Friday was pretty crappy weather. I had a potluck lunch at work that I brought the lazy solution to: a cheese/cracker/hummus tray I created after stopping by Bloom on the way in. We were planning on seeing Girlyman at Jammin’ Java, but when I called to confirm the show was still on, they let me know it was sold out. Funny, I remember seeing them at Iota when about 15 people showed up. Oh well, we’ll know how big they are in the area in the future (Sorry, Meg). To be honest, I wasn’t too upset at not going becasue a) I was wiped from the previous night and b) the roads were crappy. I also had to clear my car of snow without gloves ’cause I forgot them. When I got home I wanted to use up the way salty turkey loin, so I steamed asparagus and made a tasty cheese sauce to go with it. Jill went to bed soon after and I stayed up a bit reading and surfing.
Saturday I was up somewhat early, took Illa for a long walk in the snow. I knew we had a lot of cleaning to tackle because we were hosting St. Patrick’s Day dinner, so I went and tackled the big bad: our bathroom. It had been lightly cleaned, but it needed a top to bottom clean, so I did that for an hour and a half. After I was done, I showered and stretched and made an egg sandwich, almost timing it perfectly for to Jill to return with the milk. We cleaned for most of the afternoon, then I started cooking. I’d looked up a new cabbage recipe the night before and knew it would take a while to cook, so I did that (substituting honey for the preserves), then started cooking the corned beef. I’d suggested to Jill having baked rather than boiled potatoes, but she wanted to go old school, so I had her do that (I also hate peeling). I tried to make green onions based on my understanding of this article by adding red wine to red onions, but I guess I didn’t figure it out since they stayed red. My mom and dad showed up at 6, and Illa was very excited – he knows he’s getting belly rubs from them. Always frugal, I popped out the cheese/cracker/hummus tray from the day before as an appetizer, then got dinner out. The cabbage went over very well (I think it was the apple) – Dad even wanted leftovers! We watched video and pictures of Mom’s trip to Prague last fall with the Reston Chorale while we waited for the food to settle. For dessert, Mom made her classic chocolate cake with the awesome frosting – I overindulged a little.
I had some reminders of my mortality that night. Dad stayed after a little as he was dropping off a draft of his will. Nothing like that to make me feel like I was getting older, but then we cleaned up and started watching this week’s 24 while enjoying some Jameson’s. Newly cast on the show: Ricky Schroeder. And he’s going gray! That really made me feel old. We also watched House for the first time because Dave Matthews played the patient, but probably won’t be watching, partly because I thought both the A and B plots were week, and partly because Jill kept yelling at the screen (apparently the show’s not very realistic).
Sunday we both slept in. I got up at 11 and walked Illa, then made some eggs benedict. Jill ran errands while I read the paper and prepped some new eBay auctions. I watched some TV as the DVR is reaching critical mass (haven’t caught up from the backlog over spring break) and made dinner: pastrami, asparagus and hollandaise wraps. Still need to finish today’s paper, and maybe watch some more TV before bed.