The Cure for Boredom is Curiosity.

People are finally out of my house and theoretically life won't be that busy for at least a week. I can get laundry finished. I don't have to worry about making sure there is edible food for someone other than Ronette and I. AND I can walk around the house without worrying about what I'm wearing.

Friday we had our friends Jacquie and Kim over for dinner. Which I don't really recommend Friday night dinners after work unless you go out because it's a pain to have to clean the house and cook for someone who is showing up at six. But we did it. I bought a beautiful rib eye roast to serve with roasted asparagus, carrots, fennel and I made tasty sourdough bread. Truthfully, the hectic feeling of preparing dinner would have been alright if another friend that Ronette invited to stay the night hadn't shown up at four instead of the expected five.

Saturday we were up early to see Carolyn off and to clean up before Shane arrived. Note to visitors - if you get an earlier flight out when you come to see us, please call and tell us that you will be arriving two hours earlier than originally planned. We're happy for more time, but we won't go running errands in those two hours we thought we had. We had a few hours to hang before our dinner reservations at Pomegranate. Love that place because they serve sweet tea and an awesome Carolina BBQ pork sandwich. After dinner we headed to the theatre to see a performance of Barefoot in the Park. I think we all laughed so hard through the entire show. It was awesome. But we haven't been disappointed with anything at this theater yet. And in true NC fashion we had to stop at the Krispy Kreme on the way back home for a little after theater snack. Too bad they weren't hot. Nothing beats a hot now.

Sunday was more time with Shane and leftover roast beef sandwiches. I pickled onions on Friday for the sandwiches. So I think that I officially used about 4 new recipes this weekend alone. Shane and I then took puppito for a walk on the river trail and through the town center. She got all the love while we scooped poop. I think Shane wanted to go do something, but he never really gave any ideas so we ended up with basically a lazy day. Ronette and I actually talked about this (because we were both slightly annoyed) and decided that it really wasn't our problem. I said I was more than willing to do things, but I knew I couldn't decide what we would do. Especially since Shane kept killing things Ronette threw out. So here's another note for visitors - I'm not planning your time here. We can hang, we can do whatever. I will offer suggestions if you've never been, but I can't ultimately decide what you want to do.

We did end up at a whacked dinner at the Thai place down the street. Whacked because the waitress forgot to take my order and then told the guy next to me that even though she said the chef could make what he ordered, they really couldn't. I've never seen the service that bad there.

So today I was very happy to drive Shane down the hill to the hotel where his conference is going on. Now my dog won't be riled up every five minutes, fed Wheat Thins or offered shoes to chew on. I can finish laundry and I don't have to worry about feeding anyone other than Ronette and myself. And rest. Thank goodness, I can have a little rest.

Did the drive to SFO in 6 a.m. rush hour traffic this morning. Took the wrong f-ing exit. Although, that was easily fixed, it was still a pain. I circled the airport to make sure that RTL got on the plane. And of course, it took me less than half as long to get back home.

The dog also tried to figure out how much mischief he could get into between 6 and 7:30. I found him in the bathroom eating toilet paper when I got back home. Of all the days to not just lift his head from the pillow and go back to sleep. I keep finding the other things that he chewed into oblivion, so he's outside until I feel benevolent enough to let him back in the house. The cat, well, the cat tried to keep him out of trouble. She was waiting at the door to tattle when I walked in.

And one rant, because I'm a little hurt and a little pissed. One word - Christy.
I've known Christy since I was 10. We have history. Many hours playing Barbies, practicing our cheers, riding bikes all over the neighborhood, etc. I was her maid of honor. More importantly, I've spent many years acting as her chaperone/alibi. Our birthdays are a day apart, she's the 17th and I'm the 18th. Granted since I don't stay in one place more than 2 years, our friendship has grown apart. But I always remember to send birthday cards, just like I did this year. What do I see when I open my email this morning? A email from her that says "Thanks for the birthday card. Christy" That's it. No, happy birthday or well wishes to you too, plain old thanks, have a nice life. The evil side of me wants to pull out all the blackmail pictures, make cards out of them, and send them to her. The hurt side tells me to just walk away. I just don't get it.