- raven and i scooted up to atlanta pronto to pick her up and steer her weary self home. she had gone hours without food when she arrived so of course i exited at the first sign of life outside of atlanta and she was fed comida mexicana y cerveza.

- after a crash and burn, the girls and i taxied martha to see destin and seaside florida. beautiful white sandy beaches and  caribbean water right? usually. this time...green seaweed riddled waters and we had an encounter with jelly fish but the drip castle we built was stellar! and i think the peruvian turned german was thrilled to be in the sand with the wind and the smell of salt.

- back on the ranch, martha had promised to give me cooking lessons. and cooking lessons she gave after pots were procured because in case you didnt know....people who dont cook think it's ok to have only one small pot and a single pan.

- i even learned to make mayonnaise. homemade. in a blender.  oh and fyi: if you are pmsing, you cant make it. thats what i hear. it wont work. at all. i am going to test this theory....next cycle, just you wait and see. PMS actually stands for pathetic mayonnaise substance. BUT, i was not pmsing and my mayonnaise was divine!

- i drove martha down a canopy road or two. you know tallahassee isnt really well known for its site seeing but i do love the canopy roads. majestic oak branches dripping with moss leaning over causing sunlight to strobe across your face....is warming and comforting and bliss inducing. (unless your reading a book, and then its nauseating. but neither of us were reading so it was ok.)

- martha says the fish in germany has been dead for 400 years and she would not dare eat it there so...... we had fish meals as often as possible. when we werent whipping up chicken tandoori and home made tuna marinara sauce and spaghetti or a delicate white sauce with pasta, we were dining on freshly killed flakey white baked fish and vegetables OR sushi. we had sushi every single week day for lunch except wednesday when we were at the beach. 

- she learned to eat with chop sticks quickly and adeptly!

- to work she went with me every day, like a trooper. and she lounged on the couch in my office and partook in the favorite american pasttime, napping.

- oh oh oh, the 2 things that martha specifically requested to do was....to go to the warehouse and shoot pool (which i was excited about because she had never played before and i was sure i could kick her ass) AND to club rayn. i think she just wanted a visual for the stories i tell her. the places i attend like church. alicia came to play, amanda and even my karen too!

- she liked the warehouse. she liked playing pool. she hated the beer! (of course, hello! she comes from beer land) and after we went to an irish bar trying to make up for bad bad beer experiences BUT they didnt sell irish beer! NO irish beer! what's up with that? ever heard of truth in advertising?

- I type this now from our hotel in atlanta where to prepare for her trip across the ocean we ate hagan daaz  (which is pronounced HEYgen daas, not HOGgen daz, btw) watched bad tv's and laid around napping a lot! really, i think this was her favorite part of the trip. 

- as i sit here, she has already left for the airport and it took great strength and will power to not sit on her foot and cling to her leg like a 3 year old while she tried to make her escape. 

- martha, you are missed already!