Hella Stella

We came home last night to a very happy bulldog. Morty had a great time with his sitter while we were gone, but my goodness, is he ever a snuggle sponge today. He's all, "Rub my bum! Now kiss my ears! Hug me! Throw my toy! And then rub my bum!"

We are happy to oblige.

This little trip was exactly what the doctor ordered. Not literally, of course. The crap I've done to my legs from all the walking is certainly NOT what my doctor would have wanted.

But it felt good to be away. The kind of away that lets you book a hotel for a couple of nights, visit some friends, and have date after date with your partner. The kind of away that helps you remember why you're plodding along doing occasionally mundane stuff. Why, it's so that you can enjoy your holiday time, of course!

Oddly, sometimes it takes being out of town with my BH to remember what a good team we are. My sense of direction paired with his ability to find cool shops. My organizing and highlighted lists with his relaxed temperament (This paid off especially well when we missed our train on Friday and had to take a bus up instead. Apparently I had accidentally bought tickets for a 5:45 AM train, not a 5:45 PM train. Having a laid-back partner is a must for situations like this - otherwise I would have had a meltdown.)

Some highlights from the trip:

- having a hotel that was a few blocks away from our dear friend Shawna
- being upgraded to a nicer room when we checked in, seemingly because we were friendly
- watching Shawna play a set in the middle of a giant art festival
- discovering a wonderful Japanese grocery store, and buying a bottle of brown liquid there just because it had a bulldog on it (I was assured the liquid tasted like caramelized onions)
- finding a bottle of clear liquid in the same store that was listed as a beverage but was called "sweat"
- meeting no less than four English bulldogs and two French bulldogs in ONE DAY
- having Wendell the English bulldog cuddle me and then snot in my eye (it felt like I was home!)
- buying some cute dresses and tops
- catching up with our dear friend Rachel, who is one of the more charming people I know
- randomly finding a farmer's market in downtown east, thus scoring some creamed honey and maple syrup!
- eating a lunch Shawna packed for us on the train ride home

I'm sure there are more things to report, but I'll probably remember them when I am uploading the photos for a later post. Either way, we're happy to be home, and excited to go back whenever we can. I'll actually be in Toronto this November for a gig, so we'll see if I can sneak out for some Japanese groceries and some bulldog lovin'.