I hope everybody enjoyed the brief respite from winter;  I don’t think it is going to last long.  I’ve lucked into a streak of 3-day weekends lately, and that was the case this past one too.  Friday was a premium day to have off too.  You don’t get too many 60+ degree days in February.  We went to the gym and kicked around a bit, then took Gabe on a nice long walk, then just sat outside and enjoyed the sun.  For dinner we met up with the Munkirs and Martins at a place in the southern-most tip of civilization.  It was cleverly named “The Wine Bar.”  Sounds like something I’d come up with.  We shared a nice bottle o’ red and a bunch of appetizers, which made for a solid enough dinner.  After dinner we went over to the Munkir’s pad and annoyed their dog for a few hours, then made the trek back to midtown.  Although I was stuffed when we left dinner, I must have digested somewhat because we had to make the dreaded run to Taco Bell on the way home.

Saturday, by the time I finally dragged myself away from the morning news and the computer, it was about seventy degrees out.  I took advantage of the rare weather by meeting up with “the team” over at Brice’s for a little BBQ practice.  In a recent effort to add a little interest to the coming season, we’ve switched up cooking responsibilities so we all have some experimenting to do.  Brice is stuck with chicken, so he was hard at work trying new recipes and techniques while the rest of us sat back and enjoyed the sun.  The bird came out good;  Not quite competition-ready perhaps, but it must have tasted OK because we devoured it all.  The sun was going down by that time, so we headed out to entertain ourselves at the nearest pool table.  After a rough start, Martin & I warmed up and thoroughly thrashed the Brice-Fahlstrom team.  I think the final score was around 13 to 3, although there was some dispute over the exact numbers.  As a side note, I forgot my cell phone at home that day, so if you were one of the bitter horde that tried contacting me I’M SORRY!!!  Good grief.  I don’t think that many people have called me in a week, much less all on the same day.

Sunday could be classified as a non-event.  The three-day weekends are a good thing, but they take a toll on an old man.  We went to lunch at Jalapeno’s, took Gabe for another long walk, and then I settled in for a few hundred rounds of Sudoku, interspersed with worthless television shows.  I feel rested though.