Party by the river

This afternoon our youth orchestras organization had a "celebrate the beginning of the new year" party at a local pizzeria that I hadn't been to since high school, and it was quite lovely. We were outside beside the river, where there was a very soft lawn. J. and I kept an eye on the birds and saw an osprey! We ate pizza, of course, and some of the younger strings players were providing music in the background. J. and I had an enjoyable conversation with a fellow who's in charge of fundraising for the university; he used to work for a museum in Florida that would buy up old and neglected collections of butterflies. I also talked a bit with D's band teacher and his wife, who teaches band and orchestra at one of the middle schools, and their little girl, who is expecting a sibling in about four months. Afterwards, J. and I toured the miniature golf facility and enjoyed its waterfall.

Today I had both a cold and a migraine, not a fun combination, and I was grumpy and hesitant about going to the event, but once I got there I enjoyed it quite a bit.