Perpetual Ruminations

A Saturday Off

It feels strange not having to go into work on a Saturday, I have not had many off over the last five years. I have taken a Saturday off a couple of times, and earlier this fall I took a whole weekend off, but it still feels strange not getting ready for work.

Today we are off to southern Minnesota, about a four hour drive, to visit a friend and celebrate his sixtieth birthday; a surprise, or at least, it's planned to be. We have a pretty nice day for travelling, sunny and almost forty degrees, dry roads, and no reason to hurry there or back. Rhonda, my wife, usually has to be at work to open at six in the morning on Sundays, but we have, in addition to taking today off, arranged for someone else to open, so she does not have to be there so early.

Another change  that's taking some time to get used to is the new beard. I have not shaved or trimmed my facial hair for two months until earlier this week. I have been using beard balm and beard oil daily to condition and help train the hair and soften it. I also, with my wife's aid, looked at some different beard styles and together we picked one we liked. With her assistance, we trimmed and shaped the growth to something similar. Of course, there were a few things we wanted different from the style we picked, but it's similar. The changes account for individual characteristics of my facial hair.

It still needs to grow longer, but the general shape and style are there. We are both happy with the new look, as well as some friends and family who have commented and liked the image after I put it up on Facebook. I have also changed my profile picture here to show the new look, since the previous profile picture was a few years old and needed updating anyway.

Now, it's time to get ready to go enjoy a birthday party. Since I have today off, I also want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy Saturday and a wonderful weekend.