So today I was in for a good bit of the morning. I took care of two issues and made it home in time to meet Jean. Jean took this afternoon off so we could have a date while Colette was still at school. We did something like this once before, on Jean's birthday back in May. Today we went to a fairly new restaurant in town, The Baker's Crust. They've got a bread shop much like Montanna Gold and some of the other kinds of bread shops out there. They've also got a great restaurant. I had a Caesar salad in a bowl that was a loaf of bread and Jean had roast beef on French bread. Both meals were very good. If you live in Richmond, I suggest you check the place out.

After lunch Jean and I stopped by the River Road shopping center. There's a men's clothing store there, Harold's. Apparently they're from Atlanta, and the clothes certainly seem nice. But I'm afraid that if they don't stop accosting customers as they walk into the store I'll have to find someplace else to shop. Two weeks ago I stopped by. Before I'd come five feet into the store I was greeted and asked if I wanted a soda from the back. While I was checking out their clothes, the same salesperson stood by me, telling me all kinds of things I didn't want to hear about their offerings. In five minutes I was gone.

Still, I did like some of the clothes. So today I took Jean by to see what she thought. When we walked into the store I was happy to see that the woman who had helped me the first time was on the phone behind the counter. But my joy was short-lived. Another sales person greeted me and offered me a Sprite. Jean and I quickly dodged her, but I ran straight into the arms of another salesperson. This guy followed us into the men's section and - just like his counterpart - started telling us all about stuff we didn't want to hear. I'd mentioned that we were just looking at the shirts and pants, but he went off onto their current sale on men's suits. Hello? So again within just a few minutes, they'd chased us out of the store. Maybe I'll try Joseph Banks. Even if they are twice as far, it'd be nice to shop in peace.

After the ordeal at River Road, we went to see Bowfinger. We were torn between that and the new Albert Brooks movie, The Muse. We'd heard good and so-so things about both movies, but in the end I figured Eddie and Steve would have to have a couple of good laughs somewhere in the movie, while Brooks' sense of humor is sometimes so angst-ridden that you're not sure you want to laugh. If we're only getting to the movies every two or three months, we can wait to see The Muse.

I'm glad that we sat down to watch Bowfinger without high expectations. The movie is actually good, but it would have been easy to expect something over the top from Martin and Murphy. There were probably half a dozen of us in the 3:15 show, but all of us burst out laughing time and again. I won't go through the plot of the film so I don't spoil anything. But I do recommend the movie if you're looking for something fun.

After the movie, Jean and I picked up Colette at day care. Then the three of us went to Barnes and Noble. Colette is still more interested in crumpling and eating pages than she is in the stories themselves, so I had to keep the books at a distance. I read her parts of "The Little Engine That Could." Jean read to her some too, while I picked up a replacement for a CD I'd lost. Eventually Colette got tired, so we took her home to bed.

It was a great end to a fun afternoon. Even though Jean and I did talk about Colette more than anything else at lunch, and even though we spent another hour and a half watching a movie, it was our time together. Jean and I are selfish about time: we're going to take afternoons off more often in the future. Today has been the highlight of my week off. Nothing else that I've done this week has been as much fun as lunch and a movie with my love.

So maybe I am the type of person who needs time off.