoise). She went over to an employee and asked and it was confirmed to be a real tortoise. I ALMOST CLIMBED IN NEXT TO A REAL TORTOISE TO BE NEXT TO A REAL ALLIGATOR.

I did not. I was a little worried that I am too roly poly to climb in a tunnel, but I was very, very (VERY) concerned about getting stuck in a tunnel with a real tortoise. I leaned in and looked at him and he waved at me. I had a little heart-beat-skipping moment. What if I stepped on him? What if I killed him? These are things I worry about. Benjamin insisted I wouldn’t have stepped on him. How does he know? I do things. (Then it would be – Remember that time we went to Snake Escape and the Mama killed the tortoise? Ah. Not good times.) What if I crawled in and then he waved at me up close? The screaming would not have stopped soon. I am easily startled. It would not have been good. (It was much darker in the tunnel in real life. It looked like a plastic turtle.)

We (snake) escaped with no damage to any animals and headed to Alexander’s house. I brought lasagna and wreaths and a runner rug for his hall. The lasagna and the wreaths were a hit, but the runner was about 3 feet too long. Oh well. (It was from our basement, not something we bought. We would have measured if we were buying one. We are that clever.) (Okay, I don’t know if we are that clever, because it never occurred to me to think about length before I got there today with a really too long rug.) There was something wrong with Alexander’s computer, so Benjamin was nice enough to go out and buy a new computer for himself and give his to Alexander. So, something happened with carrying computers and I petted kitties.

Back at our house, they packed up their stuff and their kitties and got ready to go. Right before they left, I said I need a picture. They just stood there, saying they looked awkward, then asked if they should go by the Christmas tree. I said they were fine where they were. Then they said they would be Christmas trees. So, here they are – being Christmas trees. Serious Christmas trees.

Oh. Uh-oh. I just looked at the potd. The place is called Snake Discovery, not Snake Escape. There’s a restaurant called Steak Escape at the mall. Maybe that is where I got that. I like steak sandwiches better than snakes.