Love

Thanksgiving weekend was great-- four days off work at home in Tosa! But it was also kind of intense. Dinner with Ben's nuclear and visiting family Wednesday night, then Thanksgiving at his house with 20 people on Thursday, then Franksgiving with 28 people at my family's house on Friday, then cousin Michael's birthday party with my dad's family on Saturday. A lot of busy time with a lot of people! Also a lot of busy baking time; I made an apple pie, a cranberry apple pie, and a pumpkin pie, plus the crusts for two more pumpkin cheesecake pies that my mom made. The secret ingredient in my pumpkin crusts was ground up pecans. They were awesome. I was very pleased and proud. Also had a great time at home going for a walk with my family, riding my mom's bike around town in the unseasonably warm weather, playing cards with Emma and Bari, hanging out with Mike R'ng at Nessun Dorma, lunching with Katie at Comet and Alterra, and watching Bend It Like Beckham with Ben on the couch late at night.

The time spent with our extended families was really great for Ben and me. On Saturday night though we were both really grateful and happy to be snuggled up alone together just watching a movie. Ever since we went home, things have been extra good and I have to say it is just awesome to feel so happily in love with Ben again.

Back to the Metropolis, worked days and nights on Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday after work Ben and I went out for sushi at Itto and then picked up some cocktail supplies on our way home. We had drinks and I taught Ben how to play some songs on my guitar. I loved it. We had a great night.

Thursday everyone was nervous about the impending storm. Ben realized that he had a few sick days to use up before the end of December, so he decided to take off work on Friday, my day off. Thursday night we picked up some groceries so that we could make delicious meals on our snow day. We came home and watched some TV on the internet (Heroes is a good show) as the snow began to fall.

Then Friday was one of the best days ever.

We slept in late, listened gleefully to the radio reports of disastrous traffic and travel times all over the city. It was a winter wonderland outside and we had nowhere to go; we could stay in and be cozy all day. We stayed in bed as long as possible, until our stomachs finally got the best of us. We worked hard on a fantastic brunch: omelettes with smoked salmon and dill, hash browns, grapefruit, pomegranite seeds, blackberries, toast with honey, beermosas (Hoegaarden & OJ) and Alterra coffee. It was AWESOME! We cleaned up, hung around, rocked a crossword puzzle. Put on boots and went for a walk around the snowy neighborhood. Played some guitar. Played Spit and Egyptian Ratscrew. Re-taught ourselves to play cribbage. Dinnertime approached. Ben made a cream of roasted tomato soup and grilled cheese. Had a cribbage tournament. Cleaned up dinner dishes. Took a bath. Put on our PJs. Watched more episodes of Heroes. Fell asleep.

Thanksgiving had been a good vacation, but we needed a vacation from that busy vacation, and spending the whole day home on Friday with nothing to do was perfect. We had so much fun together. It was fantastic. And we're in love.

And then on Saturday we got to sleep in AGAIN! Ben made matzo brie for breakfast, and we ran some errands together before I had to go do a birthday party for the triplets I teach. They're in my Evanston class, and they live in the far north suburbs. I looked them up online, and found this image of their address. Right on the water. Set back from the road. Giant driveway with a roundabout in front. Twice as big as the houses next door. Ben dropped me off there, and as we got to the neighborhood we felt kind of like we were in Elm Grove near Milwaukee, covered in snow at Christmastime. Then as we got nearer to the water and were driving past all these huge houses on the water, it was more like Lake Drive in Whitefish Bay.... So we're going along, marveling at one house after the next, and then we see the Nicest Biggest Fanciest House of them all, and that's the one where I'm going to play guitar for a birthday party.

It was the nicest house I've ever been inside. It is the nicest house I will EVER get to see inside. Seriously. Holy. Crap. The garage is full of Lexuses, but I slam the door of the '93 Toyota Corolla and advance to the front door, guitar on my back and bag of shakers and doggy puppet in the other. The foyer smells richly of lilies, thanks to the tall bursting bouquet in the center of the room on the marble table, which I admire as my coat is taken and hung in a closet with coat-check tags on each hanger. I catch a glance of the living room with a huge picture window view of the private beach, graced overhead by an enormous crystal chandelier. Rennaisance paintings as tall as me in the stairway. Ornate detail everywhere. And this three year old in a red velvet dress is leading me up stairs and up stairs and up stairs and suddenly I think I have stepped onto the set of Peter Pan because I am in a huge, beautiful nursery. As big as my last studio apartment, side by side with itself. A giant beam across the room has swings hanging from it. A movie-sized television screen with kid-friendly images growing and dissapearing. Toys to climb on and play with. A high, sloping ceiling that made the room a dream acoustically. It was a dream in many ways. The room was a cream color, and in lovely warm pastels on every wall were paintings of children and storybook characters. They reminded me of Marcel Dzama's art in TMBG's book; check out the boy on the second page. Then imagine him lifesized, in more detail, hand painted with 90 of his friends all over the walls of a huge playroom. This family had five daughters, all under the age of 4: a three year old, the triplets, and a newborn. Four nannies.

Here's a little more I found about the house, from a tour to see if it could be considered for landmark status:

"Tour of Home Proposed for Landmark Preservation: The owner conducted a tour of his property that is being considered for Landmark status. He showed the Trustees the restored exterior, including the wrought iron railings and the metal and glass entry as well as the new family room addition. He pointed out that in order to achieve a seamless transition from the old house to the new addition, salvaged limestone had been used on the east facade. The owner explained that the gardens and walls have been restored as well, with new terraces incorporating limestone balustrades and blue stone pavements to match those already existing. He mentioned that while restoring the main, original terrace on the east of the house, a structurally unsound, secret room underneath the terrace had been discovered. The owner also showed the Trustees the interior restoration work in the first floor public spaces and the reconfigured living space over the garage."

You get the picture. It was FANCY. I felt self-conscious in my pink hoodie and worn sneakers but still fun; the party was just great. I love those girls, and the kids and grownups there were nice and fun and liked my performance. I stayed for a slice of (delicious) cake before heading out. The dad walked me to the door, had the woman at the door get my coat, and gave me a $50 tip. He asked where my car was parked. (Ben had dropped me off on his way to Milwaukee so I was getting home on public transportation.) Somehow I didn't have the gumption to tell this guy I was getting home on the bus, so I told him I was meeting up with someone in town, and headed on my way.

I'll end the tale with an interaction I heard between some grownups who were watching a 14-month-old scuttling along in one of those red and yellow Fisher Price cars.

"Aw, it's Junior's first Mercedes!" (hahahahah!)
Junior's mom answers proudly, "And it won't be his last!" (hahahhaha!)
The man quips, "It can't be his last! It's not a convertible!" (ah, hahahha!)