Monday, January 22, 2007

A Rainy Weekend

What a generic title. Oh, well, couldn't think of anything else and it did rain all weekend the 12-14 of January. It was chilly, but not so chilly that we wanted to stay in. I got back to my Sabbath practice Friday while J was at work & the boys at school. I spent time at the library, took a long walk (saw one of those leg lamps in someone's window & pondered the creek that runs by our church), played with art, had lunch with J at the Tree House Tea Room (she loves their lobster bisque beyond any soup in the world), watched "The Tigger Movie" and had a nice lavender bath.

We got a call from our realtor in the late afternoon about the fellows who had looked at the house. No word back, but she had a very good feeling about it. I certainly hope it sells, and soon! After the boys were picked up, we went & poked around the bookstore. We started to have dinner at the Ironwood Grill, but when we walked in, it looked questionable & J objected to the smell of the place. So, we walked over to Arrabiata's instead. That was a good move. Pleasant atmosphere, big windows to look out at the rain, good service & yummy food. We had artichoke hearts in a sumptuous lemon butter sauce for our appetizer, then I had chicken parm & J had veal Romano. We did not have dessert, even though the tiramisu was undoubtedly fantastic, because we had cheesecake at home that my aunt Jeanie had sent. We tried to go to the hot tub when we got home, but they had drained all the water, much to our disappointment. There's nothing like a nice hot soak with a good book on a rainy night & while I am happy to have a bathtub, it is not a particularly comfy one. The lighting in the bathroom leaves a great deal to be desired, too. So, we just came home & had a good read in bed.

Saturday morning, after a surprise phone call from my mommy, we went for beignets & coffee then poked around the bookstore some more. J got a $50 Aveda haircut (I just don't get it...I didn't think it was any better than what she gets at any other place...I guess the hot tea, head and hand massage make it worth it? Honestly, we had no idea it was so much when we went in, so it was a nasty shock when we got rung up) and I got my brows waxed. We debated over where to eat. Since I had picked Arrabiata's, I let J pick. Predictably, she picked TGI Friday's. It's generally always TGIMaxandChilibee's when she picks. I was frustrated, but went with it. However, they were completely slammed, so we went to Applebee's and had steaks that seemed to have been steeped in Liquid Smoke for 3 years. Yuck! The maple walnut blondie was excellent, though, and made up for the deficiencies of the main event. When we got home, I somehow got control of the remote & we ended up watching "Shall We Dance?" I have liked Richard Gere much more since I learned more about his religious and political beliefs. I like Jennifer Lopez because she seems pretty down to earth. The movie was sweet and both of us were happy that infidelity was not a plot necessity.

We had church in the morning, then training for Interfaith Hospitality Network volunteers. We had signed up to be hosts for dinner & the evening on Tuesday for the homeless folks who were going to be staying the week at our church, so we had to do the training. J ended up not being able to host because she had to speak at a city council meeting that night, but I really enjoyed doing it. After the training, we tracked down a restaurant in Lakewood called Melt Bar & Grilled that specializes in grilled cheese sandwiches. After a yummy lunch there (chorizo & potato grilled cheese for me, portabella for J), we headed home to nap and read. In the evening, we went to an alternative worship service that featured a Christian rock band led by a singer-songwriter whose CD we already had. The service was great, with meaningful music instead of empty pop praise songs. I loved the way the altar was decorated. The theme of the service was "The Time of Your Life" and the altar was swathed in lush fabrics and adorned with all kinds of crosses, candles and clocks. The pastor's message included a reading from Donald Miller's book, "Blue Like Jazz," which we have. We stopped on the way home for hot cocoa (me) and a peanut butter smoothie (J) at Liquid Planet. Very cozy as the rain continued to come down.

No comments: