After nine hours in the car on Thursday after my trip, I had scheduled Friday off, in part because I knew I’d need a bit of a rest after nine hours in the the car, partially because we had lots of weekend stuff (see below), and also because we’re hitting the end of the year and I have use-or-lose leave sitting there I have to burn off.

Friday I took care of some things like a doctor’s appointment, various errands, and some laundry, then spent some solid decompression time working through the back half of Flash (excellent all around) and Arrow (good, but kind of dour and draggy towards the end of season) and Jurassic World (big, dumb noisy fun – enjoyed it thoroughly). I also paid bills, which isn’t particularly fun, but necessary.

Saturday was pretty busy, as all the girls were dancing at the Central Virginia Celtic Festival, which is always a good time, with lots of great music, crafts, libations, and people throwing very heavy things. The girls did a great job with their performances (although the stage was a bit small), and we got to hang out with some friends and share this bit of the girls’ passion with them (one dear author friend is researching Irish dance and the culture surrounding it for a story she’s writing, and Colleen and Mary are helping her with anecdotes and terminology). It’s safe to say we enjoyed ourselves.

We also did some shopping; I feel slightly bad about it, but I bought a very fine hat, the sort I’ve been pining for for many years, but finally found a decent deal on. I don’t feel too badly about it, it’s quite cunning (even in this crap photo), exemplifyng my roots in the community.

While perusing the jewelry vendors, my spouse and I splurged a little bit and bought new wedding bands; she’s been without one for a while now (had to be cut off due to pregnancy induced swelling once upon a time, then it was fixed, and had to be cut off again for the same reason later), and we found a couple of nice matching claddagh rings to replace the simple gold bands. We quite like them, though after wearing the same ring without taking it off more than half a dozen times for more than seventeen years, this new one feels strange; I find myself constantly futzing with it, when I’m not catching the little crown bit on things. Colleen says my behavior is “adorable”. I’m not sure I agree, but I’m sure I’ll get used to the new accessory before long.