�Nature never did betray the heart that loved her.� -William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

Who the hell do I think I am, anyway? No matter. Scone droppings litter the perimeter around my chair. Everything tastes like vanilla frosting, though neither my coffee, nor my scone has any vanilla-anything. Most interesting. If you asked me what I did this weekend, my automatic response would be, �well, nothing.� Because I didn�t do anything I would normally do on a weekend.

A gallery opening, an opportunity to VIP it downtown on Friday night, a bar-b-que with friends, another group at one bar, and a handful of new boys with a friend at another club on Saturday night. All things I would fit into my weekend, livin� it up, lovin� it down. And there I sat, with no interest. But I didn�t do �nothing� (this is not a double-negative, however, it will sound strange, because we so rarely see those words, in that order, in correct grammatical usage). I did a lot of things.

Friday night, I picked up my father from the airport, we caught up with each other, grabbed a bite to eat, and I ended up reading in bed for the evening. Saturday, up early, Kitty made me breakfast (delicious, as always), and then she, her roommate, and I headed to Balboa Park to tour the newly-renovated Botanical garden . I used to frequent the botanical garden, right by the lily pond, until they closed it down for renovation years ago. Now, it�s open again to the public! It was beautiful, lush, refreshing, lovely. We met Bubba (short for Babette), a parrot with vibrant yellow, blue, and green plumage. She sat on my shoulder and nibbled at the sleeve of my dress.

After walking around the park, seeing the sights, and commenting over and over how lucky we are to have this beautiful day, this wonderful park within walking distance, all of it, we headed back for a kitty nap. Then met up with Zim and Cabana Boy to see a silly movie, Under Cover Brotha�. Just what we needed, a giggle-fest in the middle of the afternoon. Solid. Saturday night, while trying to figure out what it is I wanted to do, between making calls and getting dressed up, I headed over to Bunny�s as a first-stop.

To hang, meet Zorba, and figure out what I wanted to do for the evening. I had a great time hanging out with her and the Greek, and rather than meet up with the boys at Bourbon Street, or meet up with the girl and the group of guys with potential-potential at the club, I headed home. And I read in bed. I just wasn�t in the mood. So foreign it is to me, this anti-social feeling. But once I allowed myself to make the decision that best suited me, I felt great.

Sunday, up early, I went to �church� with Dad, saw my old friend, Rev. Kev, whom I used to work with so many years ago. Wonderful. Then, Dad and I headed up to San Marcos to see the baby, hang for a few hours and laugh with my sis and her family, and on our way home, we stopped by Jane�s, the eldest of our clan of four women. Coffee, tea, and way too much cheese (I refuse to accept my lactose intolerance), we eventually headed home for a relaxing Sunday evening.

So, in retrospect, my weekend was full. I did quite a lot. I just didn�t do what I usually do. And man, I feel refreshed. Guess it�s time for me to take a break. I�ve been �working� too hard. Any time �play� begins to feel like work, you�ve done enough of it for awhile.

-Barbarella

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