Yesterday morning, Patrick got home even earlier than expected (hooray for fast planes & trains!) and lo, there was much rejoicing. Apple strudel was eaten, presents were received (and such good ones! what a fabulous husband), and bad TV was watched and soundly booed. Maya followed him like a shadow, clinging to his heels, not wanting to let him out of her sight ever again! And so did I, in an only-slightly-more-subtle-and-grownup way.

Then this morning, Dave left for his own trip back home. Bah. I wish all of my favorite people could be around all the time! The problem is, they're all doing interesting things in their own places, most of the time, and I wouldn't actually want to change that, so I'll just have to be glad for really wonderful visits.

Now it's about 8:30, and I've been up since 6, when I got up to eat breakfast with Dave. Patrick's still asleep upstairs, and Maya's snoring softly on the couch beside me. I've caught up on email, read blogs and columns (and omg, yesterday's Daily Puppy is one of The Cutest Ever!), and I even found a site with post-book HP spoilers from JK Rowling that made me very happy (especially because they were things I'd already guessed, nicely confirmed). Now I'm about to go back to reading my favorite present that Patrick brought back for me, an autographed-to-me copy of Susan Cooper's King of Shadows, which I am absolutely loving so far. Elizabethan fantasy, theater, Shakespeare...it totally and completely hits my geek-factor.

Very, very happy right now. And in celebration, here's one more new-to-me, wonderful Muppets moment: Animal, Beaker, and the Swedish Chef, all together singing "Danny Boy":

It's hard to imagine anything more perfect. :)