Orlandeattle Christmas – Day 16
So begins the last official day of my long Christmas vacation. (I don’t return to work until Tuesday, but since tomorrow will be spent almost entirely on a plane, I’m not counting that as “vacation.”) A quick recap of days 10–15:
Monday and Tuesday morning were spent at Washington University Medical Center as Heather finished up her last round of kidney tests. All signs point to her being able to donate, and her surgery date will most likely be late February or early March, so we’ll be back in Seattle very soon. A consult with the doctor revealed that her recovery time will be very short, probably no more than two weeks. So that’s good news. Tuesday night, we had dinner with our friend Meredith at a lovely little French café where I had my first croque madame. Then, trivia at some Seattle bar whose name escapes me. We had to leave early to drive Meredith and her girlfriend to the airport, but our team apparently won.
Wednesday we mostly hung around the house as Heather fought off a head cold. She and Naomi watched a short marathon of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” on the Fox Reality Channel before Doug and I cried havoc and let slip the dogs of “Modern Warfare 2.” I’m a cosmopolitan, liberal, big city guy, but there’s a limit to how much drag-queen-based entertainment I can tolerate. Wednesday night we did more trivia at Ozzie’s in downtown Seattle. Heather’s brother was the host. Our team took 4th place. Our favorite question: Name the four elements on the periodic table that have single-syllable names.
On Thursday, we had a delicious brunch at a place called Portage Bay Café where I ate some of the best French toast I have ever had. We went with Heather’s friends Betsy, Todd, and their baby Seth (who spent most of the time making a grand mess, as babies do). The rest of the day was spent preparing for the Thompsons’ big New Years Eve party. We cleaned and made mass quantities of Pennsylvania pepper pot soup. Thursday night was a night of scotch, Beatles Rock Band, scotch, Rock Band 2, billiards, more scotch, and some more Rock Band 2. Most of the party was freaked out by how well I sang “Run to the Hills” by Iron Maiden.
Friday, we got up relatively early and enjoyed a big breakfast of French toast, bacon, and eggs fried in bacon grease. Then, we headed to Papa’s house again to make Merry Mix (think Chex Mix only way better) and Puerto Rican tamales from scratch. In between, we watched “Love Actually” (a widely overlooked Christmas movie, in my opinion). The tamales were, of course, phenomenal. I love that I am marrying into a family of master chefs.
Yesterday, we mostly sat around the house and battled our colds after sleeping in way too late. We mailed some of our presents back to New York and got pizza from Papa Murphy’s. I’d never had “take and bake” pizza before. Verdict: delicious.
Right now, I am writing as I wait for Heather to wake up. Later we are going to see a “Sherlock Holmes” matinée with friends, then dinner at Red Robin. Hopefully, my congestion will clear enough that I will be able to enjoy both.
I always hate to leave Seattle, but I look forward to being at home. I miss my bed, and I miss our cats who are probably freezing to death in the 19º weather. Here’s hoping that they haven’t completely shredded our couch for kindling.
Happy 2010!
