Shir, it was a delight to meet you in person finally and hang out! And it reminded me of all the great places there are to be around here... I need to get out more. I'm glad your travels have been more or less smooth and that you're reunited with your luggage and home.

Aims, what are specials? Need to figure out if I need to add specials to my day...

I just renewed my drivers license. Which only expired [checks notes] seven weeks ago. One more onerous task off my list.

Way to go! Mine expires in a little under a month. Since I decided I better get my "RealID", I have to go in in person rather than just mailing in a form. Le sigh. At least I was able to get an appt (1 week before my birthday/DL expiration date, so I've got time in case anything goes wrong) by picking an office a little off the beaten track.

More recess, less stabbing. Sounds like a win-win situation.

Todd sums it up beautifully.

Shir, glad you and your stuff are safe and sound.

The Hindu wedding was just a delight! The groom and his friends and family processed from the host hotel over to the bride's family waiting at the temple -- the hotel was 2 buildings away, and they could parade entirely through parking lots, and it was loud and joyful and so much fun!

The ceremony was entirely in Sanscrit (which I thought wasn't a spoken language, only written, but I was clearly wrong), but one of the groom's aunts explained in English what was happening in each part of the ceremony (prayers to Ganesh, exchanging flower garlands, etc). It was really lovely. The bride's parents walked the groom down the aisle and the groom's parents walked the bride down the aisle.

Lunch afterwards was an amazing Indian buffet, topped off with pistachio ice cream. We ate so well. And then we came home and napped.

No reception tonight -- the giant shindig will be after the Lutheran ceremony tomorrow. I have to fortify myself.

I'm so jelly, Steph! That sounds so great!

And now we're ordering a shit ton of Chinese food. I am ravenous!

This is the dress I'm wearing for the Lutheran ceremony and reception tomorrow, since eShakti has fallen off the face of the planet and taken my dress with it: [link] . I figured that's pretty damn festive.

Was forced to side with Buffy and play nice with Joyce

I think Spike respected Joyce enough that it didn't take much coercion for him to play nice. She inadvertently stumbled across the way to his heart—blunt force trauma—in their first meeting!

I'm back from several days in Eureka Springs, having missed most of the predicted rain and about half the expected good meals, but catching up on more than the anticipated amount of sleep.

Timelies all!

Well, we’ve made it to Balticon. Mr. S has been acting a bit wild, so we’ll see how all this goes.

I have a new puppy! My sister went to the local shelter with me this morning, where they have about 80 big dogs who need homes, and I met two dogs. One was a very nice boy, but he was not as interested in me as in the other dogs in the area.

This girl, however, was very interested in people, and took treats from me, and walked on a leash, and peed immediately when she got outside the kennel, which was a good sign. So I brought her home! She is now curled up on her dog bed while I watch GBBO.

I will get a DNA thing done, but I believe she is a shepherd/Alaskan husky mix. Not Siberian: her coat is not nearly thick enough. But the blue eyes are amazingly striking.

Congratulations to you both!

This girl, however, was very interested in people, and took treats from me, and walked on a leash, and peed immediately when she got outside the kennel, which was a good sign. So I brought her home! She is now curled up on her dog bed while I watch GBBO.

What a sweet face!