My number came up, so I had to go down to the courthouse this morning. I got there at exactly the time I was supposed to, but then had to stand in the long line that stretched out the door and down the sidewalk towards the parking garage. A half hour later, after passing through the metal detector and putting everything back in my pockets, I found myself in a check-in line while an courthouse employee with a bad cold apologized for the wait and offered to let people with an aversion to standing for long periods of time jump to the front of the line. After getting through this line, I bumped into an old co-worker of mine (the one who ended up getting that water company job I'd applied for some time back) who was there as alternate for a trial already in its third week. We talked shop for a bit, and then she had to go in. I went and sat down in the waiting area and read some nautical fiction until a woman announced that we could all go home because there had been a change of plea in the cases we were waiting for. That's that.

An ex-local family friend currently living in Massachusetts came over with her two young ones today and we went to the park. Her older girl is older than Sophie, and her younger one is younger than Willow, so we had a whole spectrum of ages. The boys were at play practice, so I was the lone male for the outing. We saw a Great Blue Heron building a nest up in a Eucalyptus tree, and Willow had a great time watching the waterfowl paddle around in the creek. We spent a good stretch of time tossing rocks too, while Sophie complained about not being able to skip rocks. Good lazy sunny day. Willow screamed when we left, which is becoming part of the routine.

I've got a cold. Dammit!