And now, she's gone! My wife is on her way to Union Station, and her train is due to leave at 4:00PM. The next time I see her, I'll be in Windsor for Christmas.

Such a glorious weekend. Our trip to the museum was really enjoyable, although we were told immediately upon entry that we could not use the camera. That's OK. I intend to post some of the pictures provided in our tour guide. I only hope Laurie emails a few good ones (the scanner is back in Windsor). In addition to that adventure, it's possible I spotted a couple of shoplifters on our subway trip back to the suburbs after our museum trip. There was a young woman who removed a brand new coat (all store tags still on) from a garment bag, then put her own old coat into the bag. Then, while she sat fidgeting in her seat, I noticed a wig in her purse. It was a completely different colour and style than that of the waist-length blonde hair she was sporting. She was traveling on the subway with a companion - perhaps her mother.

I used my camera to take a picture of them, and I showed it to them. Then, I asked for an email address to which I could forward the file once it was downloaded into our home computer. As a bonus, they got off the same subway stop as us, and they proceeded to the same parking lot. And their car was parked less than 20 feet from mine! So now, I have a picture, email address, and licence plate number. If they are shoplifters, their ass is grass!

Last night, Laurie attended my company Christmas party, where my coworkers got their first chance to see her. The meal was fabulous (and I found out later that it wasn't "luck" that no disallowed food made it onto my plate - the company-owner's wife had been aware of my special dietary requirements and had personally supervised the delivery of meal plates), and the companionship felt warm and natural. This is truly a great goup of people I work with.

Although the boss didn't have the opportunity to talk with Laurie directly, he'll get that opportunity later this month when Laurie is here again.

Earlier today, Laurie got an opportunity to visit the church she would be attending after moving to Toronto. And afterward, we stopped for a short time to investigate a new housing development that would be within our budget. Then, my sister joined us for lunch before I took Laurie to the subway station. We had a great time, and now I'm already looking forward to my visit to Windsor.

But now, I'm tired, and have an overwhelming urge to take a nap...