Monday, October 31, 2005

A Delightful Weekend

Without telling J, I made reservations at the Floraville Inn for Friday night. I arranged to have flowers, chocolates, and champagne in the room. Once the kids left, we packed an overnight bag "just in case" we decided to stay. We drove down to Lebanon, admiring the gorgeous leaf colors. In town, I drove to the street where the B&B properties are located. They have 4 houses on one block. We passed the first of them, all lit up & gorgeous. J said, "What a beautiful house! I love it!" I stopped at the next house, the main one. She realized it was a B&B & assumed I was just checking to see if they had rooms. But, when we went in, the owner said our room was all ready for us & led us over to the house she loved. It was a wonderful surprise. The room was lovely. We actually had a two-room suite, with private bath. No one else was staying in the house that night, so we had the whole place to ourselves. It was an 1880 Italianate & the bed had a little stool to get up on it with. The flowers were utterly lovely, all pinks and lavenders in a low arrangement. We had two little boxes of chocolates & a small bottle of chilled champagne. In addition, they greet each guest with a tiny personal cake. Ours welcomed us by name & featured a Halloween theme. Inside, it was chocolate with raspberry cream filling. Mmm. We also had a gift certificate for The Golden Lamb and reservations for a few minutes hence. We considered walking down there, but J thought it might be too cold walking back to the B&B.

As we walked around the front of The Golden Lamb, we saw a carriage, with a beautiful grey percheron in front. We stopped to visit with him. He was so soft. Unfortunately, they left for the night before we got done with dinner. I think a carriage ride around Lebanon in the evening would have been utterly romantic. Luckily, the rest of the evening was just lovely. We had a corner table by the window & a delicious dinner. I had prime rib, while J got their great fried chicken. After dinner, we poked around upstairs, looking at the open rooms. I got myself a little spooked on the 4th floor & wouldn't look into any dark rooms anymore, afraid that something might look back. We were looking out a window at the town clock when the door of a cupboard right behind us opened by itself. I was ready to go!

We smooched a little in the gazebo, then headed back to the Floraville. J had a shower while I lounged in the clawfoot tub with Wayne Muller's Sabbath. Then, we retired to the luxuriously comfortable bed. I have never been in such a lush bed in my life, and ours at home is pretty great, with a feather topper.

In the morning, we went over to the main house for breakfast. There was one other couple there, an air traffic controller & his teacher wife. We had fruit with a light glaze, French toast (Lord, deliver me from B&B owners who think sweet breakfasts are the way to go!), and sausage. Then, we climbed back in bed for awhile before check-out. It's the first time we've visited a B&B in quite awhile, a real treat. We left thoroughly relaxed.

We were able to maintain that relaxed feel for the whole weekend. We drove home on back roads, with a couple of stops. We went to Dorothy Lane Market for a ham bone (& picked up some cheeses and other things, too), then drove to Foy's. J wanted to get something for a costume, either Wolverine, a vampire, or a beat poet. We grabbed lunch at the grill, sitting at the counter to enjoy our cheeseburger & tuna melt. Then, J decided to be a beat poet & got a beret.

Once home, we commenced cooking for the book group. J made 2 pots of bean soup, one vegetarian & one with ham. She made corn muffins, as well. I made a Braeburn & cheddar pie, my first attempt at making my own crust. Luckily, it came out great. Lilith came along a little after 7 bearing a dish of collard greens, which were delicious. I never have liked them before, but Lilith's were great. They were part of the great bounty she got at the Farmer's Market. When Beth arrived dressed as her daughter in a Good Charlotte t-shirt & jacket, with a white tie & black crocheted fingerless gloves, I thought she looked great! She brought powdered doughnuts & cider. J looked adorable & perfect in her beat poet outfit, with her stack of Ginsberg & Bukowski & Corso books. I wore my black taffeta ball skirt, crimson beaded velvet bustier, & a big witch hat. Lilith just came as herself. We didn't talk much about the book, Storming Heaven by Denise Giardina. Beth hadn't finished it & Lilith & J both thought it was horribly depressing. I think so, too, but I think it's great. For next month, we're reading The Second Coming of Curly Red by Jody Seay. It was Hyacinth's recommendation. I need to get the invites out today so that people will have time to find & read the book. I think it's going to be hard to find.

Yesterday, we went to church & Sunday school at our regular church. J says she feels more connected at the UCC. But, Brendan gave a great sermon for Reformation Sunday. He talked about Martin Luther, the grumpy, beer-drinking German monk, and about his 95 theses. He told us that he'd supply the masking tape if we wanted some to tape our own theses to the front door, giving me an idea I plan to execute this week. He also talked about Rosa Parks & how she just got tired of it all & sat down. It made me think of simply going up when they get ready to serve communion next time & grabbing a tray & commencing service. Where are the sit-ins of the gay Presbyterians, where are the ordination boycotts, where gays walk out of church en masse during an ordination, where are the wedding marches?

We visited with my grands for quite awhile at coffee hour, then J took me to Yellow Springs Pottery to replace my favorite mug, which I broke the handle off of Saturday night. I found one not as favorite, but very nice. Then, we grabbed some Starbucks & had gyros before hitting Evvi's bead show. Her stuff was the nicest there. There were some other nice things, but the bulk of our money (too much of it! LOL!) was spent at her booth. J has great plans for a couple of necklaces for my mom for Christmas, while I am making some prayer beads for El Dia de los Muertos. We also got to see pictures of Garnet in her Rosie the Riveter Halloween costume. She is simply the most darling baby ever. She has the most winning smile. It was a real pleasure to see Evvi, even if only for a little while. We made plans to have them to dinner later in the week, too.

When the show started shutting down, we headed out in search of a copy of the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. We hit three bookstores with no luck, although we did find a Christmas gift for Graham and a book for each boy. Boot got a copy of the new Lemony Snicket book & Pie got a Terry Pratchett for kids. I hope he'll like it.

After books, we went to a dinner party at the UCC pastor's home. Nick & his partner, Dave, live in a really pretty house in Centerville. They're raising Dave's niece & nephew. Jessie, 14, answered the door & took our coats. Gareth, almost 3, entertained us with a gourd show. There were probably about 30 people there. We had sandwiches, Ramen salad, and lemony pasta salad. Oh, and fresh fruit. With hot cider to drink. Dessert was a choice of fluffy lemon cheesecake, apple cranberry lattice-top pie, or pumpkin pie. We sat at a table with one of the worship directors, Lucy, a lesbian couple we'd not met before, and the Tiptons, whose son I worked with years ago & who are very involved in P-FLAG. We talked about kids & church & transgender issues & book group selections. We were joined by Jenny, my lesbian librarian friend. The party was a great deal of fun.

When we arrived home, we had a nice visit with my grands before we sent them home with a pot of soup. The boys were good for them. Boot retreated to his room while Pie hung out with them, building Bionicles. Once my grands were gone, we got the boys settled into bed before heading that direction ourselves. We ate some of the chocolates from the B&B in bed, then snugged in together. I read some of my Old Testament text to her as she fell asleep.

A Delightful Weekend

Without telling J, I made reservations at the Floraville Inn for Friday night. I arranged to have flowers, chocolates, and champagne in the room. Once the kids left, we packed an overnight bag "just in case" we decided to stay. We drove down to Lebanon, admiring the gorgeous leaf colors. In town, I drove to the street where the B&B properties are located. They have 4 houses on one block. We passed the first of them, all lit up & gorgeous. J said, "What a beautiful house! I love it!" I stopped at the next house, the main one. She realized it was a B&B & assumed I was just checking to see if they had rooms. But, when we went in, the owner said our room was all ready for us & led us over to the house she loved. It was a wonderful surprise. The room was lovely. We actually had a two-room suite, with private bath. No one else was staying in the house that night, so we had the whole place to ourselves. It was an 1880 Italianate & the bed had a little stool to get up on it with. The flowers were utterly lovely, all pinks and lavenders in a low arrangement. We had two little boxes of chocolates & a small bottle of chilled champagne. In addition, they greet each guest with a tiny personal cake. Ours welcomed us by name & featured a Halloween theme. Inside, it was chocolate with raspberry cream filling. Mmm. We also had a gift certificate for The Golden Lamb and reservations for a few minutes hence. We considered walking down there, but J thought it might be too cold walking back to the B&B.

As we walked around the front of The Golden Lamb, we saw a carriage, with a beautiful grey percheron in front. We stopped to visit with him. He was so soft. Unfortunately, they left for the night before we got done with dinner. I think a carriage ride around Lebanon in the evening would have been utterly romantic. Luckily, the rest of the evening was just lovely. We had a corner table by the window & a delicious dinner. I had prime rib, while J got their great fried chicken. After dinner, we poked around upstairs, looking at the open rooms. I got myself a little spooked on the 4th floor & wouldn't look into any dark rooms anymore, afraid that something might look back. We were looking out a window at the town clock when the door of a cupboard right behind us opened by itself. I was ready to go!

We smooched a little in the gazebo, then headed back to the Floraville. J had a shower while I lounged in the clawfoot tub with Wayne Muller's Sabbath. Then, we retired to the luxuriously comfortable bed. I have never been in such a lush bed in my life, and ours at home is pretty great, with a feather topper.

In the morning, we went over to the main house for breakfast. There was one other couple there, an air traffic controller & his teacher wife. We had fruit with a light glaze, French toast (Lord, deliver me from B&B owners who think sweet breakfasts are the way to go!), and sausage. Then, we climbed back in bed for awhile before check-out. It's the first time we've visited a B&B in quite awhile, a real treat. We left thoroughly relaxed.

We were able to maintain that relaxed feel for the whole weekend. We drove home on back roads, with a couple of stops. We went to Dorothy Lane Market for a ham bone (& picked up some cheeses and other things, too), then drove to Foy's. J wanted to get something for a costume, either Wolverine, a vampire, or a beat poet. We grabbed lunch at the grill, sitting at the counter to enjoy our cheeseburger & tuna melt. Then, J decided to be a beat poet & got a beret.

Once home, we commenced cooking for the book group. J made 2 pots of bean soup, one vegetarian & one with ham. She made corn muffins, as well. I made a Braeburn & cheddar pie, my first attempt at making my own crust. Luckily, it came out great. Lilith came along a little after 7 bearing a dish of collard greens, which were delicious. I never have liked them before, but Lilith's were great. They were part of the great bounty she got at the Farmer's Market. When Beth arrived dressed as her daughter in a Good Charlotte t-shirt & jacket, with a white tie & black crocheted fingerless gloves, I thought she looked great! She brought powdered doughnuts & cider. J looked adorable & perfect in her beat poet outfit, with her stack of Ginsberg & Bukowski & Corso books. I wore my black taffeta ball skirt, crimson beaded velvet bustier, & a big witch hat. Lilith just came as herself. We didn't talk much about the book, Storming Heaven by Denise Giardina. Beth hadn't finished it & Lilith & J both thought it was horribly depressing. I think so, too, but I think it's great. For next month, we're reading The Second Coming of Curly Red by Jody Seay. It was Hyacinth's recommendation. I need to get the invites out today so that people will have time to find & read the book. I think it's going to be hard to find.

Yesterday, we went to church & Sunday school at our regular church. J says she feels more connected at the UCC. But, Brendan gave a great sermon for Reformation Sunday. He talked about Martin Luther, the grumpy, beer-drinking German monk, and about his 95 theses. He told us that he'd supply the masking tape if we wanted some to tape our own theses to the front door, giving me an idea I plan to execute this week. He also talked about Rosa Parks & how she just got tired of it all & sat down. It made me think of simply going up when they get ready to serve communion next time & grabbing a tray & commencing service. Where are the sit-ins of the gay Presbyterians, where are the ordination boycotts, where gays walk out of church en masse during an ordination, where are the wedding marches?

We visited with my grands for quite awhile at coffee hour, then J took me to Yellow Springs Pottery to replace my favorite mug, which I broke the handle off of Saturday night. I found one not as favorite, but very nice. Then, we grabbed some Starbucks & had gyros before hitting Evvi's bead show. Her stuff was the nicest there. There were some other nice things, but the bulk of our money (too much of it! LOL!) was spent at her booth. J has great plans for a couple of necklaces for my mom for Christmas, while I am making some prayer beads for El Dia de los Muertos. We also got to see pictures of Garnet in her Rosie the Riveter Halloween costume. She is simply the most darling baby ever. She has the most winning smile. It was a real pleasure to see Evvi, even if only for a little while. We made plans to have them to dinner later in the week, too.

When the show started shutting down, we headed out in search of a copy of the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. We hit three bookstores with no luck, although we did find a Christmas gift for Graham and a book for each boy. Boot got a copy of the new Lemony Snicket book & Pie got a Terry Pratchett for kids. I hope he'll like it.

After books, we went to a dinner party at the UCC pastor's home. Nick & his partner, Dave, live in a really pretty house in Centerville. They're raising Dave's niece & nephew. Jessie, 14, answered the door & took our coats. Gareth, almost 3, entertained us with a gourd show. There were probably about 30 people there. We had sandwiches, Ramen salad, and lemony pasta salad. Oh, and fresh fruit. With hot cider to drink. Dessert was a choice of fluffy lemon cheesecake, apple cranberry lattice-top pie, or pumpkin pie. We sat at a table with one of the worship directors, Lucy, a lesbian couple we'd not met before, and the Tiptons, whose son I worked with years ago & who are very involved in P-FLAG. We talked about kids & church & transgender issues & book group selections. We were joined by Jenny, my lesbian librarian friend. The party was a great deal of fun.

When we arrived home, we had a nice visit with my grands before we sent them home with a pot of soup. The boys were good for them. Boot retreated to his room while Pie hung out with them, building Bionicles. Once my grands were gone, we got the boys settled into bed before heading that direction ourselves. We ate some of the chocolates from the B&B in bed, then snugged in together. I read some of my Old Testament text to her as she fell asleep.

Thursday, October 27, 2005

Getting Back to the Presbyterians

...and other assorted topics.

Monday, J was off work, so we spent much of the day lazing around waiting for the furnace fixer to come. It was cold! Our furnace was making a noise like a rocket ship & vibrating the floor above. Alarmed, I called the home shield folks & asked for someone to come out. They couldn't get here until Monday, so we were very excited about the prospect of heat. Unluckily, it was a fried blower motor & he had to get the repair approved, then get the part in. It's been in the 50s in here since last week, except for the main floor in the evenings when J gets a good fire roaring. Once the guy had gone, we rented some movies & watched the second X-Men one. I actually enjoyed it. My choice was a Morgan Freeman suspense film...of course, we haven't watched that one yet. After the movie, J hung out with the bitties while I finished up my review. Then, we went to the very last Strengthening Families program. We got an award for perfect attendance. I would think that would be a given, but it wasn't.

Tuesday night was committee night at the Presbyterian church. I have felt so disconnected from them that I almost didn't go. However, I did agree to be on Program and Worship & I didn't want to let them down just because I am serving another church for now. So, I went & am so glad I did. I was happy to be among familiar church folks. I took along the Wayne Muller Sabbath book to recommend & Brendan ended up basing his devotions on the idea of Sabbath. I was surprised that when people talked about taking time from work to do something to focus on God & rest, they spoke of volunteer work, caring for an aging mother-in-law, making hospital visits. Perhaps I am a selfish beast, but that still seems like work to me, not time to refill the well. After our committee meeting, Brendan asked me to stop & talk for a minute. I told him about how much I like the justice focus at the other church, but that I hate the music & miss the tradition. I told him that I really miss his sermons, too. He said he knows that I'm learning a lot, but that, selfishly, he wants me back at this church. He says he misses me. I miss it there. So, I ended up bursting into tears when I was telling J about talking to him. I am halfway convinced that I need to be either a pastoral counselor or in academia so that I don't have to give up my church. Ugh. I feel so very silly to be so attached. She soothed me & said that we'll go to the UCC on Saturdays, then, and the PCUSA Sundays, unless I am preaching. I can't bear the idea of missing Christmas Eve at my place, so I think we'll go to the 7 o'clock service there, then visit at the UCC pastor's house until the late service at the UCC. I preach my first sermon on New Year's Day and am terrified. Brendan told me to come by & he'll help me with it. Thank God. He & Laura are my true mentors. The UCC pastor is great, but his background is Baptist & he just comes from a totally different place. Oh, I also found out (from J through a gay friend at work who knows the gay niece of a member of the church...how's that for a telephone line?) that several of the older ladies at the church are worried that someone said something mean to us after the newspaper article came out about us as a couple & that that's why we haven't been back much. Frankly, I'm GLAD they're worried. Maybe it will make them think about PC USA policy.

Wednesday, I went to Bible study. We were talking about faith vs. works vs. grace, it being Reformation Sunday this weekend. I wish I could go to the church showing of Luther, but we'll be dining at the UCC pastor's home. We'll have to rent it. J wants to see Kinsey, too. Maybe we can have a biographical film festival. She also wonders if there's a film of Storming Heaven. I don't think there is, but Matewan sure would give the flavor of it. What a great film. Horrifying, but great. If any of you don't know about the West Virginia coal mine wars over unionization, I highly recommend the film (directed by John Sayles, one of the greats) or the book (by Denise Giardina). Anyway, at Bible study, I asked Brendan about the doctrine of Holy Saturday. One of the fellas, a former Assembly of God-er, was incensed at the idea that God might choose to save everyone. A woman with whom I seldom agree, and who I think is quite holier-than-thou, got all upset when Brendan said that, to him, Holy Saturday is the most important day of the year. First, she thought that he was saying that it IS the most important day of the year, totally missing the, "to me" part. Too, she thought he said that Easter doesn't matter & she was spluttering & outraged over that, when nothing even remotely like it had passed his lips. He simply said that Easter is a celebration of something already accomplished, the resurrection having already been completed when they went to the tomb on the third day. Oooh, was she hot! The part of me that the devil possesses found her outrage wicked funny. I am bad.

After church, my grands & I went out for Mexican & I got caught up on the details of their visits in New York & Michigan. I also found out that they're going to Cleveland for Thanksgiving. So much for sticking to tradition this year. J is delighted. She had just wanted a quiet celebration at home. Of course, if Jazzbo & Heather invite us up there, I may suggest we go. I will surely miss going to Vivi's. To me, Vivi's IS Thanksgiving. I guess I'll just have to make our place really nice. Sigh.

Today is a day of doing reading for pleasure (just finished Nevada Barr's High Country) & school (immersed in John of Damascus) and of waiting for the carpet cleaners & the heat guy. The cleaners have now come & gone & the heat guy is, hopefully, getting us heat as I type. We have book group Saturday & it would be good to have a warm house. Gosh, I hope some of them wear costumes. I'll have on my witch get-up. Wonder what my profs, if they come, will think of that. It's quite bosom-y. Will they think it's weird? They didn't seem to find me wearing a tiara to school too odd. I am also working out whether to stay overnight in Lebanon Friday night. We're having dinner at The Golden Lamb. If I could find a good B&B room...I'd love to do Burl Manor again, but I'm sure they're booked. I am leery of Hatfield ever since we got put in that weird back room. Also, the innkeeper there is kind of oogy. I'm not sure I want to brave the ghosts at The Golden Lamb.

Tonight, I am making spaghetti carbonara for dinner. Then, we'll carve jack o' lanterns & maybe make caramel apples. We'll drink spiced cider & have a grand time! I love this time of year!

Barbecue and Gospel-Singin'

Yes, ma'am, I had me a real Tennessee kind of weekend last weekend. It made me miss Nashville so bad I can hardly stand it. Wonder if I could talk J into a few days down at the Opryland Hotel or Lowe's Vanderbilt at Christmas-time. We have Rosemary & Brent's wedding on New Year's Eve, but maybe for just a few days after the boys go with their father, we could hit Music City.

Anyway, about the weekend. Friday night, we took the kids out for barbecue at Rudy's. They'd not yet been there and, for some reason, Pie ordered the Brunswick stew. I guess he thought it'd be like his mama's beef stew, but he hated it & refused to order anything else. The rest of us loved our food. I had a beef brisket sandwich while Boot & J ordered a half rack of ribs each. Their sweet tea tastes like the real thing, not a Yankee interpretation of it. The barbecue is the real thing, too, and served without pretension, on wax paper & paper plates.

Saturday, we slept in a smidge, then took the kids to Foy's. We had lunch at the grill, then rounded out the Halloween costumes (at least for the kids...J still hasn't decided what she's going to be). Pie found a scary tiki mask & decided that my suggestion that they both be tiki guys was a good one. He got a spear at the kids' costume shop & a green lei at the main store. They both got lei wristlets, green for Pie & pink for Boot. My macho man choosing pink...what is the world coming to? J thinks she'll be either Zorro or a werewolf. I tried to talk her into coming as a black cat, my familiar, but she wants to be something more exciting than a cat. As if there is such a thing. Rob Brezsny says I should be a big cat for Halloween. I do like a tiger. As for my Foy's indulgence, I splurged on some of those wax bottles. I love those things. Speaking of kid candy, I wonder if Jess got her package. I hope so.

After we left Foy's, we stopped at Hornback's to get our pumpkins. I learned that this is their last year, which makes me sad. I've been getting my pumpkins there since I moved back from Tennessee. I guess I'll hit Autumn Creek next year. They do always have cute decorations. J & I independently choose very similar, smallish, round pumpkins, while Boot got a middle of the road one & Pie got the biggest one he could find, true to form. I also picked up some very small, greenish ones to write B-O-O on. They're on the hall table awaiting carving. If the rinds are too hard, I'll just leave them plain. They're very pretty as is. I nedd to get some good tools like Exacto knives & chisels.

Saturday evening, we went to church at the UCC. J was the liturgist & did great. I miss my Presbyterian church so much, though. I love the justice focus at the UCC & I think the sermons are great, but I miss my people, my traditions, and especially Brendan. After the service, there was a pizza & hors d'oeuvres dinner. I ate an inordinate amount of crudités and Chex mix! I never make Chex mix at home, but I truly love it, apparently. After we ate, there was a concert by Kenneith Perrin. He is a tiny little black man with a great big voice and an even bigger smile. The concert was wonderful, even if interrupted by a bipolar transgendered fella who got up in the middle & started crying & telling us all his woes. I felt badly for him & liked that people were respectful & handled it very diplomatically. Of course, the kids had all kinds of questions & we had to explain what he meant when he said he was bi-polar...and that he probably had not yet found, or wasn't taking, meds that would help him behave in a more socially expected manner. We also explained that he wasn't talking crazy because he was transgendered, but because there is a chemical imbalance in his brain that causes him to have a hard time thinking clearly. I sure hope I gave them the right information. I don't know enough about bi-polar, really. It was really weird to them that someone would stand up in the middle of a concert & start talking about their woes in society. In a way, I think it's good for them to see how wounded people can be. But, I would rather the lesson had come later in their lives, frankly. I hate to be discriminatory & I feel so closed-minded & wicked, but I just wanted my kids to be able to enjoy the concert without that weirdness thrust upon them. I hope the pastor can help find this guy some help getting stabilized. They handled the whole thing with such compassion that I felt proud to be there. But, also, I was really glad I'm not a pastor yet. What a delicate thing, to help a person who is obviously hurting very badly & needs attention while still allowing the planned events to go on. Kenneith responded beautifully, too, hugging him & promising him to sing spirituals at his funeral & having us all say a prayer for him after he was re-seated.

Sunday morning, instead of going to our Presbyterian church, we had planned to go to COSI. But, Boot wanted to watch the Packers game & J didn't want to be in the car for a long time. So, I got out the rubber stamps & Pie & I played with those at the kitchen table while Boot watched his team lose to the Vikings (who I think have prettier costumes, anyway) & J cooked. She spent all afternoon in the kitchen & had a blast. She made us stuffed pork chops & creamed peas for dinner. Pie made a picture of a dragon flying over a bunch of goats & ladybugs, with the moon & stars overhead, saying, "I won't eat you, my friends!" I made some Halloween, Yule, & Christmas cards. I need to get some good Hanukkah rubber stamps.

Saturday, October 15, 2005

Fall Bash & Afro-American Museum

Thursday, we had a really interesting church history section, got into a discussion about exclusivism in religion. We ran out of time to discuss Augustine, but I think the discussion was a good thing. After class, I invited Angela, my prof, to join my women's book group. She took down the name of the book & I need to remember to get an invite to her with the rest of the info. I had lunch at my grands' house, corn chowder & turkey sandwiches. It was nice to have lunch out there. Then, I came home & did some cleaning & some studying.

Thursday evening was the seminary's Fall Bash at the new campus. I took the boys with me & J came after she was finished with work, about 8:30. I entered my chocolate nemesis cake in the dessert contest & won second place, the prize for which was an Olive Garden gift certificate. I sat with Estelle & her husband & Martha & her family. When Cari brought her partner, Liz, over to meet me, she asked if I was having fun sitting with the classmate (Martha) of ours who is "disgusted" by our sin. Personally, I am still really mad at Martha for that. But, I also think she is simply ignorant. Maybe I can teach her. Nonetheless, it's fun to have another lesbian in the class to joke around about being a sinner with. The boys had fun running around with the other kids while the adults talked & listened to the bluegrass band that played. Angela came over & told me that I needed to sample her dessert, a chocolate mousse made with Scharffen Berger and silken tofu. Later, Estelle took us on a tour of the new campus. I can't wait until they get the pool up & running.

Friday morning, I took our silly Persian kitten in to get fixed. J had a doctor appointment, so I got a couple coffees from Dino's & met her there. Our doc has officially diagnosed her as being in early menopause. She recommends calcium, women's Bayer, and black cohosh. After J's appointment, we had a quick breakfast with the bitties, then she went to work & I headed over to the church. The women's group had a tour of the Afro-American Museum. It was fun, but I was frustrated that I had more historical knowledge than the tour guide did. All those African-American history classes must have stuck with me. After the tour, we had lunch at the Legacy Center, then rode back to the church in the Tan Van. Oh, at the museum, there was a whole flock of wild turkeys on the lawn. That was neat! Friday afternoon, I did some research for my papers, caught up on e-mail, did some cooking & cleaning, & fetched my kitty from the vet.

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Fantastic Food & All Day Church

Friday night, we went to dinner at The Winds. Every October, they have their amazing squash & pumpkin lasagna on the menu & we wanted to make sure not to miss that! We split spidini with bagna cauda for our appetizer. It was served with a couple of perfect tomato slices. I ordered the lasagna & J got their terrific chicken piccata, with a side of citrus green beans. My side was wonderfully crisp cold broccoli. For dessert, we split the white chocolate eclairs with raspberry sauce drizzled over them. They were good, but I was so curious about the sweet corn & black raspberry ice cream that I wish we'd ordered that instead. Our waiter, whose judgment I trust completely, said that the corn acts sort of like the addition of malt would, giving it a rich flavor that is detectable as corn, but doesn't have the "eeewwww" factor you might expect.

Saturday, we went to a UCC membership class from 9-2. It was interesting, but was an awfully long time for J to sit still. We went ahead & joined, although we are keeping our Presbyterian membership, as well. One foot in each church...very interesting. After the class, we poked around the mall & bookstore. I picked up some nutritional yeast so I can have good popcorn again. We found some books for the boys & I got three myself (Spong's book about rescuing the Bible from fundamentalism, Peter Gomes' The Good Book, and Marcus Borg's Meeting Jesus Aagin for the First Time...this progressive Christianity stuff is quite refreshing). We saw Evvi's car parked there, but couldn't find her in any of the surrounding stores. So, we had chips & something to drink at Friday's before heading to the 5:30 UCC service. After the service, we went back to the mall & got some snuggy cardigans for the cool weather we've been having. Then, we went to El Meson for dinner. I just love it there. We split a chorizo & serrano ham sampler and some Filipino lumpia for appetizers. Then, I had grilled mahi-mahi with lime & olive oil. J had carne asada. For dessert, we split the dulce de leche con moros. Mmm...it's the only place in the area that makes real dulce de leche.

Sunday morning, we attended the Presbyterian church. Brendan was gone on retreat, so we had a guest pastor who did a great sermon on stewardship. After coffee hour, and some time spent with my grands, we ran some errands. J made herself sick reading in the car, so I made her lie down while I did some cleaning & organizing in the basement. Then, we went to a rubber stamping party at the UCC. I thought it was going to be a stamping session to make cards for he card ministry, but it turned out to be one of those dreaded selling parties. It was fun to make a couple of cards, but I greatly dislike selling parties, whether Tupperware, Pampered Chef, or whatever. I felt especially growly when the woman doing the party kept telling us, "It's all about the creativity" when we had specific patterns for the cards & specific stamps & colors we were supposed to use. I would never have dragged J there had I known. But, she got to have some great snickerdoodles & she is now all fired up to make our Christmas cards ourselves. Love the idea, but not very happy with her idea to use the family picture for them. For one, I look like a cow. For another, it just seems cheesy to me. I hate studio portraits from places like Olan Mills. I mush prefer something more creative. Maybe we can make cards for her family using the photos. A compromise.

Sunday night, I made chicken carrot chowder. We fed Pie, who was the only boy who was hungry, before putting them to bed. Then, we had our soup with some multi-grain bread in front of the t.v.

Friday, October 07, 2005

Horrid Food & Great Church

Last Friday night, I dragged the family to Giovanni's for dinner so that I could complete the review process. I hoped that our dinner experience would be better than lunch. However, we had the same long wait, somewhat less rude staff, and atrocious food. Absolutely awful. Afterward, much disgusted with the experience, we consoled ourselves with a trip to Kohl's to get some more shirts for Boot and Foy's just for fun.

Foy's is a crazy & amazing 5 & 10 that specializes in Halloween & is creating an empire on Main Street in Fairborn. They've been featured on the Travel Channel. They now have, in addition to the main store, a grill (that's been on Food Network), an adult costume store, a kids' costume store, a second odds & ends store, a special effects store, and a haunted house. The whole street is crawling with Halloween decorations like ghosts floating above stores, hearses parked everywhere, ghouls vomiting in barrels of radioactive waste. It's a trip. The street is also crawling with people. Pie got some fireworks & sparklers & I got a bunch of candy like Pop Rocks & Razzles to send to my friend Jes.

Saturday, aside from running a few errands, we mostly just hung out at home. Saturday evening, I was the liturgist at the UCC church where I'm interning. It went well & I got to serve communion for the first time in my life. Gays can't in the PC (USA). I felt very comfortable there & J loved it, as well. People are so friendly there & they DO practice radical inclusion. We signed up for several friendship groups (I'm looking forward to the cooking one, especially), the church membership class, and I volunteered to teach my joy workshop for the adult retreat in November. We may also volunteer to be mentors for Youthquest, the GLBT youth group in Dayton, which the UCC gives funding to. Boot doesn't like the church & I can't figure out if it's homophobia or what he says it is, which is "it's not a real church". He goes on to list a litany of why it isn't: no stained glass, no organ, no pews, music that isn't "normal" (read traditional), no "Gloria Patri", Prayer of Confession, or Doxology, etc. He still wants to become a Catholic. I will have to get him to Mass one of these days & see if he likes that. It's funny that he has such a strongly-developed sense of ritual & tradition. I'm glad, frankly. But, he has the usual rigidity of 12 y.o. boys, too.

We had dinner at the restaurant of Boot's choice because he got straight As on his interim. He picked Foy's Grill. J was unhappy with the choice until we got there. She had never been, although I've taken the boys on a number of occasions. Their malts are the real thing, their burgers are great, their prices are great, and they have free pool. J, Pie, & I shot pool while Boot watched with those big, shiny, merry eyes of his. Afterward, we went back to Foy's. They went through the mini haunted house inside the store. Boot got a tiki mask for his Halloween costume, so that he can answer the door in it, a Hawaiian shirt, shorts, & a lei. It's really a cool idea & the mask is fun! Pie got more fireworks & he & J did them in the driveway when we got home. We also popped down to the book store. Pie got a Fear Street book & J got some Victorian-style paper Christmas decorations.

In the morning, I served as liturgist again. The boys were not thrilled to go to church twice in a weekend, but doughnuts from Tim Horton's made it a bit better for them. They also got to leave with the other kids before the sermon & go do Sunday school. After church, we drove down to visit J's mom, stopping at Sonic on the way. We had a nice visit, then headed home. I worked on my paper for a bit, then we took Pie to a crappy Chinese restaurant that has all you can eat crab legs. The rest of the food on the buffet, what little there was of it, was not so great, but Pie was so happy eating that crab! He made little singing noises as he ate it. When we got home, I worked on my paper some more, then we went to bed.