Tilt-a-Whirl Weekend

My weekend went too fast. If I stop and concentrate, I can fast forward through weekend images in my head at a speed guaranteed to conjure up memories of riding the Tilt-a-Whirl at the Ark-La-Miss Fair.

Friday night was a blur of activity. A group of us gathered at The Gingerman to celebrate Gwen & Jessica's birthdays. Many a pint of beer was consumed, some darts were thrown, interesting topics of conversation were dissected, and you know it's a good night when someone loses a cell phone. Attention, friends of Sean! Please email him your phone number so he can program you into his new cell. After a quick run into Rain to say hello to Jonathon, Darla and I ventured over to the Red Hot party at the Can and visited with Margie, Rose, Big Daddy Steve, Geoff, Andy, Scott & Travis. I saw Josh but he was busy behind the bar and never noticed me behind the sea of straight people. Yes, you read right. There were more straight people at the Can that night than in Apple Bar at any given moment. The Red Hot annual party benefits Project Transitions...judging by the packed house it was a success. I ran an errand for Margie before heading back to Gingerman to pick up Sean and drop him off at his friend's house for dinner (thank you, Darla for keeping me company). Then drove back to the bar and had my second beer of the evening. After an entertaining interlude at Gingerman, I was yawning too much to be good company and went home.

Saturday dawned bright and early. Darla joined me at Town Lake and we did 3 miles. My hammie is still giving me fits but it isn't as bad as Frank'. He ran 5 miles with Hang and Jason before going to spin class. After spin he managed to convince Dan and Dave to run 3 more miles with him. I worked on his hamstring a little that evening when he was in pain. Not like it's going to stop him from going to spin class again today.

I spent the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon finishing the Great Apartment Cleanup. I ended up with three more boxes of stuff for Goodwill. After rearranging the living room, I put my bookshelf together. I was surprised to find that my cookbook collection is smaller than I thought it was. I'm definitely looking to add to it with the purchase of Ina Garten's French cookbook Barefoot in Paris and the cookbook that I should own but haven't bought yet, The Joy of Cooking (not to be confused with the newer edition, The All New, All Purpose Joy of Cooking which has gotten horrible reviews for cutting out the classic recipes in favor of the trendy). I'm waiting to add the 6th Harry Potter book to one of those shelves, too.

Saturday evening I had a few people over to begin birthday celebrations. The festivities will continue through the month with the actual evening of the big day reserved to spend with Frank. Needless to say, I love Birthday Month. We kicked everything off with wine and cheese and laughter. Leslie, Jessica, Frank, Amy, Darla and I had a great time playing Moods, a board game that has you say phrases in a certain mood and everyone who guesses your mood correctly advances toward the finish. Have you ever tried to say "You look like good meatloaf" in a sulky tone? After a hilarious game and finishing off several bottles of wine, we were reduced to being a gang of rogue paparazzi, taking pictures around my apartment with the game phrase cards. The most memorable for me is the one Frank took of all of us girls in my shower and one of us holding the card that said "Come on in, the water is fine." I'll post a few of the more hysterical photos as soon as Leslie e's them to me. We laughed until our sides ached.

In addition to seriously fun times, the wine and cheese were incredible. Jessica and Amy brought an Antinori Campogrande Orvieto Classico, which was a fresh, slightly dry but citrusy white and a Duè Uvè Pinot Grigio/Sauvignon blend that was a lightly sweet, crisp white. They went perfectly with the buttery and velvety St. Andre cheese and the deeply colored, rich Windsor Blue cheese. The Windsor was incredible--the taste exploded on your tongue. Leslie brought a sparkling wine, Martini & Rossi Asti...you can't go wrong with sweet bubbles! Darla's Pinot Noir didn't get opened but we devoured her brie. Frank's contributions were a Mirassou Pinot Noir, which I've written about before, Danish Blue cheese in all it's sharply aggressive goodness, and slices of a prosciutto & basil mozzarella roll. He also brought me a glorious bouquet of flowers in all the vivid colors I love: magenta, lemony yellow, purple-y blue and more.

Sunday was more of a low key day for me. Frank is on call and ended up with several cases, so he saw the inside of the hospital for most of the day. I was a bit lazy, reading and relaxing and cooking until time to go to the Can. I made a chicken & green chile quiche and a chicken, spinach, tomato quiche that were both very good. I was afraid that I'd made the green chile one too spicy, but both Frank & Frederick said it was perfect. I enjoyed both, and if you'd like the recipe, please email me. I'd be happy to share.

My shift at the bar was mostly uneventful until just before 8pm when one of the go go boys got into an altercation with Margie. I had seen the dancer earlier and was wondering a) why would you want to dance if your knee is messed up to the point that you have to wear a brace with your hotpants, b)what the hell is up with your wide headband and c)why would you come to work strung out? He ordered a burger and began eating out of the chip bowl, a big no no since we don't want people to put their fingers to their lips and then back into the bowl. (Everyone is on their honor that they wash their hands after using the restrooms). Margie asked him not to do eat out of the bowl, and pointed to the plates. The dancer started foaming at the mouth, screaming "Why are you so mean to me! You don"t know me! You don't know who I am!" while we all stared in amused yet horrified fascination. I thought Stoli was going to fall off his stool. He was laughing so hard he was doubled over. Catherine wanted to slap him and had to be reminded that Margie can take care of herself. We all know it's true--if Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy! Unbelievably, Margie didn't deck him. He obviously doesn't know who Margie is in the community. She may be cranky at times, but Margie is an icon. After he fled with his burger, we took turns teasing Margie at every opportunity "why are you so mean to me?!"

I finished up my shift and made my way home, stopping only to fill my gas tank and pay exorbitantly for the privilege. Once home, I found all the candles had been lit and a glass of wine was waiting for me on the table. Ahhhhh, birthday week is good. I thanked Frank and had a quick shower to wash away the smoky cheeseburger grime before indulging. A very nice ending to a very nice weekend! Hope all of you had a great one, too.