mojosmom

Night before last, I went to a holiday party thrown by one of my professional organizations. It was really very nice, and I conversed with a lot of people whom I don't see very much. There was an Open bar, hors d'œuvres and an excellent buffet for a mere $30! A couple of people had donated wine and gift baskets, so I also came home with two bottles of good red wines, and a gift basket with a variety of chocolate and two splits of riesling. Yum.

Then I got an email from a woman who is also on the board of Teatro Vista. One of the ensemble members is performing in "It's a Wonderful Life: the Radio Play" at the American Theater Company, and she suggested that we go last night. So we did. It was really delightful, and it always astonishes me when actors playing multiple roles can shift among the different characters so easily and seamlessly. That's particularly the case in a show like this, because they are actors playing actors playing roles, so there's no costume changes (unlike Irma Vep which I saw a few weeks ago).

Before the play, we went to a restaurant called Browntrout, to which neither of us had ever been before. Their schtick is to use sustainable (and, when possible, locally grown) foods, and they have their own herb garden. It was excellent. Betty had the stuffed trout, which was perfectly cooked and completely boned and delicious. I had a risotto with squash, bacon and walnuts. The flavors really complemented each other and the variety of textures was great. We skipped dessert in favor of a cheese plate. Among the accompaniments were port-soaked dates that were absolutely killer.

The service was very good, too. We asked the waiter to recommend wines for us, and he not only didn't push the most expensive ones, he gave us each a sample of his suggestions to try first. He also warned us that "we make all our dishes to order so it may take longer than you are used to", but, in fact, we didn't have much of a wait for our food.

The only annoyance had nothing to do with the restaurant. We had to deal with this. The box took Betty's credit card, but wouldn't give her a receipt. So she had to call the company and report it. Fortunately, we didn't get a ticket. But what a pain.

I have an AAUW meeting downtown this afternoon. I was going to go down early and visit the Art Institute, but my baked custard for dinner tomorrow is taking longer to set than I expected. Guess it's a good thing I decided to make it today instead of tomorrow morning!

HOLIDAY CARD ANNOUNCEMENT

The other day, I was looking in my desk for holiday cards that I knew I had. But I couldn't find them. Then I realized that the box under the desk labeled "Holiday Cards" did not contain cards other people had sent me, but did, in fact, contain the very cards I was looking for. Now all I have to do is sit down and get them signed, addressed, stamped and sent out. So don't be surprised if you get your card in time for new year's.

Also, if you think I might not have your current address and would like a card, please post it in a comment (I'll screen them, don't worry) or send me an LJ email.