Ah, Saturday.

A day of rest and relaxation.

While cuyahogarvr's birthday was actually Friday, the majority of the festivities were for Saturday, largely for ease of scheduling with friends & family.

We began by stopping quickly for some last minute groceries and supplies, then scooted over to a large lake-side park for a barbecue picnic. The weather was somewhat cooperative: while it was overcast and did rain lightly a few times through the afternoon, it wasn't severe and we were well-protected under a large picnic shelter. Personally, I was happy to be out of direct sunlight anyway, being the gentle & fragile soul that I am.

This was the first opportunity I've had to meet cuyahogarvr's other two children, Anna and TJ. I had met Maurita previously last fall in Charleston, SC, but I hadn't been back to Cleveland to meet the others since. Also in the bunch was Anna's fiance, Brandon. Charlene, a long-time professional colleague, attended with her four delightful grandchildren (ages 3, 4 [twins)] and 6... what a handful but enormous fun). Mark and Scott were also attending; Mark had come to DC with cuyahogarvr last month but this was the first time I could meet his boyfriend of two months. Crazy lady Karen visited us late but made up for it with hilarious stories of her family and cuyahogarvr

By mid-afternoon, I had consumed far too much potato salad, three burgers and lots of cake; we packed up the leftovers and returned to cuyahogarvr's apartment. He and kent4str napped while I worked on fixing a number of minor issues with his personal computer and Palm Pilot --all successfully, I might add.

We headed out for dinner at Via Zapata around 7 PM. It's been a long favourite restaurant very near mutual friends Brian, Mark and ohwolfman. Unbeknownst to cuyahogarvr, we had already arranged for them to be there but to cuyahogarvr, they had already begged off with "other engagements." While giving cuyahogarvr the impression dinner for 7 PM at that restaurant was all his idea, it had already been decided two months ago. I love being sneaky sometimes. Mark and Scott joined us as well; we hadn't coordinated with them prior to the picnic for lack of telephone numbers or email addresses but we were going to ensure they got word at the afternoon picnic; as it turns out, cuyahogarvr invited them on his own, especially since few others could make it. :-)

Mark, Brian and ohwolfman were waiting for us when we arrived, along with pitchers of margaritas and a chair at the head of the table for cuyahogarvr, must to his embarrassed surprise.

After a fine dinner over 2+ hours, Mark and Brian casually suggested we all reconvene at their house for drinks. Again, it was all planned: as soon as Michael was settled on the couch in the living room, ohwolfman began serving strawberries with amaretto; a few minutes later, ohwolfman produced a huge cheesecake he had made that afternoon, along with eight large slices of various fancy cakes he had purchased at the Westside Market earlier in the day.

The cheesecake was delicious; I'm not a fan of cheesecake generally --too rich for my tastes-- but even I had a second small slice. And the purchased cakes were much fun: we put each large slice onto a serving plate of its own, then passed each counter-clockwise around the room so everyone could get a sample of each flavour. The slices were large enough that everyone got at least three passes at each slice. Mmmmm... cake buffet. :-)

I believe we returned home around 11 PM, all pleasantly exhausted (esp me, since I didn't get an afternoon nap like the others, harrumph!) and slipped into bed while we were still able.

Ah, Saturday.

A day of rest and relaxation.

While cuyahogarvr's birthday was actually Friday, the majority of the festivities were for Saturday, largely for ease of scheduling with friends & family.

We began by stopping quickly for some last minute groceries and supplies, then scooted over to a large lake-side park for a barbecue picnic. The weather was somewhat cooperative: while it was overcast and did rain lightly a few times through the afternoon, it wasn't severe and we were well-protected under a large picnic shelter. Personally, I was happy to be out of direct sunlight anyway, being the gentle & fragile soul that I am.

This was the first opportunity I've had to meet cuyahogarvr's other two children, Anna and TJ. I had met Maurita previously last fall in Charleston, SC, but I hadn't been back to Cleveland to meet the others since. Also in the bunch was Anna's fiance, Brandon. Charlene, a long-time professional colleague, attended with her four delightful grandchildren (ages 3, 4 [twins)] and 6... what a handful but enormous fun). Mark and Scott were also attending; Mark had come to DC with cuyahogarvr last month but this was the first time I could meet his boyfriend of two months. Crazy lady Karen visited us late but made up for it with hilarious stories of her family and cuyahogarvr

By mid-afternoon, I had consumed far too much potato salad, three burgers and lots of cake; we packed up the leftovers and returned to cuyahogarvr's apartment. He and kent4str napped while I worked on fixing a number of minor issues with his personal computer and Palm Pilot --all successfully, I might add.

We headed out for dinner at Via Zapata around 7 PM. It's been a long favourite restaurant very near mutual friends Brian, Mark and ohwolfman. Unbeknownst to cuyahogarvr, we had already arranged for them to be there but to cuyahogarvr, they had already begged off with "other engagements." While giving cuyahogarvr the impression dinner for 7 PM at that restaurant was all his idea, it had already been decided two months ago. I love being sneaky sometimes. Mark and Scott joined us as well; we hadn't coordinated with them prior to the picnic for lack of telephone numbers or email addresses but we were going to ensure they got word at the afternoon picnic; as it turns out, cuyahogarvr invited them on his own, especially since few others could make it. :-)

Mark, Brian and ohwolfman were waiting for us when we arrived, along with pitchers of margaritas and a chair at the head of the table for cuyahogarvr, must to his embarrassed surprise.

After a fine dinner over 2+ hours, Mark and Brian casually suggested we all reconvene at their house for drinks. Again, it was all planned: as soon as Michael was settled on the couch in the living room, ohwolfman began serving strawberries with amaretto; a few minutes later, ohwolfman produced a huge cheesecake he had made that afternoon, along with eight large slices of various fancy cakes he had purchased at the Westside Market earlier in the day.

The cheesecake was delicious; I'm not a fan of cheesecake generally --too rich for my tastes-- but even I had a second small slice. And the purchased cakes were much fun: we put each large slice onto a serving plate of its own, then passed each counter-clockwise around the room so everyone could get a sample of each flavour. The slices were large enough that everyone got at least three passes at each slice. Mmmmm... cake buffet. :-)

I believe we returned home around 11 PM, all pleasantly exhausted (esp me, since I didn't get an afternoon nap like the others, harrumph!) and slipped into bed while we were still able.

Knead Me Like a Loaf of Bread

It has been a very gentle Sunday. We slept late --the first time in days-- and loved every minute of it. The heat and humidity of the past few days has moved on, making me a much happier camper.

Once we were showered & dressed, cuyahogarvr and kent4str went off for lunch, leaving me in the gentle but firm hands of masseur Brian K, and ah, what a good time I had.

Brian does superb work and I nearly always get an hour of his time when I'm in Cleveland. I love a firm massage, hefty pressure and strong hands; I want to feel relaxed to the bone, not lightly touched on the epidermis only. And Brian delivers, checking periodically to ensure he's not pushing my limits too far. It also helps that I've known Brian for 15+ years so I trust him completely.

The work on my shoulders, back and arms was excellent but he also spent a larger-than-normal time working my chest and abdomen. I thought nothing of that at the time, but later...

With no other appointments this afternoon, he left me on the table after an hour's work to let me savour the sensation. When I gathered myself together enough to attempt to stand, I found I was breathing more effortlessly than I can ever remember. The difference was incredible and entirely unexpected.

cuyahogarvr and kent4str picked me up after their lunch and after we gathered our luggage from the apartment, we headed to the airport with a quick stop at Risato's Frozen Custard. I deferred at the time, but did indulge myself in a cinnamon bun once we were at the airport and cleared through security.

Knead Me Like a Loaf of Bread

It has been a very gentle Sunday. We slept late --the first time in days-- and loved every minute of it. The heat and humidity of the past few days has moved on, making me a much happier camper.

Once we were showered & dressed, cuyahogarvr and kent4str went off for lunch, leaving me in the gentle but firm hands of masseur Brian K, and ah, what a good time I had.

Brian does superb work and I nearly always get an hour of his time when I'm in Cleveland. I love a firm massage, hefty pressure and strong hands; I want to feel relaxed to the bone, not lightly touched on the epidermis only. And Brian delivers, checking periodically to ensure he's not pushing my limits too far. It also helps that I've known Brian for 15+ years so I trust him completely.

The work on my shoulders, back and arms was excellent but he also spent a larger-than-normal time working my chest and abdomen. I thought nothing of that at the time, but later...

With no other appointments this afternoon, he left me on the table after an hour's work to let me savour the sensation. When I gathered myself together enough to attempt to stand, I found I was breathing more effortlessly than I can ever remember. The difference was incredible and entirely unexpected.

cuyahogarvr and kent4str picked me up after their lunch and after we gathered our luggage from the apartment, we headed to the airport with a quick stop at Risato's Frozen Custard. I deferred at the time, but did indulge myself in a cinnamon bun once we were at the airport and cleared through security.

And Back in DC Once Again

Our flight home this evening was utterly uneventful: we were seated promptly, the flight was on time, there were no screaming babies and I slept like a log the entire trip.

Our experiment with the daily rate parking garage is deemed a success: the shuttle buses were prompt, we were able to pay for our parking ($32) and exit without difficulty and navigating our way out of the airport grounds was very easy. Even the commute home was relatively smooth and uneventful.

I am now catching up on snail-mail and laundry, as well as copying the weekend's photos off my laptop onto my main workstation. Ahhhh...

And Back in DC Once Again

Our flight home this evening was utterly uneventful: we were seated promptly, the flight was on time, there were no screaming babies and I slept like a log the entire trip.

Our experiment with the daily rate parking garage is deemed a success: the shuttle buses were prompt, we were able to pay for our parking ($32) and exit without difficulty and navigating our way out of the airport grounds was very easy. Even the commute home was relatively smooth and uneventful.

I am now catching up on snail-mail and laundry, as well as copying the weekend's photos off my laptop onto my main workstation. Ahhhh...