Saturday, April 19, 2025

Three Beautiful Things 04-18-2925: Our Trip Ends, Burning the Camry's Rubber, Reassuring Copper

1. These biannual trips with my lifelong friends to the Wildhorse Resort and Casino go by quickly. 

Here it was, Friday morning already. 

I had done most of my packing on Thursday evening. I cleaned up and finished this morning and descended to the hotel lobby. Upon checking out, my bill confirmed that my first two nights had been comped and my third night was discounted nicely, so I ended up only being charged about 27 bucks per night. 

I liked that and beamed as I drove next door to fuel up the Camry, returned to purchase a latte, and sat in the lobby. In no time at all Ed and Mike appeared and we took off for Roosters Country Kitchen in Pendleton for our final meal together, some more story telling, and our reluctant farewells. 

2. With one exception, when a driver ahead of us between Post Falls and Coeur d'Alene stopped suddenly on the freeway -- just because highway workers were parked in the shoulder? -- and I screeched the Camry to a rubber burning stop and veered right a bit, avoiding a collision, the drive from Pendleton went smoothly.  

I arrived home and immediately checked on Copper. 

He doesn't like me to leave. 

He was resting comfortably in a suitcase I no longer use and is a bed for him in the Vizio room. 

When Debbie arrived home from work, she reported that aside from eating, drinking, and using the litter box, Copper spent nearly all the time I was away in that suitcase. 

3. I left Copper alone for a couple of hours or so upon my return, thinking he might leave the suitcase on his own volition. 

He didn't.

So, once I was ready to settle into the bedroom to finish the Friday NYTimes crossword puzzle, I lifted Copper out of the suitcase and brought him in with me. 

That's what he wanted me to do.

For the rest of the evening and all through the night, Copper stayed close to me and if a rolled over and began to sleep with my back to him, he meowed, pawed me a bit, and reminded me that I am to sleep facing him. 

I complied. 

Gladly. 

So, all is well back home and now I have one project ahead of me: eat lightly! I indulged in more big meals on this trip away than I have in many many many months and lost ground meeting the doctor's orders that I continue to work on losing weight. 

Sigh. 

I enjoyed my indulgences, but now I've got to try to get back to eating in a somewhat disciplined way again! 

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