***News flash!***

Words
Trying to determine writing time with all the mess going around me. Hmmm. Saturday before the book signing.

Weights
Oops. I spoke too soon. Sunday's work apparently weakened my system enough that my cold continues. Ugh.

***Get into the routine, baby, you've gotta move, baby, to make time for me...***

Words
Finished Temple of the Muses last night. Whew! One book down, thousands to go.

Weights
Except for a persistent cough (more attributed to my asthma), I feel I'm pretty much over my cold.

Whatever
Last night I joined my friends CS and GAC for our weekly get-together. CS announced that, this Thursday, he's being honored at a dinner for his eight years of steady volunteering at The Center. Yeah! Finally. I've never met anyone so consistent and so prompt.

After his announcement, we chatted about books, movies, and other news in our lives (which included gossip. Yes, we can be vicious queens at time.) Somehow the subject came up about festivals and Halloween.

"When's the last time y'all wore a costume?" I asked.

"Back in college," GAC replied.

CS disagreed and both men bantered back and forth, trying to figure out when they had last worn costumes.

I sat silently in my chair. It had been a while since I had attended any Halloween festivities or anything new for that matter. Over the fast three to four years, R. and I had established our routine events: festivals, Festival of Books, Renaissance Fair, and Comic Con. Even our trips to San Diego had a certain familiar rhythm.

We're not locked into these events. We go to enjoy them (which we better, since some can cost hundreds of dollars to participate.) But what about new events? New venues?

I'm lucky that R. likes to try new things and, over the years, we have introduced to each other (in no particular order): Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Pokemon, anime, manga, comic books, DVDs, mystery and fantasy books. And don't get me started about the number of new restaurants we've tried. All were absent in our lives before we met each other nearly twelve years ago.

I know we're not stagnating in our relationship. Remodeling the house constantly feeds both of us with new ideas. But as GAC and CS wrapped up their discussion, I could not help but think it was time to introduce something new between R. and myself.

Pets? Nah. Twinks? Yeah, right. Vacation to Disneyworld? Hmmm....

(Image found on the Internet and all rights belong to its owner.)

***Weekend words***

Words
Finally found and started the historical mystery, The Temple of the Muses by John Maddox Roberts. I had read the rest of the series except this book and was quite excited.

Weights
I'm definitely on my way to recovering from my cold. Yeah!

Whatever
R. suggested we take a break from our relentless work on the house and drive down to San Diego on Saturday. I agreed; it had been months since we paid a visit. So after lunch at the Spectrum and a visit to Barnes and Nobel (where we found a copy of a Pulitzer prize winner!) we headed out. I suggested and drove R.'s car, the hybrid Accord.

Weather was beautiful: cloudless and sunny with the latter lasting well into 7 PM. However, the chilly air behind the Orange Curtain prompted us to bring warmer clothing for the inevitable cooler San Diego weather. R. brought a jacket and I, of course, a sweatshirt.

First stop was, of course, Mysterious Galaxy. After starting our pile, I checked out the nearby role-playing game store for the latest and greatest. It had been a while since I indulged in any major, purely-pleasure, purchases. I found a couple of items and rejoined R. back at MG.

There were two author signings in the bookstore, neither whom we attended. We only racked up a couple of hundred in this trip, finding less than expected after such an absence. We had a good time getting reacquainted with the staff.

After a quick recharge of caffeine at the nearby Starbucks, we headed down into Hillcrest and its menagerie of used bookstores. Little had changed thankfully though we were a bit put off at the Jesus freaks at one corner.

We checked out a couple of stores before indulging at one of our usual haunt, La Vache, for dinner. We chatted amiable with one of our regular waiters, K., between bites of the early evening special. Sad note: the car of one of the servers was stolen.

We walked off the satisfying meal by visiting the remaining bookstores. Our haul wasn't as impressive as in the past. We ended our trip with some downtime at David's before heading home.

Sunday morning I woke early to await the arrival of my friend, CS. He had accepted our offer to keep an eye on our house when the floor contractors started on Monday. He arrived around 10 AM and we showed him our house. We explained some of the visits: floor guys starting on Monday, window folks on Tuesday, etc. We apologized that he wouldn't have access to the refridgerator which would be unplugged. Also, he would be confined to the master bedroom and my office (which I would later set up an Internet account) since the other rooms would either be torn apart or used as storage.

After he left (to go to Disneyland, the lucky guy!) R. and I went out to grab breakfast down at PJ Abbeys. It had been a while since we had eaten there and we thoroughly enjoyed the ambiance.
We walked off our meal by checking out the antique shops around the area. R. suggested we also check out the Carfaire down at Irvine Valley College. Always wanting to see cars (and delay the inevitable work back at home), I agreed. The visit, though, wasn't as much of a pleasure as in the past. There had been little turnover in cars since last weekend.

Back at home, we both indulged in a little R&R. I finally started to do the final cleanup of the first floor mid-afternoon. R. joined me later. Five hours later, we gazed, drenched in sweat and dust, at the empty kitchen, dining room, and family room. Whew! We treated ourselves to dinner after a couple of quick showers. Thankfully the restaurant wasn't busy.

We ended the evening with a little bit of reading.

(Image found on the Internet and all rights belong to its owner.)