to Nashville!

So then, let's head back in time a number of days now.  A week ago this past Friday, the three of us headed to Burbank Airport,

boarded a plane, connected through Denver,

and made it to our hotel in Nashville in time for a late dinner.  Wow, quick summary, right?

I'll be going day by day through the trip in days ahead, and this is a baby step into it.  And a nice little baby step at that.  Oh, there was a delay in Denver, and we made it to our hotel in the dark.  Still, it was a decent suite, and we were able to get dinner at the hotel bar without trouble.  Good dinner, truly.  Biscuits and ham to share. 

A pork schnitzel for my main,

some macaroni and cheese to share. 

Yum!  I really liked both cocktails as well. 

The simple life was a terrific variation on a negroni - I loved the use of the sherry. 

The Joey the Builder was a love child of a boulevardier and a whiskey sour, and that was tasty, too. 

We did feel for the bartender, Nate - a wedding group (including bride and groom) of about 25 people came in, already drunk.  We asked the next day - no, they didn't tip as well as they should have.  Poor Nate.

That was the Friday.  Saturday had some fun things, so stay tuned! 

John. Ah, John.

I was thinking about this over the last weekend.  How many friends have I made and met thanks to social media?  And by that I mean Instagram but also Facebook, Flickr, and other platforms.

If I really sat down and counted?  Over 30 and possible (probably) over 40.  People think it weird to make connections over social media, but I think it lovely to make connections, simple as that.

So, here is John.  And me.

 

I adore John.  What a beautiful man, inside and out.  We have been friends on social media for years - the initial connection was through Kate Bush - but I finally got to meet him.  I'll blog more about it, but my gosh.  The utter and absolute highlight of the recent trip.  So many hugs shared and yet, I wanted to hug him more.  May it not be YEARS before we meet again, 

it's actually been a busy day!

So, I know.  I am behind on blogging.  And I'm not catching up tonight.  We stayed in, watched some television, and talked a lot about time off and vacations for the fiscal year ahead.  In other words, sorry.

I am off to bed here with pizza in my belly and martinis and wine. 

I'll catch up with all two of you this weekend! 

back from travels

Howdy!

The travels of recent days are done.  We boarded a flight in Cincinnati

yesterday, connected through Denver, and made it home in time to unpack, unwind, get to bed.  I'll be posting in the days ahead, and my apologies for going so long without posting.  It was a very good trip, and I just didn't make time for blogging while enjoying Nashville and Cincinnati (well, Covington) with Conrad and Van.

So, more to come!  Stay tuned.   

two birthdays

A sweet girl and a wonderful woman shared a birthday yesterday.  One of them is still with us, the other is not, alas.

Olive is 12!  She had her regular grooming appointment, then she indulged Van a few minutes by tolerating the cheerful hat. 

I had the evening over there last night, and she was in a good mood for a little girl who is now 12.  Not a young dog anymore, but loving and lovely as ever.

By coincidence, Conrad's mother's birthday was yesterday.  She would have been 97.  It's two and a half years since she passed away.  I've only been back to Conrad's home town once since the funeral, a wretched trip up there for the burial, which I missed thanks to food poisoning.  I might go up there with Conrad this summer.  I know he misses his mom. 

ah... the best laid plans

It's the weekend that was post, but with a bit of  difference.  You see, I sit here at Van's place not having done much of anything since late yesterday morning.  Why, you ask?

That's why.  There are two steps down from Van's home's entrance to the living room.  And when I took that second step yesterday, I rolled my left ankle hard.  Cursing, crying, icing.  I've run the gamut.  And now I'll baby it for the week ahead so that it's (I hope!) at least a little ok by the time we head to Nashville on Friday.

Sigh.

What's frustrating is that I'd been ramping up the morning walks, going harder and faster and longer.  7+ miles on Friday morning,

with Conrad joining me about four miles in,

9 miles on Saturday

with Olive and Conrad joining me for the last 3/4 mile. 

Good step counts through the week.  Feeling good about it.  And now this.

Alright, enough moaning and gurning on about such things.  Let it heal, Peter, and tell your gentle readers how the rest of the weekend was.

There was that good walk on Friday morning.  Conrad and I eventually made our way to Amara Cafe for a little breakfast

before I had to get home for an online meeting (that, it turned out, I didn't need to attend, and so I didn't).  I worked from home the rest of the day while Conrad spent the day with Olive, then he and I met up back at the condo to head for a light, quick dinner at Maestro.

I love when Rigo and Marco try out new cocktails.  It's always fun to see what they've come up with.  We only had one cocktail each at the bar there, but it was a terrific new one, a clarified pineapple daiquiri with a whipped matcha topping. 

Sweet, not too sweet, a little fresh.  I could have had more easily. 

Instead, we kept ourselves to the one round along with some guacamole

and plantain chips as well as the grilled octopus with fideo and nopales. 

Then it was back to Van's to rescue Olive

and feed her.  We had an easy time of it the rest of the evening.

Conrad has been taking care of me since Saturday morning, and thank goodness.  His cooking is rudimentary at best, but it's care, and I appreciate it a lot.  It's mid-afternoon on Sunday as I write this, and I think I may soon go back to sitting on the bed with my ankle propped up.  I'll avoid going in to work the next couple of days so as not to have to aggravate things.  Van comes home tomorrow, and the three of us have some travel ahead.

Onward with Sunday! 

dinner date at Perle

Usually we do sushi on Thursday evenings, and I promise, we still love our friends at Mama M.  That said, neither of us was in a mood for sushi last night.  I also wasn't in a mood to cook (and what I had taken out of the freezer in the morning hadn't fully thawed by the time I got home from work either).  We hemmed and hawed and tossed around ideas and finally settled on using a gift certificate that Conrad and received and treat ourselves to a dinner date at Perle.

It's been a long while since last we went to Perle.  French food, and fine enough.  We had dinner there with Bridget a little over two years ago, and honestly?  It was a nice night for the company.  We haven't been inclined to go back.  But we had the gift certificate in a generous amount, and it turns out that Perle now has a bar instead of just wine and beer.  So we parked on two stools at one end of the bar and were charmed and delighted by Paula, the bar manager.  Cocktails to start, including Conrad having a very very good Vesper (one of my favourite drinks) and me opting for the Marie Antoinette, a gin sour. 

Then came the Dubonnet Frais with dinner,

and yep, Paula really knows her stuff. 

The food was good, too.  I ordered a large dinner, so I just had some baguette and butter before the meal came out.  Conrad went with two smalls, with escargot (which he loves) to start, then a salad lyonnaise for his meal. 

That was substantial enough for him, very satisfying.

As for me, it was the lamb carbonnade, lamb shoulder braised with beer and served in a reduction of the liquid. 

Peas and fries with mayonnaise, and mmmm.  Good stuff.  A big meal.  I was happy.

We skipped dessert, and while Conrad ordered a second Last Word, I had an amaro as a digestif.  I could happily go back and just sit at the bar with a cocktail and fries, but I will enjoy going there for a meal a little more often than every two years. 

more scenes from morning walks

I had such a nice, easy evening last night.  I got home from work a little before 6PM, got changed, and got in the kitchen.  Conrad was having his own date night with Van, so I had only myself to cook dinner for.  Some ground lamb in a skillet with diced carrot and onion, some garlic.  Browned it up.  Added broth and reduced that down, added more broth and reduced that down.  Added some tomato.  Stirred in some butter, then some of the starchy water from cooking pappardelle.  Rather than stir the pasta in the sauce, I ladled the sauce on top of some pasta, then sprinkled on grated parmesan.  That and a Vesper made for a simple dinner for me as I watched old episodes of Red Dwarf.  That was my perfect little evening.

But no photos of it.  So instead, as I check in on this Thursday, let me share with you further sights from morning walks this week.  I've ramped up the walking a little, culminating in 7.1 miles this morning.  Nice to get out on foot.  And, of course, I took photos all over.  Flowers,

buildings,

local art,

other things that caught my eye,

totally vain selfies

- my walks have had it all.  And curiously little Conrad!  I'll get him out on foot tomorrow, I swear.