Transition

Tuesday began the transition from cookie season to holiday season. It was the first day in weeks when I didn’t eat a single cookie … well, except for 2 pieces of the layered white chocolate peppermint bark. But that can almost be considered a refresher rather than a cookie. Instead I ate too much of holiday food like nuts and chex mix and cheese and crackers and ham. Especially chex mix.

Wednesday was a Jasper day. He had what Emma calls strong opinions about being dropped off, that is really crying when Al left. But it didn’t take him too long and a few toys to get happy.

On Thursday we went to Chicago for an overnight with two matinees: Joffrey Ballet’s Nutcracker and Messiah with the Chicago Symphony. The city is decorated for Christmas.

After the Nutcracker, we went to see a bunch of my retired archivist and librarian friends and give them their cookie boxes.  I didn’t make a box for Linda because she hasn’t wanted one since she became an empty nester – but I took extra cookies and bags and made her a big bag when turned out she did indeed want cookies.

Then we proceeded on to a big late dinner at Girl & the Goat with John & Megan. They hadn’t been there for a long time; we’d never been and always wanted to. The restaurant kind of crammed us into a 4 top, even though we were all pretty sure we were one of the last tables seated at 9:15. We had three on the banquette and us oldsters took the chairs. Because John & Megan are vegetarians, we got every bread and every vegetable dish on the menu, plus oysters that they do eat, and a few meats for us omnivores, and went home totally stuffed.

The chick pea fritters weren’t exactly fitters, but they were good, and the naan was more like a big thick-ish tortilla, also good. We probably could’ve skipped the pork shank – it came last – but it was so good we ate even though we were full.

In the morning we got up and had coffee at the Goldcoast Dollop (see their decorations above), then went to see Faith Ringgold at MCA. She was such an inspiration to me as a textile artist, but she worked in a lot more mediums besides quilts. It was especially fun to see the original art and quilt of Tar Beach, after reading it to John & Al so many times. I didn’t really remember until reading the label, but the book was published in 1991 when they were 4 and 3, so just the right ages.

After our big late dinner, we weren’t too hungry when we first got up, so we ate after the museum. We got to-go Gotham bagels and took them back to the hotel to eat. Which worked pretty perfectly. We got checked out and sat and ate and didn’t have to be outdoors in the drizzle overly long while shlepping our bags. Which we checked at CSO and went in to listened to Messiah, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis.

Made it to the 4:45 train and home again to only slightly disgruntled cats. I had a bowl of oatmeal, Pia had a bagel, and Mark made a sandwich. For our nightly cuddle time the kittens and I watched an episode of Fellow Travelers, where we’re up to 1968. I’m kind of stuck in that era in my entertainments, because I’m reading Summer of ’69 by Erin Hilderbrand. I had been thinking I was the same age as one of the main characters, but she just turned 13 at the beginning of that summer and I turned 14 in August. I watched the moon landing sitting on the rug with my brother in between the TV and our parents’ lounger chairs, and watched the older kids go off to Woodstock, and wished I could go. The 13 year old in the book may end up going; they’re talking about it but I haven’t gotten that far yet.

And now it’s the Saturday before Christmas Eve; the Eve Eve, like the hosts on NPR were calling it this morning. It’s 44° and dark and gloomy. I did my errands by bike this morning, because why not. I’m really feeling like if the the weather’s going to be like this I might as well move to Seattle.

I just finished making the ham bone from the party into US Senate Navy Bean soup, and I’m doing laundry. Time to roll out the batch of Mark’s Mom’s Gingerbread for decorating. I made the dough last night and chilled it until now. If they’re cute, I’ll post pictures.