[title type="h5"]Sunday, February 16, 2014.[/title]
Although this has not usually released me from the hook, the fact that Valentine's Day is only three days after our anniversary de-emphasizes the holiday. ("That's typical male thinking," I can hear female readers saying to themselves.) We celebrated this year's big anniversary (twenty-five) in such style that Mary Ann vouchsafed Valentine's amnesty for me. She, on the other hand, put a package of red, heart-shaped Peeps next to my coffeemaker two days ago. So it wasn't off her radar entirely.
She also remembered (from having heard about it in my radio commercials, I hope) that Zea had a special Valentine's package. It was still in force, but this was the last day for the $40-for-two deal, which really is quite a bargain. Following the rules exactly, we split an appetizer of fried goat cheese. Much better than they sound, they look like small crab cakes from a distance, and go well with a glass of wine.
In the entree part of our show, MA indulged in a half-rack of Thai-style ribs, and I had a fillet of freshwater trout with a pesto crust. I don't order that often enough. It's a great flavor, never overcooked. The only thing I have against it is that it's not a local fish. But the same is true of scallops and salmon, and I eat my share of both.
Dessert was a brick of sweet potato bread pudding with pecans. I took care of about a third of it, and we brought the rest home.
For a change, our conversation over dinner was not about the website or other business-related matters. I am going to Los Angeles to visit Jude in a few weeks, and Mary Ann has decided 1) that she will travel with me even though b) I am going on the train. This will be quite a test for her tolerance of my favorite way to travel by land. The Sunset Limited takes two days and two nights to make the run from New Orleans to Los Angeles. But she says she's looking forward to it, because the route takes us through the Southwest, her favorite part of America. Mine, too, save for my hometown.
[divider type=""]
[title type="h5"]Monday, February 17, 2014.[/title]
The Boy is back at the Cool Water Ranch, where he and Mary Leigh are building something out of disassembled wooden pallets. Mary Leigh has added to her artistic interests the building of furniture. She has a few tables under construction, but she's vexed by her lack of woodworking skills. To remedy that, she has made contact with a guy who build custom furniture in Covington. He agreed to let her work in his shop as a paid intern. My daughter, the carpenter. I cannot say that our children have followed the paths most trodden.
I agreed to take the Marys and The Boy to their favorite place for dinner, even though I am thoroughly sick of going there. The Chimes has really only one appeal to me: very good oysters, on the half shell both raw and grilled. I had a dozen and a half total, and let it go at that. Mary Ann likes their red beans, and is ecstatic that she can get a plentiful order of them for four dollars. I don't think Chimes's beans here are especially good. There's a hint of acidity I find unappealing. That may be what she likes about them.
The soup of the day was crab and corn bisque. The trend for such things is to make the soup so thick it can be eaten with a fork. I have never met anyone who actually likes it that way. I know I don't.
[title type="h6"] Yesterday || Tomorrow[/title]
