Had a really lovely weekend with my BFF. We went to IKEA, had two dinners out, went to an author talk/book signing (Alexander McCall Smith), went to a movie, shopped at Goodwill, and just overall had a good time talking and catching up.

Financially --

$131 at IKEA (big item was a file cabinet; still in my car in the box because it's too heavy to move)

$30 for meals out

$7.50 for movie

$14 at Goodwill (little household items and gifts)

Not bad at all, considering the biggest expenditure was for something I've been needing for a while.

My two recent author talks have encouraged me to get out more and do some mind-expanding. So last night I went to a free screening of "Constantine's Sword," a documentary by a former Catholic priest about Christian/Jewish interaction over the centuries. Very good. The author/filmmaker will be here to speak on Sunday so it was very good to see this beforehand. I will enjoy his talk that much more.

On Friday I'm going to see an on-stage production of "Nickel and Dimed." Maybe some of you are familiar with the book, about a journalist who went undercover and lived life as a minimum wage earner. The book made quite an impression on me and I'm eager to see how it comes across as a play. This will not be free, the ticket was $10.

Had a scare last night. I misplaced my keys at work and locked myself out of the office. When I had security let me in -- still no keys. I retraced my steps and finally found them in a building I had visited earlier. What a relief. It was after five and everyone had gone home, so I was picturing having to walk home and then run down someone at the leasing office to let me into my apartment. It's only a two-and-a-half mile walk, but I definitely wasn't in the mood!