Where have I been, asked nobody? Nowhere. I mean, of course I’ve been somewhere – as long as I exist I must be somewhere – but I’ve been nowhere of real consequence. I have been working late hours at work and you may have heard, it’s gotten a bit …. chilly ….. here in the Northeast. Getting up to frigid, sub-zero temperatures, working long, stressful hours, and returning home late every day, in the dark, instill negative temperatures, leaves me little time, energy, or interest in doing much more than preparing dinner, wrapping myself in blankets in front of the fire, and cuddling up with the puppies and hubby to watch distracting TV shows on Hulu and Netflix until bed time. Such is the life on a middle-aged non-party animal.

However, in order to appease those who desperately need to know everything and anything going on with me and my life in order o have even a semblance of happiness in their own, I shall take mercy upon you and attempt to string together a bunch of crap to cobble together a post to satisfy you.

I bought a new pair of winter boots. That’s about it.

Actually, we did have a couple of small, fun, adventures recently.

We met the BF, Jim,  and his hubby in NYC a couple of weeks ago, to have lunch and see a matinée showing of “The Prom“, which was FABULOUS! If you’re a Musical fan, especially if you know the feeling of being told the simple act of loving another person is a political statement, selfish, or immoral, go see it if the opportunity arises. Afterwords, the four of us met another couple and their friend for dinner before seeing “The Cher Show” together.  It’s a fun show if you’re a fan of Cher or her music. Three actors portrayed Cher at different stages in her life, using their 3-way conversations throughout the play to provide exposition regarding Cher’s life, trials and tribulations. The actor playing “current aged” Cher – Stephanie J. Block – is a dead ringer for Cher (at least from where we were sitting) and her portrayal of the ageless Diva is second only to the real Cher. This trip was the weekend of a forecasted snowstorm, and the return train we booked for Sunday was cancelled, along with most others. We managed to get a seat on one of the few return trains still running, but showed up to the trains station 2.5 hours early to get in line in case it also got cancelled so we could make other arrangements. (It didn’t, and we made it home fine, albeit later than our original train would have gotten us there.) While getting stuck an extra day or two in NYC wouldn’t have been the worst thing, it would be expensive.

The following weekend, we met a couple of friends (from my College days) in Saratoga, a 4o minute drive from our house, and home to the very well-known Saratoga Race Course. (I’m not a fan or supporter of horse racing, I’m just saying it’s fairly well-known in the sports community.) An Irish band we are (were?) all fans of, Hair of the Dog, was playing at an Irish pub (The Parting Glass) and we decided it was a good excuse to get together. We enjoyed a nice dinner at a new (to us) restaurant (Fish at Lake 30) around the corner from the pub, beforehand. wonderful food, and most meals on the menu could be made gluten-free.   Here we are afterwords, at the Parting Glass, squeezing into our seats prior to the show:

And a quick group shot with my college buddies, “Baby” and “Haji,” before departing.

I also got to do a little shopping before dinner, at a comic shop in the area, and picked up these sweet early issues of Green Lantern to help fill in my collection:

I only need 20 more issues to have the entire 224 issue run. Woohoo!

We’ve clearly grown to old to enjoy being out in a crowded bar, late at night, with really loud music, packed in like sardines at a long table with folding chairs. As it was, we actually left at intermission; but it was fun to see the ladies and get out of our usual rut and comfort zone a bit, and to get to try out a new restaurant, so no regrets. However, my feelings about such events can be best summed up by this image my BF sent me the other day:

I don’t really mind acknowledging that I am a homebody who prefers relaxing weekends or early dinners and a cocktail in a nice restaurant as opposed to late nights out, hard ciders, and noisy pubs and bars. I may not live the life I thought I would, or be the person I expected to be, but I’m OK with who I am and the life I live. To quote one of my favorite authors:

Finally, a shout out to my big brother who sent me this awesome “just because” T-shirt:

Please note my grizzly, weekend look, a look I’ve worked hard to cultivate for the past 47-almost-48 years, in addition to my plumpness. We’ve been trying to eat better and healthier (NOT DIET) and cut out carbs and sugars as much as possible. While I’ve seen some progress, albeit a small amount of it, I also need to up my exercise to fully benefit from the better dietary habits, something I find hard to do after working these long, stressful work days and driving home on these cold, dark nights. Maybe I should just take this shirt’s advice: turn up the music, grab a giraffe, and dance these pounds away.

Be well, all, and thanks for stopping by.

Sassybear