Holiday weekend: part 1

After work Saturday, Misty and I packed in the car and headed out of town. Emily has made a new improvment in her mood that we didn't recognize for a few days. She doesn't scream in the car so much anymore — at least, not while the car is moving. At red lights, however, all hell breaks loose from the back seat, but it's a small concession in the grand scheme of peace and quiet.

We dropped Emily off with Aunt Wanda in Cullman, and Misty and I continued up to Huntsville. We hung out at Haven for an hour or so while I visited friends and bought some books. I was pleased to see so many people in the store — a good sign that they're doing well. I was annoyed, however, to see the huge new selection of miniatures and other gaming supplements in stock. If they had the money to order all that shit, why did it take them more than seven months to pay me? (And when I say "they," you know I'm not talking about you, Josh). It was also sad to see the disasterous understocking of comics as a result of a recent business deal theft.

Yancey met up with us at Haven, and the three of us went out for an early dinner. We ate at a Mexican restaurant in Madison that was pretty good, considering that I've never really cared for Mexican food. As we were finishing our meal, someone walked by our table, said hello to Yancey, and continued to the front counter. It was my ex-wife. As she stood at the register, we noticed her trying to catch glances at our table as she hid behind her friend. I was pleased to see that she looked like hell. Misty was too. She found the episode terribly amusing.

After dinner, we said goodbye to Yancey and headed off to Decatur for the Alabama Jubilee. We'd tried to go last year, but rain had prevented any balloons from taking off. This time, however, the weather was gorgeous, and the hot air balloons were plentiful. We took loads of pictures and even got to take a brief ride up in a balloon. As the sun set, the balloons lit up the landscape like giant, colorful lanters. The whole event was wonderful fun.




We picked Emily up on the way home to learn that she'd had a good day too. She took her bottles without much fuss and even had a bath. Aunt Wanda has been so much help with taking care of her, and it was great to be able to escape our responsibilities for a day.