weekend+
October 24, 2006

Sat:
The shockitude of Sweetest Day wasn�t that I got stuck going to the hobby show, but that he genuinely seemed to appreciate my doing so.

After having an awesome omelet in, off all places, a biker bar (The Fatman Inn), we went down to Rosemont for the show, which was disappointing�next to no train stuff. Then we headed over to Edison Park so he could wine me and dine me at Basta Pasta.

WHICH WAS CLOSED!!! As in NOT THERE ANYMORE!

AAAAGH!

Fortunately, we had a �plan B�. Graziano�s, over in Niles�just down the street from the famous �Leaning Tower of Niles� .

Excellent Italian food, great service and portions enough for two meals at a decent price.
We started with bruschetta, and Spouse had the cream of tomato-basil soup, and chicken parmesan (his favorite). I went with the house salad, and the baked cavatelli special�with spicy Italian sausage. Mama Mia, indeed.

All very delicious and enjoyable�which is good, because we took the leftovers home and had them for dinner!

On our way home, we decided to make a stop at Wally�s to get paper plates and assorted other staples of existence. Since we were there anyway, Spouse decided to make up for the oversight on my birthday�he bought me my sexy new red binder for my Franklin Planner! This thing is so pretty! Charmingly styled like an attach� case, with retractable handles. Tons of nifty pockets, pouches, bookmarks and a notepad. And it�s RED!

Squee.

Once we got home, we kind of vegged out for the evening, watched a bit of TV, and crashed.

Once that was done, I returned to the laundry project for a while, then all three of us stretched out in the big bed for a snooze. When I awoke at three, I went to the kitchen and put a batch of homemade vegetable soup to simmer on the stove. That, along with a pan of cornbread fresh from the oven, made a great supper for a raw October evening.

Yeah, that sounds like the fever hasn�t broken yet, huh?

Here�s the saga�Friday morning at o-dark-thirty in the morning, I�m cruising down the Tri-State in the Retro-Rocket. And the dashboard plunges into darkness. Unnerving, I must say. But I�m � of the way to work, so I just go uneasily on my way until I get to the office. Then I get out and take inventory of my working lights, and find that it�s the dash and the taillights that are out of commission. Probably a fuse. It�s Friday, I�ll be driving home in daylight, so I�ll just figure it out when I get home, yada-yada.

So I did, and the fuse was blown, so I got fuses and replaced the frakked one and oh, happy day.

Till Monday morning at o-dark-thirty, when I�m headed out on the highway and once again, the dashboard plunges into darkness.

This time I�m only 15 minutes from home, so I turned on my hazard flashers, and headed back to the barn. I called the office to say I�m gonna be late, and then I have a smoke, finish my coffee, and read till Spouse gets up.

He throws on his jacket and goes outside to give the situation closer scrutiny, and finds that my left taillight housing has about three inches of water standing in it. Leading to corrosion, electrical shorts, and fused fuses. Aha.

So by now, I realize that things need actual fixing, and fixing today. I leave Spouse to it, and call the office back, explain my car is out of commission, so I�ll be out all day.

And then I do the only sensible thing: I put on sweats and spent the day vegged out on the couch with pillow, blankie, and heating pad, and I re-read all of Ruth Rendell�s Road Rage. In between naps.

I didn�t get to involved with the repairs (other than taking a blow-dryer and drying out the inside of the housing), but apparently the short circuit issue is resolved�I made it all the way to the office this morning without losing the lights.

Work was a beeee--otch today. First off, it was the boss�s birthday, and I wasn�t sure if anyone on my team was going to do anything about it, so I made myself late by stopping to pick up a potted plant, card, and some munchables at the grocery store.

Then, I not only had to do two days worth of MY job, but also two days worth of a co-worker�s job, since I�m officially covering for her while she�s on vacation.

Plus, I got (yet) another to-do list from my boss. Another day, another deadline.

Now, since I�m beat, and it�s almost six, I�m going to heat up the rest of the soup and the last piece of cornbread, and watch DLM. Tonight is the episode where Mandy Patinkin sings.

Another squee.