I was thankful this year for having a job that allowed me enough time off to enjoy the holiday, as it's been a rare thing for me these last few years. I went with my boyfriend out to Rapid City, where his parents are now living - they moved out there 3 or 4 years ago, and I hadn't had a chance to see their new home until last week.
We took Isis with us, as it was more feasible than conning a friend into coming by and feeding her, or shelling out for boarding. I was concerned about how she'd handle being in the car, but she was surprisingly calm about it. She spent most of the drive checking out whichever parts of the car she would reach (we had her in a harness, and on a secured leash in the back seat, so she couldn't get underfoot while Nick was driving) or sleeping. Mostly sleeping, really.
Just as we got on the road, and at a gas station once we got into Rapid.
I really don't have much of this weekend to talk about, but I do have a lot of pictures. It was your standard Thanksgiving holiday, with turkey, pie, and lots of time spent catching up.
It didn't take long for Isis to become Queen of the House, especially when she went into heat on Thursday morning. Her normally rambunctious and bitey temperament was replaced by one that was much more cuddly, needy, and whiney. It worked out, though, because that at least meant that nobody got viciously attacked and/or mauled. And I woke up on Friday morning to discover that I could now afford to get her spayed, so that'll happen on Monday and we'll all be very happy indeed.
Speaking of Friday, we went to the SD School of Minds on Friday afternoon and hit up the Geology Museum. I had so much more fun in the half hour that we spent there than I would have doing any shopping at all. And, admittedly, I did buy some stuff there, but they were trinkets for my desk at work, so I hardly think that counts as contributing to the rampant American consumerism that liberals like me are always bemoaning.
We also went to downtown Rapid City to kill some time and give us a chance to get hungry for supper - we talked the in-laws into going to a hibachi restaurant so we could get some sushi and they could try something new (but not sushi, alas). And I was able to walk through Artist's Alley and got many many photos, in spite of the failing light. And here's a ton of them.
We ate and went home, and there was more catching up, and then it was bedtime. In the morning, Isis was still cuddly and needy.
And then it was time for us to come back to our home. It was a lovely holiday, and I'm delighted to have been able to enjoy it this year.
