Meeting An Old Friend

Today I had lunch with fellow blogger Nance and her husband. Up until today, Nance and I had pursued our friendship via a joint blog post, emails, comments on each other's blog posts and membership in two blog coops--Swash Zone and Hen's Teeth. Come to think of it, I actually think that I have communicated more with Nance than with some people whom I see every day.

We met in Chapel Hill, a town that I lived in for 25 years. I currently live about 35 miles away in Raleigh. I suggested that we have lunch at a popular Chapel Hill Restaurant, Breadman's--not my best idea. Breadman's is a fixture in Chapel Hill; it was in existence when I came to town in 1973. It has a large menu but it seems that they don't serve all of the menu all the time. For some reason, there is nothing on their menu to indicate that certain items are not available except a few asterisks next to a list of vegetables. Neither Nance, nor I, nor her better half read asteriks (clearly a dead language) so when we innocently attempted to get cornbread and fried chicken we were told, "Sorry, but we don't serve either for lunch on the weekend but it's available after 5:00 o'clock." As you may have noted, neither cornbread nor fried chicken is a vegetable so we didn't even have the benefit of an asterisk to clue us in as to the unavailbility of these items. Nonetherless, we were able to find some tasty items on the menu that were being served for lunch.

There was so much conversation that I can no longer recall all the particulars of what we discussed, just that it was lively, and entertaining, and a totally delightful 2+ hours. I did share my fascination with the television show 24, a violent spy drama starring Kiefer Sutherland; however, I thought it best to save discussion of my other favorite shows for our next visit: Criminal Minds (about the FBI Behavorial Analysis Unit that profiles serial killers), and Dexter (about a serial killer who works for a police department but he only kills people who deserve it). Did I mention that I'm a pacifist; I just like to watch make-believe violence.

Just in case you're curious, Nance is a beautiful woman; her outside reflects her inner beauty. She is as interesting to chat with as her post are interesting to read. Her husband is also a charming conversationlist. I can't recall if Nance refers to him in her blog as DT, DH, or DJ. With my bad memory, the answer is probably none of the above.

 P.S. Nance took pictures; I forgot my camera!

I'm Home!

Hello y'all. I got back from California last evening around 7:00 p.m. and I'm still adjusting to the time change. I had a fabulous time with my friend Sarah and her husband John (a delightful man). I also had a marvelous time with my blogami, Marc. It was a pleasure to meet him in person. He joined us for a small gathering on New Year's Eve at friends of Sarah and John. where he charmed everyone. (Photo features Marc, Sarah, Gloria, our hostess, Sally, and Patty).

However, the most fun day began with Sarah, Marc and I going to lunch at The Ivy, a very ritzy restaurant where stars are known to dine. (Photo of Marc looking cool at The Ivy.) The food was actually very good. I had fish and chips, Ivy style, which included shrimp, cod fish, scallops, and calamari, plus french fries and a delicious red cabbage coleslaw. My gal pal Sarah had a salad with a host of greens and chunks of turkey, and Marc had Carne Asada, a Mexican dish consisting of a marinated and grilled steak, sliced thin and served on tortillas. Portions were huge but we managed to find room to share a desert, a nice wedge of key lime pie.

(Photo of Sarah looking cool at The Ivy.)

As for the stars, well, the only one that I could identify was Suzanne Somers. She had a gray sweatshirt with a hood which she pulled up over her head. However, she kept adjusting the hood and I suspect that she may have wanted to be noticed. Can't say that I blame her, once you have tasted the thrill of paparazzi chasing you and documenting your every move, it must be hard to go back to being one of the regular folks. Of course I wouldn't know about that; however, if my friend Sarah would have allowed me to hang out at Isaiah Washington's house (former star on Grey's Anatomy who currently resides in Sarah's neighborhood) like I wanted, I could have made the news. The media always covers stalkers of the rich and famous.

After lunch we were off to CBS studios to watch the taping of the Craig Ferguson show. I highly recommend that if you plan to visit the LA area and want something fun and cost free to do, sign up for tickets to one of the many television shows that film in the area. Ferguson's show comes on late night but the taping was at 3:30 p.m. The warm up guy was hilarious, telling a number of blue jokes that were wickedly funny. Ferguson is a witty and charming host and the entire experience was loads of fun. We were not on camera but that's okay; I'll have to get my 15 minutes of fame some other time.

In case you are wondering, yes, Marc is as delightful a conversationalist as he is a writer. Witty, slightly naughty, and always authentic. He is also very thoughtful and surprised me with a gift of some of his Hy-Art images, matted and framed. He also provided our hostess for the New Year's Eve gathering with a lovely decoupaged vase which I neglected to get a photo of!

He also provided me with a sign for my yard or perhaps my office.

I have a few more photos and additional vacation adventures but I'm pooped and must sleep.

BTW, I've missed reading your blogs and plan to catch up on all that I've missed!

Happy Birthday Marc!

Today is a special day for my dear friend Marc Olmsted; it's his birthday! He gets to celebrate, have his wishes granted, and most importantly, he now qualifies for membership in AARP. This is very important because with his AARP membership card he can get discounts on hotels, airfares, and milkshakes at participating restaurants. He also now gets to say and do outrageous things because he can blame any faux pas on being 50. I know this from personal experience. Please drop by his blog and wish him a happy birthday!

I wanted a birthday song for Marc, so I went to YouTube. I came across a song that sums up the one lesson that I've learned in life, that friends are there for you and the greatest treasure that anyone can have. Thanks for being my blogami, my dear Marc.



You've Got A Friend
written by Carol King
performed by James Taylor

When you're down and troubled
and you need a helping hand,
and nothing, whoa nothing is going right.
Close your eyes and think of me
and soon I will be there
to brighten up even your darkest nights.

You just call out my name,
and you know wherever I am
I'll come running, oh yeah baby
to see you again.
Winter, spring, summer, or fall,
all you got to do is call
and I'll be there, yeah, yeah, yeah.
You've got a friend.

If the sky above you
should turn dark and full of clouds
and that old north wind should begin to blow
Keep your head together and call my name out loud now
and soon I'll be knocking upon your door.
You just call out my name and you know where ever I am
I'll come running to see you again.
Winter, spring, summer or fall
all you got to do is call
and I'll be there, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Hey, ain't it good to know that you've got a friend?
People can be so cold.
They'll hurt you and desert you.
Well they'll take your soul if you let them.
Oh yeah, but don't you let them.

You just call out my name and you know wherever I am
I'll come running to see you again.
Oh babe, don't you know that,
Winter spring summer or fall,
Hey now, all you've got to do is call.
Lord, I'll be there, yes I will.
You've got a friend.
You've got a friend.
Ain't it good to know you've got a friend.
Ain't it good to know you've got a friend.
You've got a friend.