There are no pics today.

We had a wine and snack party last night. Danita has two research groups and hence two bosses. She told one of her bosses that she will retire April 1. Retirement is a big deal for her because she worked at UMBC so long and because she has so much of herself invested in her job. She came home all worked up. So we had pizza for dinner and then drank a bottle of red wine and ate nuts while watching TV. She plans to tell her other boss Tuesday. We won’t be having a wine night Tuesday because that’s Yoga night. As good as we are at drinking wine, we can’t do it while doing “Downward Dog”.

After several days of rain, the weather turned nice. I enjoyed good rides Thursday and Friday. But the best day was today. Danita wasn’t sleeping. So when I got up at 5, Danita got up also. We went to IHOP for breakfast. We used our coupon for free pancakes and split an omelet. After breakfast we went to Toys R Us and bought our Toys for Tots. Then we went to Target and got a boy’s sweater for our church’s Advent Giving Tree.

I got a nice long ride in after that. When I got to Glenwood (my destination), I found long lines of cars, police out, shuttle busses running people back and forth to auxiliary parking — in short, a total mess. The place I usually buy lunch had long lines. I didn’t even try the other two restaurants nearby. Instead, I went to the library and got a pack of chips from their vending machine. But while there were long lines of traffic in the parking lot and while I had to wait my turn like everybody else, drivers were mostly calm and always at least sane. It was a very nice ride. It was a great day, and dinner is still to come. Danita’s cooking, so I know it will be good.

We have a special chore next week. One of our neighbors, Jeff, is going to Denver for a few days. They ordered a bunch of stuff on the Internet. But they have no idea what they ordered or when it’s coming it. Our job is to bring any packages in so they don’t disappear. I asked if there was anything coming that I would enjoy playing with. Jeff said yes, if I enjoy playing with toys for grandkids. I said that’s my favorite kind.

I hope this finds everybody doing well.