Happy New Year!

Last night we celebrated Christmas and the New Year on the East Coast with the folks. One of my favorite sights is them waiting to pick me up at the airport. It’s a great feeling to know that loved ones are waiting just to see you. (After taking and viewing the picture, I was struck by the poses of the security personnel stationed to keep people from running backwards through the exit from the terminal. Evidently people seldom try to do that.)

Anyway, last night, what a night. We kicked off the evening by drinking French champagne and exchanging gifts. It would be difficult for such an exercise to go wrong, and it did not. Zach and I both received some lovely clothes and a book about American history from a new angle, discussing things one might not have known about. The Husband is reading it right now, and it looks quite interesting. (Did you know that Helen Keller was a socialist? I didn’t.)

After the gift exchange, we all went to dinner at Harry’s which was a bit loud but wonderful. I took one look at the menu and decided to order the ostrich loin with wild rice. Unfortunately, when our waiter (Mike) was taking our orders, he told me that the chef recommends it be cooked no more than medium, which means “pink throughout”. In my experience, “pink throughout” means a brown border on the edges , more or less raw, and sometimes almost chilled in the middle. No thanks. He said that the recommendation was based on the extreme leanness of the meat, which I think means it gets tough if you eat it cooked. In any case, I changed my order to gnocchi with duck. It was tasty, though I am not accustomed to the gnocchi having so much cheese flavor in the coating. The duck bits were delicious, and fully cooked. It was a small serving, but I couldn’t seem to finish. The husband stepped up and got the job done. Thank goodness, because of course I had to order dessert. I shared a Belgian chocolate very soft and moist little mini-cake with the husband (who also had cheesecake, his favorite, and a glass of port, which I find icky) and Uncle Jim, who also had a glass of cognac (good choice).

I did not order an after-dinner drink as I had been nursing a rather large vodka martini all evening. The modern fine dining approach is this: small food portions, large drinks. It does lead to a raucous good time, in the event. For a small person, one large vodka martini (after a couple glasses of bubbly at home) is more than enough to do the trick. I was almost ready to go help out the band with the LTD Feat classic, “Back in Love Again”, but fortunately was not that far gone. Miraculously, I did not end up with a hangover. The night was pretty bumpy in spots, and I definitely feel less sprightly than some mornings, but I do not have a headache and my stomach is stable. I am having a nice hot cup of tea- the folks picked up caffeinated English breakfast tea just for my visit, and it is mighty good.

In our defense, not all of yesterday’s activities were debauched. In the afternoon, Dad and The Husband and I went walking for almost an hour (!) in a local state park. The weather was sunny and not too cold, and the scenery was lovely. I do love our hometown and state in the Upper Midwest, but a little change from snow-covered flatness can also be enjoyable.