An altogether pleasant and productive weekend
Yesterday, after working out, housework, a bit of WOW, some laundry, and a dinner of excellent sashimi, I went to the bookstore, ostensibly to pick out a gift, but primarily because I was in need of books.
(To those who've been to my home, me saying I need books is like Julia Child saying she could probably stand a visit to Williams & Sonoma.)
So I picked up a particular book (Good Omens) that I'd read before, but apparently I didn't have, and several comics (specifically, the trade collections of the semi-recent JMS run of THOR, which was good stuff, and some assorted manga). And I picked up the gift card for my goddaughter Zoe, to celebrate her having read over 180 books this summer (more than ten times the amount her school suggested). Ended up reading THOR until the wee hours.
Today I got up, worked out, had a bowl of mini-wheats. Hit the grocery store for staples. Made chicken salad out of leftover chicken, prepped celery for snacking, and boiled a few eggs. Got the vacuuming and laundry done.
Starting with lunch, I had the very nice pleasure of an afternoon in the company of my goddaughter Zoe, who starts 2nd grade tomorrow, and her mommies, who came over for lunch and a visit. Though we'd talked on the phone, it had been several months since we'd actually had a proper visit, and there was lots to catch up on. We ate chicken salad sandwiches (except for Zoe who opted for PBJ) and had chips and dip and pickles, chatting the whole time.
I discovered that this summer, Zoe has read the aforementioned 180+ books; discovered she has mild asthma and was allergic to her cats, which meant sadly giving the cats away; has begun keeping a pair of frogs-- sorry TOADS -- and feeding them crickets she catches herself with a bug-net; has played basketball and gone swimming and otherwise done healthy outdoor things; and just yesterday accidentally disturbed a wasp nest and got stung by four wasps, though because of her allergies there were enough antihistamines in her system that the bits barely registered. She had a cool funky hat and one of those frilly-yet-sloppy outfits that little girls that age manage somehow to pull off, and she had a blast playing with the cats, who adored her. While here, she proved to be still ticklish and giggly (to be expected), but also sturdy -- on the little playground here, she took the slide at about Mach 8 and landed on her butt, pretty hard, but laughed it off.
We briefly hit the mall (which proved a bit of a chore because the Virgin Fest was across the street at Merriweather), and while Mom returned something, we went off to spend her gift certificate since the bookstore was right there. The Magic Tree House series had a new book and she'd been looking forward to it, and there was enough to pick out two more books thanks to a promotion. Then it was off to Five Below, where a few neglected school supplies and a new basketball and baseball bat were obtained.
And then we said our goodbyes, with big hugs and smiles. She still thinks I'm pretty cool, which is amazing in and of itself. And she was reading before the car left the lot, which I thought was pretty awesome too. (And not the new books -- the one she'd already been reading, because she hadn't finished that one yet.)
As for me, I came back home, shucked some corn and boiled it up, grilled a steak (yay for having a functional grill again!), fixed a salad (fresh fat cherry tomatoes from Shae & Eileen's garden, nom nom), poured a hard cider, and had a fairly healthy, quite pleasant dinner, while reading.
I feel that on some level my batteries are being recharged. This is a good thing. :)
(To those who've been to my home, me saying I need books is like Julia Child saying she could probably stand a visit to Williams & Sonoma.)
So I picked up a particular book (Good Omens) that I'd read before, but apparently I didn't have, and several comics (specifically, the trade collections of the semi-recent JMS run of THOR, which was good stuff, and some assorted manga). And I picked up the gift card for my goddaughter Zoe, to celebrate her having read over 180 books this summer (more than ten times the amount her school suggested). Ended up reading THOR until the wee hours.
Today I got up, worked out, had a bowl of mini-wheats. Hit the grocery store for staples. Made chicken salad out of leftover chicken, prepped celery for snacking, and boiled a few eggs. Got the vacuuming and laundry done.
Starting with lunch, I had the very nice pleasure of an afternoon in the company of my goddaughter Zoe, who starts 2nd grade tomorrow, and her mommies, who came over for lunch and a visit. Though we'd talked on the phone, it had been several months since we'd actually had a proper visit, and there was lots to catch up on. We ate chicken salad sandwiches (except for Zoe who opted for PBJ) and had chips and dip and pickles, chatting the whole time.
I discovered that this summer, Zoe has read the aforementioned 180+ books; discovered she has mild asthma and was allergic to her cats, which meant sadly giving the cats away; has begun keeping a pair of frogs-- sorry TOADS -- and feeding them crickets she catches herself with a bug-net; has played basketball and gone swimming and otherwise done healthy outdoor things; and just yesterday accidentally disturbed a wasp nest and got stung by four wasps, though because of her allergies there were enough antihistamines in her system that the bits barely registered. She had a cool funky hat and one of those frilly-yet-sloppy outfits that little girls that age manage somehow to pull off, and she had a blast playing with the cats, who adored her. While here, she proved to be still ticklish and giggly (to be expected), but also sturdy -- on the little playground here, she took the slide at about Mach 8 and landed on her butt, pretty hard, but laughed it off.
We briefly hit the mall (which proved a bit of a chore because the Virgin Fest was across the street at Merriweather), and while Mom returned something, we went off to spend her gift certificate since the bookstore was right there. The Magic Tree House series had a new book and she'd been looking forward to it, and there was enough to pick out two more books thanks to a promotion. Then it was off to Five Below, where a few neglected school supplies and a new basketball and baseball bat were obtained.
And then we said our goodbyes, with big hugs and smiles. She still thinks I'm pretty cool, which is amazing in and of itself. And she was reading before the car left the lot, which I thought was pretty awesome too. (And not the new books -- the one she'd already been reading, because she hadn't finished that one yet.)
As for me, I came back home, shucked some corn and boiled it up, grilled a steak (yay for having a functional grill again!), fixed a salad (fresh fat cherry tomatoes from Shae & Eileen's garden, nom nom), poured a hard cider, and had a fairly healthy, quite pleasant dinner, while reading.
I feel that on some level my batteries are being recharged. This is a good thing. :)