North by northeast, north by northwest, southwest, and east

Sandra and Krista went to PEI on Thursday. When our grandchildren turn 10, Sandra takes them on a trip to the Island. They fly out Boston early, stop over in Halifax (long enough for a massage at the terminal, and then take one short flight to Charlottetown, where Woody and Marian meet them.

Thursday night's meal was the Whim Inn at Poole's Corner. The waitress who served this hungry crew was the same one who served us five years ago. The rolls are so big that it would take an African swallow to carry them. The meals are straight down the alley and good. (I might, however, give the liver and onions a miss. When my mother served liver, as she often did, the cat and I had a special arrangement - I'd drop a piece of liver on the floor and he'd eat it.)

On Friday, Woody and Krista went to local fishing spot. Krista caught three large Rainbow trout and learned how to clean them. Those trout were Friday night's supper.

On Saturday they went to a cousin's for afternoon tea and then to the local church for their annual lobster supper. The small church collects more than $10,000 in less than four hours, not bad in a village of 400 people.

Between the meals, there was fun in every corner. Krista brought her piano music, so she, Marian, and Sandra played and sang for a long time. There were card games, Monopoly, walks on the beach to collect shells. Woody and Marian are lovingly generous with their gifts and attention.

Sunday morning, on the 50km drive from Cardigan to the Charlottetown airport, they didn't pass a car. Sandra and Krista this time flew from Charlottetown to Toronto. After navigating the massive Pearson Airport, they went through U.S. customs, and then learned that the airline didn't have a pilot for the plane. When Sandra called me with this news, I went to the Massport (Boston) web site and signed up for flight notifications. The would send me email when the flight was rescheduled and when it would land. An hour and a half after we'd left Logan Airport and were in Mike and Lynn's back yard, I got an email saying that the plane had landed.

Just as Sandra and Krista were arriving in Charlottetown on Thursday, one of the storied shopping attractions was closing.

Dell had an insert in the Sunday papers. They offered a range of deals for household and business use. One system, the Optiplex^TM GX520 Desktop for $599. Below the price was this mind-twizzler:

Dual-core capable business desktop; features managed transitions and average 15-month life cycles.

I know what dual-core means, but managed transitions has me baffled and 15-month life cycles, if it's what I think it is (replace this machine every 15 months) is absolutely goofy. Whatever it means, Strunk and White surrender.

So, it's back to work after a restful long weekend. I can't imagine that this week can be more bizarre than last, but I couldn't imagine last week, either. One snippet - I was part of team from our company and a customer, working on a design document. We had a six and one-half hour conference call on Thursday. And the end of the meeting, around 4:30, one of the engineers said that she had some more information for me and would send it within the hour. At 6:15, she calls to say that she had been side-tracked on some other issues. "I wasn't able to get my work done," she said. "You'll still be able to have your work done by nine in the morning, won't you?"

We have lilies of the valley along the back corner of the MacGregors' part of the house. The fragrance is strong and sweet. Even a handful of blossoms will fill a room.

The weekend was restful, but also somber, of course, as we remember those who died in service and those who died as the result of their service.