dinner with Denny

One of the drawbacks to the LA area is that is not just huge, it's also poorly served by transit.  That means that so many of us are relegated to driving places even when we would rather not.  Like yesterday, for example.  I had dinner plans in West Hollywood.  It's a busy area, I don't know the streets well, and I did not want to be circling, hunting for parking.  I also knew that I would want a couple of drinks, and I abhor driving under the influence.  So it was, then, that I made a mad dash to the Memorial Park station

to catch a train down into LA to Union Station, then had to transfer to what used to be known as the Red Line, then get off in the thick of touristy Hollywood and catch an Uber from a nearby hotel.  That all took an hour and a half.  I splurged to get Uber home at the end of dinner.

No matter, though, because the company was worth it.  Dinner with Denny - yay!!  I hadn't seen him in person in far too long.  I had to miss dinner with him in Phoenix because of food poisoning or whatever bug kept me ill in the hotel room for 48 hours before the conference started.  A shame - we don't see each other at all often enough.  We met at Bottega Louie near where he lives - he had to work late that day, and meeting outside of his neighbourhood would have been later and trickier.  Next time we'll have him up our way for another meal.  Last night, though, it was a shared pizza and salad and a few rounds of Boulevardiers and much great conversation.  A real delight to hang out for an evening. 

cocktails fit for royalty

Yesterday the group had its postponed online drinks session with royalty as the theme.  This makes sense if you stop to think that we originally had it planned to do the drinks on Victoria Day.  Ah well.  Half of us had yesterday off anyway, so it was nice to get together late afternoon.

I made three trial drinks earlier in the afternoon:  The Queen Elizabeth (dry vermouth-based, which wasn't as bad as I feared but also wasn't one I really wanted to return to all that eagerly), the Countess (essentially a white rum variation on a margarita but with a little Benedictine instead of agave syrup), and Dubonnet and gin, the preferred tipple of her late majesty, QEII.  It was that last one that I served up for me and Conrad and Van.  I didn't mind it, Conrad was least convinced of all three of us.

In any case, the May Grey had burned off, and we had a lovely and mild afternoon to sit outside and catch up enjoyably.

June's theme:  bachelor party!  Chris is only a few months out from his wedding!

Memorial Day weekend

It's a holiday Monday, Memorial Day in the United States.  I worked remotely on Friday, and now this is the third proper day of the long weekend.  It's been a nice break.  Oh, I'll be back on campus tomorrow afternoon, for sure, but in the meantime, let's check in on what's been going on here this weekend....

Friday!  We wandered over to Maestro, arriving shortly after opening but right behind two other customers who took up seats at the bar.  Add in two more who came along to reserved seats, and it was a crowded (but not uncomfortable) time at the bar.  I tried a new cocktail, a guava paloma that I think was clarified in part or something. 

Tasty!  The three of us shared guacamole,

a beet salad,

the bone marrow esquites,

and a new item:  crispy carnitas tacos. 

I may just like them more than the birria tacos.  Hard to say.  Another nice night at Maestro.  We came home and put on the first episode of the latest season of Stanley Tucci's exploits in Italy, then Van headed home to Olive.

Saturday!  I had had a good walk on Friday, mostly without Conrad, totaling 6.91 miles.  Saturday I went longer, hitting 7.21 miles, including some running and mostly without Conrad again.  That excursion ended at Amara.  Lately I've not been especially hungry in the mornings, and so I kept to an empanada again,

leaving Conrad

to enjoy his regular breakfast.  Oat milk lattes for us both,

and that was a fine start to the day. 

We were over at Van's that night, hosting Mitch and Ted for dinner.  I made us all ribs, and it was a lovely evening if a photo-free one.

Sunday!  Another good walk to start the day, but a shorter one:  6.23 miles.  Some good music on,

a cheery attitude. 

Conrad did his own shorter walk with Olive, and then we relaxed before coming back to the condo late in the morning.  But it was back to Van's late yesterday afternoon for an evening that featured the first mai tais

and the first burgers on the grill of the season. 

It's not been super warm out, just mild, and that was welcome.  Olive got lots of love,

Van showed off his moves

(and a tshirt that I think is kind of a hoot), and we had a lovely, leisurely evening outside.

Today!  I've been waking up early these days, and so it was that on a holiday Monday I was awake and out the door before 6AM.  I put on some lively music

and mixed in even more running with the walking today, which was tiring but welcome,

and ended up at 8.26 miles.  Not terrible!  I finished that off right as Conrad and Olive were heading out the driveway for her morning walk, so I joined them

and did another mile with them.  And now, now I am pooped.  I may need a nap before online drinks later!  We shall see.

A short week ahead.  Let's see what it brings....

shorn

If a gay gets a haircut and doesn’t share it online, did he really get a haircut?

I got a haircut.  Thank goodness!

6.91

A nicely cool May Grey morning here as I sip my decaf and steel myself to dig into emails and such for the day.  I do love when it is such weather out - it makes it good for morning walks.  I found myself awake early today - early for me, even! - and so I got myself out the door by 5:45 and on a walk.  Conrad joined me for part of it, but only when I was already past 5 miles in.  6.91 miles in total.

I may collapse into a nap later....

is there such a thing as a hate swim?

I'm in a vile mood this afternoon, I am sorry to admit.  It will pass soon - no later than 39 days from now, I hope.  I took time out this afternoon to pop over to the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center and get a swim.  Alas, it just made for twenty or so minutes of me stewing in my mood, thinking unhappy thoughts.  A hate swim, perhaps?  No matter.  The swim is done, and I will try to have a nice evening.

quiet week so far

Sorry that it's been a few days!  The past couple of days have been pretty quiet.  I mean, I could blog about my dental appointment yesterday, or perhaps wax on about a new book I'm reading on the Proto Indo-European language, but nah.  Van and Olive did come over yesterday for a simple little dinner that I didn't bother to photograph (pork tenderloin on a cauliflower puree), but I did get a shot of them with Conrad. 

Olive just turned 11 this past Monday, by the way, so a happy birthday to that gorgeous girl.

No big plans until dinner with friends on Saturday.  You know, a quiet week is not so bad a thing.

third weekend in May

I haven't done one of these weekend overview entries in a while.  So then, while it's still a relatively easy Sunday afternoon, let me check in on the weekend that has been so far....

Friday evening:  Maestro!  A long overdue visit there.  We say outside and had a leisurely dinner with Jennifer and Sanders.  The cochinita pibil for my main, and it was so so good. 

The night grew a little chilly by the end, but we had a lovely time of it, all in all.

Saturday:  I did about two miles of walking before Conrad joined me.  Amara was the destination at the end of the walk, and I armed myself with a decaf latte as usual. 

I wasn't super hungry after the night before, though, so I stuck with an empanada as a smaller, simple breakfast. 

Conrad,

however, enjoyed his usual!

We did a bunch of housework after that, then I went off for a massage and groceries.  We head over to Van's later in the afternoon where I made us ribs for dinner. 

We watched a little television before dinner, but through and after dinner it was enjoyable conversation and no more television.  That suited me nicely.

Sunday:  I was out the door by 6:35 and managed a respectable 6.13 mile walk.  I love having the quietness of early Sunday mornings to get out and about on foot. 

I took a few photos while on the walk,

but mostly just got in some steps and listened to music.  The three of us had a very late breakfast at lunchtime, and now Conrad and I are at home.  More laundry on the go here, and we'll meet up with Rick and Jacque for dinner this evening.

So, there:  the weekend report.  A long weekend for us next weekend - I'm looking forward to wasting one of those three days with some reading and not much more!

life/death

It's not just jasmine season.  In the stores (Trader Joe's, to be specific), it's also peony season.  I have to confess, I don't recall ever seeing a peony until I saw that at TJ's in recent years.  My loss - they are fantastic cut flowers.  Bold and showy and with a nice but not strong scent.  I bought some a week ago, and almost all of them opened up beautifully.

Alas, as with all cut flowers, their lives are finite.  It felt poetic seeing the petals on the floor one morning. 

I never did see any fall, but the petals accumulated, and soon I shall be throwing out the bare stems.  Life and death, captured so gorgeously.

um, whoa... what?!

Three days IN A ROW???  And now with added Conrad?  What is even happening here?

A morning meeting ended early, so we snuck off to the pool before coming back to resume the work day.  Not a long swim yet again - only a short break in the day, and I am wary of the sun exposure - but it is good to get a few days in a row done.  No swim tomorrow.  That will wait until next Tuesday.  And hooray for Conrad being able to get in the water with me today!

it's the second most wonderful time of the year

It's jasmine season around southern California.  I love this fragrant time of year.  The flowers themselves are pretty - little white stars among shiny, deep green foliage.

I wish this blog were scratch and sniff.  I'll be sad when we pass out of this time of year.  It will be the slow countdown to Christmas.

a streak?

What's this?  Two days in a row?  Goodness!

Now if only I could swim longer, better, and faster while I'm at it!

shockingly...

... I made it back to the pool after, what, four weeks away?

 It was a swim.  Not my worst.  I could have gone longer save for the need to get myself home, through the shower, dressed, and off to work.  Better than zero.  For today, I'll take it.

wine pairing dinner at Timber Cove

Our last evening of our Sonoma vacation we had a special dinner.  Very special.  By chance, when Van booked our stay at Timber Cove, he learned that the restaurant was going to host a wine-pairing dinner, and he happily booked us two of the limited spots.  Once back from Sea Ranch, we tidied up, made our way down to the dining room where they'd moved things about and set up a smaller number of tables

(we thought we might have a table of two to ourselves, but we shared a table with four others we didn't know), and took the offered glass of sparkling wine. 

There were hors d'oeuvres passed, we chatted with a couple of people nearby, and then the dinner began.

My compliments to the chefs, and my compliments to the winery, Aperture.  Both provided us with excellent fare.  Let me say that.  I do wish the staff poured a little more consistently (I felt as if I had a label over me that screamed, "Pour this guy less") and had offered people a little more of the wines they liked (we eventually learned we could ask for more, but it would have been nice to have more than the meager sip or two of at least one of the wines during the dinner - sorry, I'm being cranky about that still).  On the other hand, we had nice conversation with the people at our table (two couples, one half of each knew each other from work, it was a coincidence they were at the same event), and the evening was honestly so very enjoyable.  And I did get to enjoy more of some wine at the end, so that was fine.  I even ordered a few bottles, which shipped right away.

And I got to enjoy it with Van.  Van doesn't drink wine often or a lot, but it is fun to taste with him because we've learned that we tend to have the opposite reactions to a lot of wines.  That makes it all the more interesting when our tastes align!

I loved the wine labels, but I didn't get shots of them.  I did get shots of the food, though, so I shall comment with each and on the wine pairing.  I didn't think the hors d'oeuvres and the sparkling wine were successful together, and here Van and I differed - he liked the sparkling wine (I ordered a bottle for him), but it was my least favourite.  But after we sat down?  Things made sense.

First course:  cured steelhead. 

Even Van, who does not like raw or raw-ish fish, liked this one.  Such great flavours here, and I thought the pairing with the Sauvignon blanc was excellent.  I liked the Sauvignon blanc by itself, too, and bought two bottles.

Second course:  braised venison raviolo. 

This was tasty.  Alas, as happens with food at events, it was also not especially warm.  A shame - I think it would have benefited from being warmer so we could get the aromas better.  The Bordeaux style red blend that was served with it was my favourite red of the night, and I bought two bottles.

Third course:  dry aged duck three ways. 

I confess, I am not a fan of "things X number of ways" dishes usually.  I like the idea of using all the duck, but make it all good.  Well, they did.  Also, kudos on the potato parsnip pavee with it.  This dish surprised me with how much I liked it.  Even more interesting, the winery offered two wines with it, a 2022 Cab and a 2021 Cab (oh, I should add that the winery owner/winemaker and his semi-famous photographer dad were on hand to talk about the wines and labels) so we could compare and contrast.  I thought I would prefer the older of the two, but no, it was the 2022 that I preferred and bought a bottle of.

Fourth course:  cheeses. 

No special pairing, which was a shame, perhaps.  What was nice was that each cheese had its own condiment.  What was also nice was that we didn't have to share!  I love dessert, I have such a sweet tooth, but this felt like a cheese course done right, and that was a treat in itself.

We sipped more wine.  Most of the diners were locals(ish), very few were guests.  They left, we left, and that was our last evening of the trip.  It was a lovely way to bring it an end before the travel the next day, and I'm very grateful to Van for that.