Long weekend

It's a three day weekend (Martin Luther King Jr. Day is tomorrow, for my friends outside of the USA) and the extra day off is very welcome. I know we've only been back in school for two weeks, but my job is a lot more demanding than I used to give myself credit for. After hundreds of interactions with people every day, all of whom need something from me, plenty of downtown feels essential for my mental health.

I did have Marla and Martina over for drinks last night. It had been a while, and Martina had texted me earlier in the week wondering if we could get together and catch up. I made whiskey sours, which were a hit, if the level of whiskey in the bottle the next morning was any indication.

Yes, that was a brand new bottle at the start of the evening. Martina only had a drink or two, since she had to drive, but Marla's husband had dropped her off and was coming back to collect her when she was ready to leave, so the two of us drank the majority of it. I'd made a nice large batch of guacamole and had two kinds of chips to go with it, plus homemade black bean chili and crackers, so there was plenty of food to soak up the alcohol! Ahem.

Gregg and I have a day off together tomorrow! Just by chance, tomorrow was supposed to be his day to service his school aquariums, and of course schools are all closed for the MLK holiday. Brace yourselves for our exciting plans!! We're going to...………….trim tree branches and shrubs around our house and do some serious yard maintenance! Exciting, eh?! Haha. But. It's hard to tackle big jobs together given how much Gregg works and so we're taking advantage of the opportunity. It should be a great time to prune: a serious cold snap is upon us and we're to have temperatures well below freezing every night this week. I'm glad to see winter making a small comeback. It's been warm and rainy and humid, very unseasonable for January. So anyway, tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and cold, perfect. We've also discovered that right around the corner from our house (seriously, less than a block from the entrance to our neighborhood) is an access point for the Florence County Rail trail. It has paths and bridges over our local creek, Jeffries Creek, and from portions of the trail you can see our chimney and our neighbors' back yards. We'll probably take the dogs for a good walk there tomorrow, too. It should be a nice day.

What are you up to this weekend? Happy MLK day to my American friends!