decadent urban recreation

This weekend was packed. There were several high points, including...

... hearing blues at the Checkerboard with amazing guitar players and a fabulous rendition of "Dirty Old Woman".
... wandering by the comic store on the way to the el to pick up V for Vendetta and more Strangers in Paradise (to give C some free time to re-read V, a strategy which has so far been wildly unsuccessful as I'm ripping through it)
... eating alligator, bison, and ostrich. In the same meal.
... wandering around Ravenswood Manor and Albany Park, intending to go to an open house. We actually got distracted by some fresh lime soda and didn't get there in time.
... hours to read and knit.
... an unexpected reading of "Miss Rumphius" at church, which made me cry like a little kid. I was a little kid, last time I read it. (It's the story of the woman who plants the lupines to make the world more beautiful.)
... sunny weather and some fluffy little birds.
... 2 days, 2 gym trips, 2 naps.
... baking banana bread and muffins and lasagna (the oven has been on for several hours straight now. Watch out for our gas bill.)
... watching a woman ride her bicycle through State and Madison in high heels. Talented.
... finding a coworker who offhandedly replaced most of the difficult-to-recover items in the stolen presentation kit, and then referred me to a highly useful website or two.
... MY HOUSE IS CLEAN. Seriously, this makes me so happy, knowing that if I get up in the middle of the night I will not trip on any clothes. Conversely, I have also deleted ALL the emails from that little housecleaning fairy, who is cluttering up my inbox this week. Both these things make me feel better.