Weekend of Friends

Studying? Not so much.

Let's see... where to begin?
Friday night, I went to a birthday party with the Girls' Night In Group. We had a good time, of course. We always do. The guest of honor is a vegetarian, so I brought leftover roasted vegetables and steamed broccoli and yellow cauliflower with melted cheese on top. There was also a gluten-free chocolate cake, roast pork, a really yummy bean dip, gluten-free pumpkin spice muffins, and assorted appetizers.
Saturday, I met Stacey for breakfast at a little cafe here on Tennyson that I've been wanting to try. The vegetarian Eggs Benedict were pretty darn good. The cute little kid that kept coming up to say hello was really sweet too.
Then, I went up to the mountains where some good friends of mine had rented a cabin to get away for a long weekend. They had invited several friends up to join them. The friends covered the full spectrum of family hood - one couple had older kids, 9 & 7 (nice kids, well behaved); they have younger kids, 3 & 1 (two sweet little boys); another couple were expecting their first baby; and a fourth couple didn't have any kids at all; and then there were me and Matt, both single. Fortunately, they did not try and set us up. The kids were fun to play with, and there were enough willing adults there to take care of them so that no one person had to get too tired out. Speaking of adults and kids, I had a very strange realization while I was watching the kids and some of the adults sledding: I was at a family vacation and I was one of the adults, not one of the kids. Hmm. Getting older, I guess. The excursion would have been a wee bit better if I had remembered to bring my swimsuit so I could go in the hot tub.
I left in the morning, planning to go see another friend, only to get a voicemail from said friend cancelling the visit. I'm going to assume it was (at least, in part) meant to help me, since, in theory, I wouldn't have to leave the other gathering, but I already had. I was a bit disappointed, but I ended up not going back, since I had already taken leave of everyone and it was at a reasonable juncture (after breakfast had been cleaned up, just as kids were going out to play), so I headed back home. I can always find something that needs doing. I studied some (and will do more, once I get off the computer) and cleaned up the leaves in the yard. I picked 'em up with a lawnmower a friend lent me. I used fewer leaf bags, 'cause all the leaves were chopped up, but there was a bunch of "leaf dust" left over. I guess it'll turn into soil quicker. It was more convenient, I admit.
Oh, and the cats are really happy I'm back. Goof balls.