Magic Mystery Day

Today was a good day.  I slept in to a reasonable degree, but not enough to feel guilty: 8:15 am.  Then I went and met my friend at the dog park.  Sabkha got to play and frolic in the mud with her friend Mattie.  Mattie is tied with the other dog, Guiness, for being her Best Friend.  It's hot in Texas this time of year, but it was just cool enough to get the humans saying "it isn't too bad for this time of year".  Each time a cloud blocked the sun and a gust of breeze came through, it even felt good for a few moments.  We cling to our small pleasures here in the swamp in the summertime.  After hosing off Sabkha, we returned home and lounged a bit, awaiting the arrival of the Future Brother-in-Law (FBiL).  The FBiL was late and clearly groggy from sleeping in to an unreasonable degree.  We jumped in the car -- Subaru, it's too hot for the convertible -- and hit the local Starbucks for chemical fortification.  So armed, we headed for Macy's at the local mall.  I have a hard time shopping.  I definitely need moral support, or else I flame out in about 30 minutes.  Coffee helps, and so does summertime outside.  It makes the cool, dark interior of the mall that much more inviting, and I can tell myself that I don't really want to be outside anyway.  Macy's was a limited success, but prices were high.  We applied our Shopping Logic and realized we needed to strike out in the direction of the outlet mall off 290, northwest of town.  Said and done.  The outlet mall was flush with deals and shortly we both found ourselves with strings of bags as bracelets up our arms.  We just shopped, and enjoyed the pure pleasure of it -- and, dare I say, the sport of it.  Just after getting a second shot of cold creamy caffeine from the happy green sea-goddess, I got a call from the Fab Five, requesting an Obligatory Friendly Visit (OFV).  Apparently, I had forgetten to update my Outlook calendar and therefore became delinquent vis-à-vis my OFV schedule.  The FBiL got roped into this, and we headed for the Fab Five residence and had a nice visit with the trips.  Sabkha wasn't along, of course, so we dognapped GG (aka Guin-Guin, aka Guiness) for some doggie slumber party playtime with Sabkha back at the Sandfield ranch.  Back home, the FBiL and I decided to hit the local LA Fitness gym with some free passes we acquired online.  After nearly an hour on an elliptical and treadmill, I was about to barf, yet was strangely hungry, so we stepped next door to New York Pizza and had a delish slice.  After drinking six liters of water I began to feel better.  FBiL hit the road and I walked the hounds around the 1.7-mile loop in the gathering dusk.  Everyplace looks much better when you're about to leave it.  More packing, a quick trip to work, some blogging, and here I am.