In blinding contrast to the last few months, the last two days have been spectacular. I should have been coming out of my seasonal funk around February, but with the break-up followed by screwing up my knee, then a uncomfortable return to an unwelcoming classroom, the misery just seemed endless. Sometimes, the onset of summer brings a new sort of depression - I have no routine, so I just stay in bed.

That isn't happening.

I got a call late Monday night from a guy I've been seeing. (I'm not sure I've mentioned him on LJ, but I've referenced him to friends as my "cougar trainwreck.") He wanted to come by, and although I always want to see him, I explained that I had called him earlier to see if he wanted to have dinner with me. He had mentioned he liked broccoli and I had made a big batch of broccoli cheese soup. When I didn't hear from him, I ate the whole batch. I had to explain further that broccoli doesn't agree with me so much to begin with, but I really overdid it, and he should probably keep his distance. He persisted; I relented.

So we had some gentle snuggle time, and he told me he had Tuesday off. (He NEVER seems to have days off. EVER.) So I asked if he would stay, and he did. We slept in until about noon, then to my surprise, spent the day together, which we've never done. He took me to lunch at a Thai restaurant in Ballard that I had been thinking of checking out, then he wanted to show me the new movie theater at Northgate. Nothing interesting to both of us was showing, so we headed to Oak Tree and he indulged me in a CHICK FLICK. (Yes. He's hoping to bank some serious brownie points for when he inevitably pisses me off again.) We saw "The Proposal," and he was laughing as much as I was.

While we were watching the show, his sister called. Because his family came into town for his mother's memorial, she wanted him to come home for dinner and spend it with everyone before they headed back to California. I didn't realize they were still here.

Anyway, he insisted he still had some time, and did I want to take that walk around Greenlake? So we did, then grabbed ice cream before heading back to my place. I was in such a good mood, I actually did a bit of cleaning. (Not much, but some!) Then, I headed down to Ballard to feed Pax and I hung out with him purring next to me while I watched the Food Network.

Today was another full day. I slept in until I had to drive up to Mukilteo for physical therapy. I was supposed to meet up with Miss LaLa, but she had to take her daughter to an ortho appointment, so we're shooting for next week. So instead of getting coffee, I ran to the border and indulged my craving for cheap tacos. I took them home and stuffed more cheese into them before eating them, so they were really yummy. I tried to watch television, but couldn't get into anything, so around 3:00, I decided to take a nap. I woke up and raced to meet shoewhore76 at Pomodoro on Eastlake for drinks and dinner, her belated birthday treat to me. We met around 6:20 (I was late), and started with a cocktails. The owner/chef was also the bartender and waiter, and very charming. Randi and I will definitely be back! The ravioli tapas with hummus, smoked mozzarella and black truffles was to die for, as was everything else. But then, the owner brought out a piece of his Grand Marnier chocolate mousse cake with a candle for my birthday and had everyone in the tiny restaurant sing. Randi and I shared this - I don't think I could have handled it alone - and sipped coffee to finish off our night. We visited until - gosh! - I think it was nearly 11:00. Fantastic drinks, incredible food, and the warm comfort of good, easy conversation with a treasured friend. What could be better?

I headed back to Ballard to take care of Pax, then drove home. I was tempted to head up to Mill Creek to catch Girls' Night Out with Andrea, Kitty, et al, but decided it was too late and instead have just been dinking about on the computer and musing over the last 48 hours. Tomorrow proves to be another great day. layers_of_me is coming over to visit, and we are going to eat, drink, sing, and be generally merry. Can't wait!