... there was plenty of ham in the kitchen last night!
Martin and Carrie came to dinner last night.
Martin, you may recall, is the super-awesome conference roomie and friend about whom it's impossible for me to say the least thing bad.
Rather the opposite. He may blush when he reads that, but ah well. Carrie is NOT his wife, nor mine. She is, however, not only a lovely person but also a real heavy-hitter in the world of libraries and intellectual freedom.
If only Gail and Bowie had made it over. We would then have had a full Moonbats contingent!
I didn't take a lot of photos last night beyond ones of us when Martin and Carrie arrived. In truth, it was an unusual evening in that Conrad was barely part of it. He's been not 100% since Wednesday night, and though he rallied enough yesterday morning to want to have our friends over for a casual meal, just before they arrived he was in bed, shivering, feeling horrid. Poor guy. He did make it out to sit and have dinner (he has his appetite) though no dessert. For the most part, it was the three of us, and with that slightly odd circumstance and all the ALA gossip to catch up on, photos weren't in the cards.
Martin is a recent convert to vegetarianism, and I thought it very sweet and considerate that he gave me a lot of warnings and escape possibilities. But really, I may eat meat (though a little less red meat these days), but I am capable with a vegetable or two in hand. There had been another guest coming, one allergic to garlic. She had to back out, but by that point I had most of dinner made. Ah well. No garlic is a little trickier if you stop and think of all the dishes we season somehow with it. Still, I'm always up for a challenge!
The two arrived a little after seven, and I whisked a plate of tortilla chips out of the oven and dolloped a generous amount of homemade guacamole in the center.
We all shoveled it up and sipped cocktails or wine. Chat continued, and I got the empanadas in the oil. Two kinds: one had a cream cheese, toasted pecan, charred scallion, and chipotle powder mixture for a filling; the others were filled with yellow summer squash, zucchini, red pepper, and red chard. I passed re-fried beans around at the table along with more guacamole, a pico de gallo, and a simple romaine salad with a toasted pumpkinseed and cilantro dressing.
Not a bad dinner. We sipped more wine and water. Conrad went back to bed and was asleep when Carrie and Martin, stuffed from dinner and the cake
that followed, headed out.
But friends, that ham was mighty good!
drove over the Mississippi, and on in to Iowa as far as Iowa City. A small conference, a presentation to be made. 
Not at the University, mind you, though I got a bit of a look at what seemed to be a handsome campus. 
No, I mostly stuck to the small area around the hotel on my one night stay.
I was so very tempted to by up all the bags!
and together the two rule the Baltimore home owned by my best friend Todd and his partner Michael. I spent one night with them all, and Buster knew he had an easy mark in me. I spent much of the Sunday night with either his head or his butt parked in or by my lap, and anytime I let up with petting and stroking him, he made it clear I wasn't done.
Sweetest girl ever, loves chasing things, 
glad to lick your face all over and non-stop. She lives with Geoff and Kent in DC, and I daresay she rules the roost there, too.
(isn't he adorable in those shots - I'm so glad to be home with him after all the travel we each have had!). If I can finish the night with some chat with my best friend, then truly, I can say it was a perfect day.
and the final product,
plus the table all set.
I don't think it was too awful to serve sort-of leftovers for dinner to Conrad's friend JJ last Sunday. I mean, I look at that plate of little fried pockets, and I remember how warm and tender they were with a bit of crispness to the crust. Mmmmm....
for drinks and a very late lunch/snack.
and was content. Well, the service was a little off at Bin 36, but the cheeses were fine.
Martin, you may recall, is the super-awesome conference roomie and friend about whom it's impossible for me to say the least thing bad.
Rather the opposite. He may blush when he reads that, but ah well. Carrie is NOT his wife, nor mine. She is, however, not only a lovely person but also a real heavy-hitter in the world of libraries and intellectual freedom.
We all shoveled it up and sipped cocktails or wine. Chat continued, and I got the empanadas in the oil. Two kinds: one had a cream cheese, toasted pecan, charred scallion, and chipotle powder mixture for a filling; the others were filled with yellow summer squash, zucchini, red pepper, and red chard. I passed re-fried beans around at the table along with more guacamole, a pico de gallo, and a simple romaine salad with a toasted pumpkinseed and cilantro dressing.
that followed, headed out.
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