Happy Labrador

It's in the 30s here this am! I opened the door to get the paper, and the ancient Labrador (14 and 1/2) bounded outside like a puppy. She loves the cold weather. She seemed to say "Hey, I endure the heat with this yellow fur coat of mine, but these temps are what I'm designed for!"

I went to the office yesterday, and then got a call from D1 inviting me to lunch. We drove to the Gables, and went to Seasons 52, which opened on Miracle Mile. The company was excellent. The food? Eh. It's a lot like the former Houstons, now Hillstones, for reasons some corporate marketing guy knows, but I thought Houstons was better. As D1 pointed out, I AM getting more and more cranky...

After lunch, we shared a lovely walk in the cool weather over to Books and Books. I bought a Holocaust book for my mother in law as a birthday gift. (Since "The Hangover" I can't get the line "They gave rings in the Holocaust?" out of my head). Wifey's visiting her tomorrow, and I can't escape my brown nose nature, even after nearly 24 years as a son in law.

D1 bought a copy of Proust's "Remembrance of Things Past." Ah, I thought, she inherited my love of literature, even though I've never read Proust. I told her I'd borrow it and we can discuss it over a meal or two...

We then got the call from MIA --D2 landed early from Gainesville. We drove up LeJeune, and I stopped in the Latin Cafe, to buy D2 a turkey sandwich for a welcome home snack. D1 insisted she wouldn't eat it without whole wheat bread --I bet her she would.

D2 got into the car, and said she WOULD eat it, but later, so our wager was a draw...

We dropped D1 back at her apartment, to walk her dog and prepare for a night out with her UM 1L friends, who were celebrating the end of finals. Ah --I remember it well...

The second my first semester finals were over, I piled into my friend Mike's van with another 1L, Dave, and we drove non stop to Northern Wisconsin, for a week of snowmobiling and avoiding trees on dark snowmobile paths in the North Woods after drinking Old Style beer... It was the PERFECT post finals vacation, even though Wifey broke up with me for it since I "totally disregarded her feelings, and didn't respect her wanting to be with me over the break, etc, etc..." Ah --that was 27 years ago...

D1 invited D2 to come along, but D2 declined to go out with D1's "elderly friends..."

Instead, we came home and picked up Wifey, and went to Captain's Tavern. D2 and Wifey ate huge lobster tails to celebrate D2's temporary homecoming (She flies back to Gainesville on Thursday for her final Final) before coming home for the rest of Winter Break...

Ah, my girls, my aging LAbrador, and cold weather. What a sweet way to end 2010...