Friday was the only part of the weekend that wasn’t scheduled, so of course I used that to clean after having some frozen pizza and fresh sautéed spinach for dinner. I did catch up on newspapers before I went to bed so that was good.
Saturday I slept in a bit, then headed over to Clarendon for the CHAAMP fundraiser. I mostly organized books, and took Illa for a bit when Jill brought him by. I hurried home when we finished, as there was still some cleaning to do. My friend Norm was in town for the night with his girlfriend for the show, and we had them over for dinner beforehand. I grilled steaks and made a Caesar salad, and we had a leisurely dinner before heading over to Ned Devine’s to see emmet swimming. They were fabulous and deserve their own post, so that will have to wait until tomorrow.
Today I had a bunch of computer stuff to do, getting my computer reasonably patched and then a bunch of auction stuff. Jill and I did have breakfast together, which is unusual since we don’t have many breakfast foods in common, but I offered to make French toast and she couldn’t resist. I thought I’d finish before the rain came, but I failed and had to take Illa out in the rain. It only got worse and is still pouring down, and made our trip this evening pretty poor.
We were supposed to meet the family at Bilbo Baggins (named after what you’d expect, but the doors aren’t circular) in Old Town Alexandria at 5. We were still in transit at 5, and my sister hadn’t yet arrived to pick up my mom. But Dad had a table when we showed up, and Jill and I split the beer on a stick to pass the time (Rogue Hazelnut Nectar was the highlight). Everyone was there by 6, and we ordered and got food quickly. Jill and I both had soup to start, French onion for her and a lobster and shrimp bisque for her. For entrées, I had a chicken breast stuffed with Andouille sausage and jalapeño jack cheese, while she had Penne pasta and chicken with pesto, both pretty tasty.
We were in the area because Sharon wanted us to go to a concert that evening, so we headed out without a chance for Mom to even open her gifts. We had parked a distance away, and Sharon gave us a ride to the concert. The Solo Committee wasn’t bad, but it was getting late and we knew we had a tough drive coming back. It was nasty, but we got back by 10.