COOKING WITH MY FRIEND

We did a fun thing yesterday... Normally when RvH and I get together we either go to a movie or out to eat, or both. Sometimes we see a movie or go to a gallery or housewalk, but the default is movie and food. I suggested that we cook together, drink wine, watch DVDs, and I would spend the night

I planned the menu--pan-fried steak, baked potato, salad... And then, I asked CA to prepare Martha's pate brisse and the cinnamon/sugar and crumb toppings for the Apple Crumb pie. When I got to RvH's house, we peeled and sliced the apples, rolled out the crust, arranged the filling and baked the two tarts--a small deep pan and the regular French 3" deep x 8" tart pan.

YUM-M-M! We ate just as the tarts came out of the over. RvH is the MOST GENEROUS person in the world, and she wanted to share with her wonderful neighbors so she took the small, deep tart next door just before we sat down to dinner.

The meal was exquisite... We took a breather and watched some junk TV--because we share that tacky obsession. Actually, RvH is tackier than me... Later we put in the first disk for her birthday DVD set of As Time Goes By. She LOVES anything European, especially British, and watches all that stuff on BBC, and Channel 11, etc. But, she has never seen ATGB.

Of course, she loved it... warming a bit more with each episode. We watched four. You just start falling in love... First with Jean (Judy Dench) and then with the crotchety Lionel (Geoffrey Palmer). Allister is sleazy and takes longer to love, but Judy and Sandy are young and lovely and glow with life and intelligence. RvH is hooked!

We both sleep well. I am up about 5:30am to do some more of the transcription job that just won't go away! I am down to just a few hours of work and WANT IT TO BE DONE! It will be tonight. I will email it into the ether before falling in bed tonight.

We have some very good yogurt with fruit and granola (from Target!) for breakfast and then I pack up and headed home. CA is at a soccer tournament for the day, so I decide a nap is the first order of business and allow myself to wallow in my comfy bed for three whole hours, listening to the rain and appreciating the dark grey day. A Sunday afternoon with the newspaper, in bed, and drowsing away... Such decadence...

I decide to spend a couple of hours editing and then get myself together to go to Small Group tonight. CA comes in about 3:30pm--I work until 4:00pm. So, now I will listen to John Ortberg's Flow, part 4 to prepare for tonight's Small Group, shower, and maybe even have time to spend with CA.

RvH and I had a great time. We decide that we will do this again--a real girl's retreat that doesn't cost much and we don't even have to leave home.