That is what I am going to rename the West Wing, a room I added onto my house several years ago. That, or Hall of Fulfilling Original Wishes.
My SO and I traveled this past weekend to Milwaukee, where (among other things) we visited the Milwaukee Museum of Art and viewed the Summer of China exhibit which features the Qianlong Retirement Garden. Each building and pavilion in the garden is named, and these two struck me as the epitome of what a retirement garden should be.
It was a technology-based weekend: we met up with a friend of my SO's with whom he reconnected on FB; the I-Pass doodad made traversing the Tri-State a breeze; detours were overcome by the GPS; the Internet helped me locate local yarn stores, including one that was open on Sunday; texting enabled us to meet up with my son for lunch; etc., etc., and so forth. We are soft.
Crossing Indiana on our way there, my SO swears he saw a sign for "Snapping Beavers" campground or golf course, with a picture of a beaver wearing a turtle shell. Alas, Google was unable to confirm this, but "Snapping Beavers" became the phrase of the weekend. The kilt-wearer with a jackalope sporran (look it up) only added to the mirth at Irish Fest. (Yes, there were many kilt-wearing men at Irish Fest even though - according to Wikipedia - kilts are actually of Scottish origin and were co-opted by the Irish at the beginning of the 20th century. Copy cats.)
I can't believe what a relaxing weekend we had. When I am in charge of our vacation plans, I have an agenda that must be followed in order to see everyone and do everything planned. Since this was my SO's trip, I was just a tag-along, and that's what I did. I had never met the FB friend, and neither of us had met her husband, nor her brother and his partner, but the six of us spent a companionable Saturday, eating (Blue's Egg - highly recommended for breakfast), shopping the Third Ward, and "doing" Irish Fest. Sunday was more eating (Beans and Barley - also highly recommended), the museum, and visiting with my SO's brother and his wife. The latter expressed disappointment we had not stayed with them, but since that would have involved sleeping in twin beds under Mickey Mouse comforters, I was perfectly happy with the Crowne Plaza in Wauwatosa.
Choosing the hotel and arranging to meet up with my son on our way home were my only responsibilities for this weekend getaway, so it felt like a real vacation to me. And I needed that. I'm taking today and tomorrow as vacation days as well, before easing back into the work world. NOT looking forward to that.
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