saturday night's all right for fighting

Long day and I was cranky for a lot of it - I'm hitting my introvert wall hard after many months of traveling around and talking to people, which wasn't good for keeping the peace today. But I got up and said goodbye to Barbara S, who left a day early, and made myself some coffee and an omelette, which was almost enough to perk me up.

I also spent the morning taking care of annoying life tasks - but the result is that I'm going to get my stuff shipped to Boulder next weekend rather than waiting another month, which is a great thing. This meant I had to change my ticket since I was supposed to fly back to Colorado next Thursday...but staying 'til Saturday is worth it if it means my stuff gets to Boulder the following week.

I also did some solid brainstorming on the young adult book - several of us discussed it this morning, and I'm feeling like there's something good there. I did some writing this afternoon, but it was all pretty intense, so I took a nap at five p.m. (unusual for me, since I usually like my naps earlier), and then showered before dinner. I'd wanted to go out, but a couple of people wanted to stay in, so they bought rotisserie chickens and made baked potatoes and I drank almost all of the last bottle of wine I'd stockpiled, so the wine smoothed out the edges of my temper. So, too, did sitting by Grace and looking up ridiculous photos of ridiculous people (mostly my favorite old cover model ever, who shall remain nameless).

But at 9:30, as everyone else was considering going to bed, Anne and I stole Christie's car (I was not driving, obvi) and went down the road to watch 'Kingsman: The Golden Circle'. It was, without a doubt, the worst movie I've seen in awhile, and I LOVED IT. #noregrets

But now I must must must sleep, since I have to get up in less than seven hours to pack and help prep the house to be abandoned so that we can drive to SF. Goodnight!

your slaps don't stick, your kicks don't hit

I need to go to bed immediately, since the toddler army will arise all too soon...but today was a wonderful day in Denver. Katie and I hung out at home until the nanny arrived, and then we went to a lovely coffee shop, where we spent the morning working (and talking, por supuesto). Around noon we returned to her house, and I showered while she and the nanny fed the kids.

But we escaped for a few more hours to have adult beverages and conversations, and it was terrific to spend some quality time alone with her. Our first stop was Avanti, which is a two-level establishment with seven individual food vendors inside, along with a couple of bars. I had an arepa (which is basically a Venezuelan flatbread sandwich, but the 'bread' is made from corn, so it's all gluten free) - and the arepa was the best fucking thing I've eaten in a long time. Mine had chicken, avocado, and fried plantains, and it was so good that now I'm hungry thinking about it even though it made me really full. Katie had a delish (and prob healthier) salad from the stall next to the arepas place, and we ate our food while having a couple of leisurely drinks at the bar with views of downtown (views that were eventually obscured by clouds and snow flurries, which made me quite smug about my new coat).

After we had our fill of Avanti, we went to Postino, which is a wine bar set in an old book bindery (all of these words are my favorite words). We had dessert there (the only downside of Avanti was that there were no desserts - they should have had an ice cream vendor or something), and french press coffee, and then I had another glass of wine so we could linger for another hour. All told, we spent four glorious hours catching up on our respective lives, which is never enough but certainly goes a long way toward refilling my Katie well until the next time we're in the same city.

Then we came home, played with the kids, peeled potatoes, and Katie made meatloaf for supper. I stayed downstairs tonight while Katie and James put the kids to bed, since I don't think my presence helped last night, but when they were done the three of us sat around and talked until 11:30 (which was prob way too late, but not as late as last night).

And now I simply must sleep, since I'm not getting the nine hours I'm accustomed to (this is where Katie, when she reads this post, will roll her eyes in disgust and comment on how spoiled my life is compared to hers...c'est la vie). Goodnight!

rocky mountain high

No, I'm not high - unless I am capable of entering an altered mental state simply by being around toddlers, in which case I'm as high as a fucking kite!

sssanyway. Today was an excellent start to my long weekend in Denver, and I'm v. happy to be here - seeing Katie (and James, her consort/lover/babydaddy/whatever you want to call him (I suppose some would call him a husband)) is always exactly what I need. But first I had to get here. That was all totally uneventful - I woke up, showered, finished packing, took care of some last-minute work, and eventually drove to the airport. I was through security in less than five minutes, so I was able to eat lunch (although I chose breakfast foods) and grab a latte before getting on my flight (after standing in line behind a woman and her two sons who had been in line for twenty minutes and got all the way to the gate agent, who then told them they were in line for the wrong flight. lol.).

The flight was completely on time (actually, fifteen minutes early), and completely uneventful (I journaled, wrote a bit of Rafe and Octavia, and reread part of 'Mockingjay' over the shoulder of the person next to me). I got out of the airport in record time, and James picked me up, so we caught up during the interminable traffic on the way back to the house.

Then I arrived, and was surprised to find that Anne (the three-year-old), at least, was v. v. excited to see me. I was expecting her to be shy, but she was super psyched (which is how I'm usually greeted, since I am amazing, but sometimes toddlers don't realize this)...and I think Julia warmed up to me as well. Katie also seemed psyched to see me, but we'll see if that continues as I sometimes slip up and mention things like 'freedom' and 'sleeping in' and don't know that a 'pack n play' is a playpen. #sorrynotsorry.

sssanyway again, we ate Thai food and hung out with the children until it was time to put them to bed (which all seemed to go pretty smoothly, although Katie proved that she excels at confiscating one's balls at the least provocation). Then Katie, James and I sat around the dining room table and drained some rosé and part of a bottle of white wine while discussing myriad topics, none of which I can share with you.

But now, I must sleep before the children awaken us all with their hideous shrieks of the damned.

But before I sleep, I must also say happy birthday to my father (you may know him as Papa Wamp) - happy birthday, Daddy! Goodnight!