Boiler up the blasphemy

We drove up to Lafayette last weekend to take Alison out to dinner. We thought she'd want go to Red Lobster and get her crab on but she was thinking sushi instead.

I should have gotten the name of the place we went to. It was really good and we had a little booth that was set apart from the tables and separated by glass beads.

It was perfect -- a lot of room and quiet enough that we could listen to Ali expound on her antics in the month or so since we'd seen her.  The food quality was second only to the company.

Ali was telling us about a group chemistry project she'd been involved with. It was a success, and a lot of fun for her because "they let me decide everything." Classes are going well, as is her social life. She's hitting the Co-Rec more regularly lately as she tries to out-swim the Freshman 15.

"It's getting kind of painful," she confessed, describing the return of her abdominal pooch and its effect on how her pants fit.

We'd surprised her with a little Valentine's gift bag that included some chocolate, some Ramen and a surprise from Aunt Margaret, who is super crafty. She'd been to a pottery place that has added an option to paint and stencil wood. She decided it would look good in our wine room, but Ali decided it would look better in her dorm room.

Jeff and I have been working a lot but we're about to go off for the weekend to celebrate 21 years of wedded bliss. We're sharing the weekend with Eric and Tracy, who have 30+ years together.

It's kind of fun that we're going to Nashville, TN, when only I am a country music fan. Eric is flying from there to Costa Rica to surf, so it makes sense that we go there. I'm going to have a great time. I don't know about the rest of them.

The Captain has already found a few craft beer options, so unless Stormageddon strikes, it should be a fun weekend. In the meantime, we're trying to finish up the perishables in the fridge and fruit bowl. In doing so, I committed a cardinal sin at dinner tonight.


Ali and I are purists when it comes to sausage, pepper and onions. It's a stir fry, essentially, with turkey smokes sausage, red, orange and sometimes green peppers and onions. A little soy sauce and that's it. Paired with mashed potatoes, it's simple enough that even I can't screw it up. Jeff occasionally would suggest we should add different kinds of vegetables, but Ali usually talked him out of it.

She's not here to protect the sanctity of the sausage and peppers, though, and I had veggies to get rid of. So tonight, I threw in the small bit of broccoli and jalapeno that were in the vegetable crisper, along with some corn. It was good, but I know Alison would have flipped her lid like the time I sneaked turkey burger into Grammie's chili. I'm lucky I didn't have to sleep in the garage that night.

I sent her a picture. Her response: