a bestie's birthday

There are so many good things about living in a small town: you know your neighbors, people are friendly, costs are cheaper, you can breathe in the sweet country air, etc., etc., but something we're definitely lacking around here is culture and great cuisine! I've been jonesing something fierce for sushi, so, of course, it was my Saturday night dinner suggestion.

I was at my bestie K's house, helping her set-up for her birthday shindig, when we decided to get take-out. Our little dinner party consisted of K and her hubby Joe, my bro A3, sis in law Dayna, niece Savannah, and friend Melissa; there we sat, digging into California rolls, spicy tuna, seaweed salad, Michigan rolls, and baby octopus, food from this great little Asian grocery/take-out place, Noble Fish. Everything was so damn delicious! I loved the communal feel of our impromptu dinner; leaning toward each other, stabbing rolls of sushi, swabbing at the ball of pea green wasabi, doling out soy sauce packets to one another. I think I spent the entire meal grinning. The simple act of sitting around a table and sharing a meal with dear friends and family sated a hunger in me I didn't even know was there. 

More people came, the party progressed, but it's the memory of the dinner that is staying with me.  That was the best part of the night. And today, after my Michigan crew met for breakfast, and as I was about to head for Ohio, I instead headed north, to a little Asian grocery/take-out. Can you guess what I had for dinner? I'm obsessed.  

:)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

eggnog with lighter fluid and other cherished Christmas memories

Image
I started digging to find my favorite Christmas-esque scenes/lines from movies and I was pleased with what I found. In spirit of my 14's lists, here goes: 1. Charles De Mar: "Ah, come on! It's Christmas Eve! I could be home right now, drinking this *monster* eggnog my brother makes with lighter fluid." ~ Better Off Dead I also love the present opening scene on Christmas day, where his mother is dressed like a reindeer, his father gets an ardvark jacket and the kids get freezer dinners. Pan out to the neighbors Christmas when the French foreign exchange student gets a framed picture of Ricky. I LOVE THIS MOVIE! 2. When Zuzu says to George Bailey, "Look, daddy! Teacher says, every time a bell rings, an Angel gets his wings." George quietly agrees, "Attaboy, Clarence," as "Auld Lang Syne" rings out. That scene makes me cry everytime. (I also love that if George had never been around, Mary became a spinster librarian--see pic) ~ It's a W
Read more

sample retirement acceptance letter

Image
The hardest part of being the Director in a small library is that we don't have an HR person, so on top of everything else we do we also get to do the paperwork for the new hires, and retires. Thank God for the internet or these processes would take a lot longer!  One of my board members pointed out that though I'd been informed of staff retirements, I had to officially accept them with a letter...I am finding that a paper trail is an important thing. So, I found a short and simple letter on one university's HR website (sorry forgot which!?) and honed it to work for us. Attached is my sample of a retirement letter.  Is anyone else out there going through this process too?
Read more

"howl the eternal yes"

Image
Just read a CNN article this morning about the Aurora Borealis making an appearance. It reminded me of Northern Exposure and Chris the DJ. So, thought I would share a quote as I reminisce about the Aurora Borealis, a.k.a. The Northern Lights, which I saw my first year at the Farm in Massachusetts, which I actually saw on my 23rd birthday!--the best birthday present I ever got!! "There's a dark side to each and every human soul. We wish we were Obi-Wan Kenobi, and for the most part we are, but there's a little Darth Vader in all of us. Thing is, this ain't no either-or proposition. We're talking about dialectics, the good and the bad merging into us. You can run but you can't hide. My experience? Face the darkness. Stare it down. Own it. As brother Nietzsche said, being human is a complicated gig. So give that ol' dark night of the soul a hug. Howl the eternal yes!" ~ Chris, Northern Exposure, "Aurora Borealis (A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups).” It feel
Read more