It was a lovely Friday evening and a great start to my 3 day weekend. I finished up cleaning house (a bit depleted energy-wise but quite pleased to have it done,) then showered and shaved, and relaxed with Jeffrey and the dogs until Jim arrived. Upon his arrival, we had dinner ready to go in the oven, a favorite meal the three of us love to have when Jim visits: Chicken Nuggets and Tater Tots (Don’t judge. And please don’t ever tell Jim’s husband, Ken. Ken is a near-chef-level cook and would be horrified at such a processed, pedestrian meal.) I was quite careful to limit my portions. The last few times I had solid food meals, I awoke feeling bloated and sluggish, a feeling that eventually passed throughout the day.

Of course, we also had cocktails. We started with a Mandarin Orange Martini, then finished with a Pear Martini. Two is currently my limit, which I drink carefully, in conjunction with a bottle of water. My system is still adjusting to consuming solid food and booze again, so I don’t want to overtax it.

The best chuckle of the evening came when Jim asked us if we thought he was a nice guy. Apparently, he recently made an off hand comment to his husband that he was a nice guy, to which Ken immediately responded “no, you’re not.” This bothered Jim, so he was asking us last night to confirm that he is, in fact, a nice guy. Of course, being the smart ass I am, I responded “Wellllllllll…...” At that same moment, Rita Mae moved from my lap to Jim’s.* Jim looked Rita in the eye and asked her, “Am I a nice person, Rita Mae?” to which Rita Mae responded by barking and growling. We all took that as a resounding “No!” and had a good laugh.

*Side note: Jim and Rita have not had the warmest or friendliest of relationships, which is all Jim’s fault. Rita has always shown great affection towards him, but he is less welcome to her boisterous ways, so would often shoo her off. However, he has slowly grown more fond (read: tolerant) of her over time, and she will now, occasionally, be allowed to sit on his lap or be shown some affection from him. Inspired, at least in part I’m sure, by my ultimatum that he either learn to love her or leave this house, never to return.

As luck would have it, I woke up this morning feeling absolutely fine (meaning all systems are functioning properly and I feel no bloat -’nuff said) so I am ready to take on the day.

Jim brought me some of his smaller sized clothes to try on and borrow for a while, as I am currently too thin to wear any of my dress pants, dress shirts, and most of my jeans, so if I were called back to in-office work any time soon, I’m in trouble. (And I hate to but new clothes at this size in case I rapidly put the weight back on…not that I won’t try to keep it off, last nights meal aside.) The shirts fit fine, but the pants, which fit me perfectly in every other way, are too snug in the abdomen. (I have a freakishly deformed abdomen from multiple surgeries, which have resulted in an annoying spare tire I can’t get rid of no matter how emaciated I get.) So, I may just have to break down and buy a few pairs of “this size” slacks to get me by. If I surprise myself by keeping the weight off after a few months, I’ll buy more.

I will be taking Jim for his first drive in Mogo to show off all the bells and whistles, and we may allow ourselves one stop in a nearby country store we love to patronize. Jim has one vaccine shot under his belt; I have two and will be at the “2 week + 1 day” mark of maximum effect as of Monday. We’re not throwing caution to the wind at this point, but perhaps one stop in a never-crowded country shop (with masks, of course) is a reasonable risk. We shall see. However, what I hoped would be a nice, sunny day (temps in the 50s) for a leisure drive may not come to pass – it is currently chilly and quite blustery out, as it has been for days, so we may eschew the drive plans for staying in and working on puzzles or crochet projects.

Either way, I’m starting my day with a delicious Moonstruck breakfast once again.