first weekend in August

How about I check in on things from a week ago?  Sounds about right for the way this blog goes most of the time lately, right?  It's been a very easy, lazy Saturday, and even then, I've only just found the wherewithal to get some things written and posted.  Nicely done, Peter!

Alright then, a week ago yesterday.  Starting out with a good long walk since I didn't have a morning commute to be mindful of.  Over 11 miles that morning.  Yep, a great way to end my July step count.  I was pretty pleased with that.

The workday at home proved uneventful, and before we knew it, it was done.  We weren't at Maestro right at opening as we sometimes are, but we were seated at the bar not long afterward. 

I haven't been indulging in Mezcal Campfires much lately, but I did have one that evening. 

Calamari

and the chicken mole

for me and Conrad to share.  Nice, easy evening, and home after that to watch a little television and wind down.

Saturday was a little fuller.  The middle part of the day included housework and errands, but we also made time to go see a condo at an open house.  A really good and promising unit were we in a position to buy right away.  But we aren't.  Still, that was impetus for us to begin getting financial ducks in a row.

Framing the midday activities were the morning walk and breakfast at Amara (shared burrito for us)

to start the day, and then a jaunt down to San Pedro early in the evening.  We were invited over to Lessa and Christian's home for drinks

before heading to dinner with them at Trani's Dockside Station. 

It was nice to come down their way - they've come up this way a few times now, and it really is a drive.  Plus, how nice to see their home (I love to see what books people have on their shelves) and meet their chickens. 

Van is such an animal lover!

Dinner was a great recommendation.  I struggled with the menu because there was a lot I wanted to try.  Lessa, Conrad, and I shared oysters, and then I had a swordfish special. 

Lightly breaded, which was interesting, and I liked it.  Some greens on the side. 

The chocolate gelato dessert was fine

- I preferred the brown butter cake that landed at the other end of the table and that I couldn't readily finish.  The restaurant had a good bar as well, and the Saging Grace cocktail was refreshing. 

A nice night with local friends as the highlight of the weekend.

As is often the case, I have no Sunday photos.  I recall spending a very good deal of the day reading old XMen comics on my iPad, and what a delight that was.  Such an easy day.  I put together a board of easy nibbles for dinner so as not to cook on a hot day.  Television, to bed, and then... Monday. 

sushi night!

Another short entry in a series of short entries.  Blogging, what a life!

Anyway, Thursday night was sushi night out with Conrad. 

We actually haven't got sushi in a few weeks, so it was nice to do so, and even better to not do takeaway but go sit at the restaurant and have things come out at the right temperatures and freshly made.  We wandered over a while after I got home from work, sat outside to watch the world go by, and had a good meal at Mama M.

No shishito peppers to start with tonight.  Sitting at the restaurant meant we could have agedashi tofu fresh from the kitchen. 

Yum!  From there, we proceeded to some premium sashimi, and they delivered. 

It was especially good, which makes it seem as if there are times when it isn't, but no.  Maybe we were just in a mood and spirit to really enjoy slowly and appreciate.  Maybe the fish was better.  It was excellent, though.

And we had an avocado roll. 

It's not dessert, but the unctuous filling makes it feel that way.

A nice Thursday evening.  What a weird week - I was on campus every day this week.  Pre-pandemic, that was my life:  five days a week at work.  But nowadays?  Ah well.  Onward with the weekend!

spring break vacation, Day 4

Day 4, wherein we visit libraries....

Up first that day, Cranston Public Library. 

We arranged with Ed to drop in on him in at the central library in his city.  The library - and Cranston - were not at all what I had expected.  You think Rhode Island, you think New England, you think lovely old buildings in quaint downtowns, right?  But from Ed told us, Cranston doesn't really have the quaintness.  It has parts that are old and quaint, but there is no real downtown.  The central library is an 80s box that sits near shopping plazas, across a busy street from a Whole Foods.  That doesn't make it a bad library by any stretch.  No, it was a well laid-out facility that was seeing a nice amount of use on a sunny morning.  Ed showed us around, introduced us to members of his team, answered our questions.  I followed in the footsteps (or the bum prints?) of past visitors. 

And then he sent us on our way to see one of the older library buildings in his system, the William H. Hall Free Library.  A fine building, but closed that day because of some work being done.  Still, we got to admire it and snap some photos,

and that made for a nice little stop before heading back into Providence for lunch.

We had plans to visit Jack at his library that afternoon, but they weren't until a little later.  Before heading to the hotel to let Conrad grab a nap, we stopped at the Rhode Island State House, walking around the outside

and spending several minutes inside. 

From the outside, it's a grand building, but the inside felt interestingly close and intimate.  Rather like the state, I suppose.  That short visit left us wondering how many state capitols we've visited, at least on the outside, and I realized I have been to far fewer state capital cities than I might have guessed.  From what I can recall, I have either seen from outside or visited the inside of the capitols of the following states:  Hawaii, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Massachusetts, Vermont, Idaho, Wisconsin, Rhode Island, Colorado.  I think that's it.  I have been to Columbus but not seen the Ohio State capitol.  The same goes for Atlanta and Georgia and for Indianapolis and Indiana.  I have flown into and out of Raleigh's airport but never visited the city itself.  I lived in Illinois for a dozen years and never went to the state capital.  Wow.

The afternoon library visit was to Providence Public Library.  Providence has an interesting set-up whereby the central Providence Public Library is an entity now (mostly if not entirely) divorced from the city and the branches of the public library are now the City Libraries of Providence.  I'd be curious about that history.  Jack happily showed around his facility,

which is an interesting building in that it has sections from very different eras.  Harmonizing the spaces as well as ensuring that the older parts are in good condition has been one of the challenges of Jack's leadership there.  But it was interesting to see it.  He led us through the place, point out various features. 

Conrad and I bought a few souvenirs, and then headed back to the hotel for a nap of my own.

I think that day of the vacation was the coldest one we encountered.  I wore the big coat

for heading down to Narragansett for dinner with Ed and Denice. 

Our farthest drive yet in Rhode Island, and I wish we'd allowed at least a few minutes more to enjoy the seashore

and see what we could see of The Towers,

like the tennis hall of fame another old casino (and here I should state that casino as was used back then meant a place for entertainment, not a place for gambling), before meeting them at Celeste.  Ah well.  More reasons for another trip east one day.

We had a good dinner together.  Fresh seafood (flounder for me)

and good company.  Ed and Denice will be this way in August, so I will have dinner with them again, I hope!  We had a lovely evening of it before the drive back to Providence.  I again didn't drink because I was driving, so when we got back to the hotel, we decided to stop at the bar for a drink.  A martini, but served in a white wine glass because they simply didn't have enough martini glasses on hand. 

It was kind of hilarious and a little awful, and I sipped half of it and decided that was fine for the night.  Off to bed - the next day we were hitting the road!