How can the weekend be so full and so short at the same time? :)

This past weekend I got the pleasure of hanging out with two different sets of people; each day was a blast but MAN does the weekend ever go fast!

Friday I finished up a wicked-crazy work week by hanging out with my friend Julia at her house in celebration of her birthday. Okay, so it wasn’t our first birthday celebration for her last week – Wednesday included a happy hour at The Paradise (with Curtis, Shannon, James and Ted) as well. But, as Julia mentioned: at our age, you never know how many birthdays you’ll have left: better celebrate the birthweek. To which Curtis corrected: birthmonth. I like this group.
Me and Julia just chillin’ on her back porch:

A bit reason for hanging out on Friday was because I couldn’t make her birthday party on Saturday due to prior plans. These prior plans were of the Thursday night dinner party, er, moved to Saturday on this one occasion. Friends Sue and Neil were hosting at their cabin up at Lake Hartwell (think: Georgia/South Carolina border) so the whole gang headed up I-85 early Saturday afternoon.A trip up I-85 always needs to involve a stop at the Commerce exit outlet malls, of course; if for no other reason than to sample all the sauces and stuff at the kitchen store place. I think it’s called Le Gourmet Chef or something like that: I just call it the kitchen store. A person can eat lunch just taking in all the samples at the kitchen store.

We probably should have. But, no: we stopped at the Applebee’s right down the way for lunch first. Which really wouldn’t have been bad except for a few things: ONE: It was flippin’ cold in there. I don’t know why I forget that, but places like Applebee’s and similar chains are always frickin’ freezing. It was nearly 85 degrees outside, but had to be not even 60 inside. Unfortunately, I didn’t bring long pants and a sweater to change into just because I was going to stop to eat, so I froze my toesies off until I decided there was no recourse but to have a cup of coffee along with my steak lunch. Bless ‘em, though: they didn’t charge me for it. Nor, I realized later, for my Diet Coke. That being said, problem TWO: our waitress. 17-year-old chatty Cathy who spent her time talking to the middle-aged men at the bar (instead of getting me my coffee; actually had to ask another waitress for that) and “yes ma’aming” and “yes sirring” us half to death. Now, I love the sir and ma’am courtesy; it wasn’t that. But when she started calling Phil “ma’am” it seemed just a bit over the top. (He wasn’t even dressed in drag that day).

THREE: My steak was mediocre and the asparagus that was to be the side ended up being broccoli. Yeah, I know you don’t go to Applebee’s for steak…but seriously? It looked and tasted like pork. That’s just a bit odd (and why I left half of it). Since I hadn’t been charged for any beverage, I let it all go. That and did I mention I was freezing? So I just wanted out of there.

After a brief stop at the outlet mall (Bath & Body Works has got some great new scents for spring, ladies! Including banana stuff that smells good enough to eat. I don’t know why I want to smell like fruit, but apparently I do because in addition to the banana stuff, I got peach and melon) we continued up to Neil’s, calling cows, killing cows, stopping for snacks (yeah, after eating a big meal and sampling all the sauces – go figure!) and the usual road-trip activities.
And then we arrived and Paulie’s Trader Joe wine came out (all 5 bottles!). Dinner was made – GOOD steak, nay, FABULOUS! this time, as well as pork and chicken and salad and carrots and “white carrots” and more wine and crusty garlic bread and dessert of chocolate ice cream and berries and liqueur and, well, it goes on and on. There were all sorts of intentions to play various board games, but The Spinning UNO of Death became the one of the evening….and after only a few rounds (and the biggest rum and Coke ever), your author had to call it a night. I slept through a lot after that, I found out later; but it was all good. It was a wonderful day with wonderful friends AND I felt great enough the next day to still get out for some exercise and do some chores. Win win win win win!

Photos: the sunset over the lake, Sue and Phil enjoying a glass of wine on the porch, playing games at the table, spinning UNO

Of course, now it’s Monday and it’s back to work. So I shall do that and start the countdown to the next fin de semana….may it be even half as nice as this one!