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Personal
We took an impulsive, mid-week mini-vacation to Ocala. Our last overnight getaway to Fernandina Beach absolutely traumatized our poor rescue dog, who did not enjoy being in the car for an hour or being left alone in the hotel room for an hour and a half. (We came back after dinner to find three treats untouched and her huddling in a corner.) Nevertheless, we made another attempt to bring her along with us, and this time she seemed to really enjoy herself! She spent the first 25 minutes crying in the most mournful way that I didn’t even know dogs could, and then she completely calmed down and didn’t seem to have any issues the rest of the trip! We were so excited for her. She didn’t freak out about the hotel room, she didn’t refuse to do her business, and on the way home, there was no crying or panicking at all. That was two little victories for her in two weeks!
We had dinner at La Cuisine, where we shared escargot and then I had the beef bourguinon (with pearl onions, carrots, burgundy sauce, and mashed potatoes) with rossini and my fiancé had the duck leg confit and buttered northern white beans (with house-cured pork belly, Italian sausage, and thyme). I am still thinking of that rossini days later and told our waiter I could have lived on that alone! After dinner, we checked out Ivy on the Square (I adored the decor here!) for drinks. The man beside us at the bar told us to try the Three Six Bistro while we were there, as it had the best food in town, but it was not open for breakfast.
While exploring downtown, we saw a random guy dressed as Batman, along with his three stooges, stop and give money to a homeless man. I don’t know if this is a normal sight in downtown Ocala or if it was just because it was three days before Halloween. I like to think that Batman goes around helping people on a regular basis.
The next day, we had gorgeous weather, and made a stop in Palatka for brunch at The Magnolia before heading home. I had the County Line Hash (seasonal, local vegetables, feta, scrambled eggs, avocado, pickled onions, sriracha aioli, and a biscuit) and told our waitress I could not remember the last time I had eaten a breakfast so good. She said she recommends the County Line Hash to anyone who asks. Also, the biscuits there are made perfectly. Not too hard, nice and fluffy and thick, great flavor, only slightly crispy on the outside. Biscuits are one of my most favorite foods, and I am extremely picky about them, so this is high praise from me!
One of our favorite things to do is to admire great historic architecture, so we spent a good amount of time driving through the historic areas of both Ocala and Palatka, just looking at beautiful houses. We also enjoyed the scenic routes both to and from our hotel.
I know that I’m a bit behind the times here, but after checking out the book on this subject, I am finally biting the bullet on Bullet Journaling! I first heard of this years ago and thought the whole system sounded amazing. I bought my blank notebook and was all prepared to start filling it out and making it mine. The ironic problem was, due to my issues with ADD, I never actually finished filling it out! This time, I’m buying myself an official Bullet Journal (though I absolutely refuse to call it a “BuJo”), where much of the work is already done for me. I figure I’ll try the system in the official way, see what works, and then maybe modify it for myself as I go along.
Entertainment
After DNFing a horror novel where the main character’s actions just became too outlandish for me to believe, I am now on a short-story kick with Collected Stories by Gabriel García Márquez and The Stories of Ray Bradbury.
Fashion & Beauty
Of course, Friday was Halloween, and we had our usual two parties to go to over the past week, which we look forward to every year. This year, we were Niles and Daphne (and Eddie) from Frasier.
In the News
The obligatory latest discussion on why Standard (a.k.a., real) time is better for us (and some of us especially!) than Daylight Savings time.
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