The weekend, all told, wasn’t awesome.

Saturday morning, I awoke to find our dear, elderly, crazy, mixed-up cat Charlotte had passed quietly in the early hours of the morning. She’d been slowing down for a while, having suffered a stroke a year or two back, and having a couple of episodes in the last couple of weeks, but was still always active, vocal, and highly motivated by social interaction and food (sometimes too motivated by food), until she wasn’t, and just laid down and went to sleep.

She’d been with us at least sixteen years – you kind of lose track with shelter cats, but was definitely a presence in our lives for certainly most of the kids’ lifetimes. The house is a little quieter today.

Otherwise, it was a lot of just getting things done that needed done, in spite of the melancholy. Lots of chores, some fitness stuff – hiking this weekend, as the rain and high winds in the area were a concern, and not just because riding at a 14-16mph pace into a 25mph headwind really sucks, but good hiking along the river; I’d knocked out nearly 20 miles on foot by Sunday afternoon, when it was cold, but sunny and beautiful in the early afternoon.

On Friday afternoon after work, we did get out to try the new brewery in town, and it was…fine. But “fine” in this metropolitan area doesn’t necessarily cut it. It was bustling and full of locals, however, though I think that’s much to do with the convenient central location a block down from the village green, and not being wedged into a bike shop like the spot across the street. I’ll keep an eye on them (as they’ve only been open a couple of weeks, and these things take time to ferment, as they say), but all told, I still prefer The Kilt.

Apart from that, there was some movement on gig booking, though I’m going to wait until any potential hosts announce before I do. Also, I tested negative for COVID on Friday, so there’s that.

As for today, if I get through my workday (there’s some serious bullshit on the horizon around lunchtime), I’ll feel maybe a little better about the week.