Just Lauren

Birthday dinner at Watercourse was absolutely wonderful and I felt so happy the whole time. I am privileged to have Shari and Elisabeth in my life. I got a charcuterie board for us to share as an appetizer because I’ve wanted to try Watercourse’s homemade vegan meats and cheeses the past few times I’ve been there but getting a sandwich didn’t appeal to me. In the end, I didn’t love the meats (prosciutto and salami), but their cheese was delicious (specifically the brie). I will likely purchase some brie to take home one of these days! So overall, the charcuterie was an extreme success, the stone ground mustard, fig jam, and homemade bread combined with the other offerings, made a perfect starter. The charcuterie was the only picture I took the whole time because after that picture, I stuffed my face for the next hour without stopping. One should never stuff their face if they can help it, but sometimes it’s really hard not to, including while at a birthday dinner. 😉

When we got back home, Shari surprised me with a birthday gift – a copy of Delirium’s Party, a short book about The Endless, the family in the Sandman comic book series. This series is one of my favorite series (although Squirrel Girl is still my pal, she’ll always be my first comic love!) so it was the perfect gift. Shari clearly put a lot of thought into it and I am thrilled. I love the character, Delirium, so getting to see her world in a bit more depth is fantastic. I so enjoyed seeing all the characters drawn as little kids too.

Yesterday, Shari and I ended up going to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. She had free tickets and our morning plans had changed so we figured why not take advantage. We got to stroll around the new exhibit, Survival of the Slowest, which I had been wanting to check out because of the promise of sloths. I mean, who DOESN’T want to see a sloth? Name yourself, and we’ll go to the museum together to visit the cute little guy. That’s right, there is a live sloth currently residing in the exhibit. I hope he’s not lonely though because he’s all by himself. I’m not sure I’ve seen a sloth in real life before so it was a real treat. The exhibit also had tortoises, snakes (including giant boa constrictors), lizards, and a hedgehog. I found the exhibit lacking in a depth of information, however. It was cool seeing animals, but there was only minimal information about each one. Perhaps the staff discovered that patrons don’t read as much as we think we do, so they tailored the available reading material to match. I still find it slightly odd.

After the new exhibit, Shari and I wandered around the dinosaur exhibit and then headed to the space exhibit because I wanted to see the new renovations recently completed. I really like Space Odyssey (the space exhibit) and think the changes made the whole thing more streamlined and just plain neat. Everything looks shiny and new. They even upgraded their infrared camera and they have these awesome tiles you can press the palm of your hand onto and then when you lift your hand up to the camera, you can see the pattern it made. There’s also this section where you can stand under a pretend rocket and feel what it would be like if they rocket was taking off. Then there’s this area where you can sit by a campfire and listen to traditional indigenous stories about the stars and the sky. It’s fun. Go visit sometime.

We walked around at City Park after that because you pretty much have to if you’re over there. It’s such a lovely park with its giant trees and water and open concept that I would sorely miss it if I didn’t get to walk there a few times a year (if I lived closer I’d be there way more often). Then we headed over to our friend, Mabel’s, apartment for a comic book meetup discussion. It was the first time Mabel hosted an event so I appreciated her willingness and effort and enjoyed getting to see her home. I met her cat, Itchy, too, as we talked about comics we read recently and what we wanted to read next.

Then, Shari decided she wanted to treat me and Elisabeth to dinner so she took us to Mod Pizza, because she knew I liked their vegan offerings (it is the best vegan pizza around). What a great way to end my weekend. I’m only working two days this week and then I’m off again for family time! I’m so looking forward to every day this week, how wonderful is that?! I hope you all are looking forward to some lovely times ahead for yourselves as well.