One Half Buddhist, One Half Christian, One Half Pagan

This was a very full, very long weekend.

We spent all of Friday driving and just collapsed in our hotel when we got to East Lansing.

Saturday we slept late, then went out to lunch at El Azteco, my favorite mexican restaurant. After that we wandered around downtown for a couple of hours and bought some odds'n'ends at Flat, Black and Circular, Curious Books, and a yarn store that wasn't there last time I visited. Then we went back to the hotel for a little while before heading to Dad's for my step-mother's surprise birthday party. Nancy was expecting the Beard kids, spouses, and grandkids, and her two local-ish daughters and grandkids. But, Dad decided to also invite her brothers and their families. Nancy was blown away. The party was a lot of fun overall, if very loud and crowded. The food and conversation were good and the wine flowed freely. What more can you ask?

Sunday we went for a little walk near the hotel and otherwise goofed off in the morning, then drove out to Grand Ledge for Grandma's party. All 27 (I think) of us went to the decent Chinese place in town, and then back to Grandma's house to hang out for the rest of the day. Again, good food and conversation add up to a good party. We also went back to Dad's after leaving that party and hung out with him, Nancy, KC, and Erin for a couple more hours before going back to the hotel. We stayed up a little late watching some mindless TV, and then passed out.

Monday we forced ourselves to get up early and then drove back to Grand Ledge to pick up my 18 year old sister, who was riding back with us. We had breakfast with Grandma, Mom, and the kids, then hit the road. The only really memorable part about the drive home was the call Tom got from the repair guy about my car. It turns out I need a new transmission. That will be expensive enough that we're trying to decide if we should have it repaired/replaced, or just get a new car. Blah.

And then we got home and passed out.

Body: I didn't have any foot pain at all yesterday, and none today until I'd been wandering around the apartment barefoot after getting out of the shower. So, I'll be sticking with the stompy boots for another day or two.

Stress Level: 4

Etsy Find: Speakeasy Vanilla Perfume oil. Bourbon vanilla, creamy vanilla, amber, frankincense, white musk, and a tiny bit of bay rum. Doesn't that sound like it would smell amazing?

Project Follow-up: I got the cover for the futon. If anyone local wants to buy a futon, I can't recommend Futon Galleria highly enough. The website is awful, but the store is great. The owner is knowledgeable, and nice. When we went in to look around he answered every question Tom & I asked, and otherwise left us alone to browse. When we went back, he remembered us, and was just as nice after he had our money as before. The other errands mostly didn't happen, but that's OK.

Tonight's Project: The usual Thursday night dinner with the gang, with a twist: tonight we're eating at somebody's house, not a restaurant.

Randomness: If you could take everyone you love on vacation together, where would you go? Assume money and vacation time are all taken care of. I'd take everyone to The Sleeping Bear Dunes. I'd find a good hotel (for the folks who prefer that) near a good campground that could deal with both people camping SCA style and more traditionally. There'd be loads of time at beaches, lots of exploring cute little tourist towns, at least one outing to the wineries on Old Mission Peninsula, and whatever else we could think of that sounded fun.

First I'll be in EL, then at Pennsic. I won't be able to get online easily, probably just to check my email once or twice. If anything important happens between now and the 21st comment here.

Have a good week everybody!

See about getting Friday at least partly off.

Get the brakes fixed on my car. EDIT: I just got off the phone with the dealer, and not only do my front brakes need replacing, but my rotors as well. Twice the cost I was planning on. I can get the original, and Tom said he'll get the difference.

Drive myself out.

Drive myself to Pennsic.

This plan is much less dependent on other people's schedules, and shouldn't cost any more. Thanks Tom, for the suggestion.