This weekend was, in a word, perfection. I consumed massive amounts of peppermint tea, spent countless hours curled up on the couch with the TV remote, and passed the nights enjoying the company of good friends. On Friday night, we headed around the corner to play a little Rock Band with the neighbors – Shane and Justin formed a ‘band’ a couple of weeks ago named ‘Blood Stream’ (yeah, you read that right), and felt like it was time for a reunion tour. They rocked out to the Go-Gos and Alice in Chains, while Lindsey and I giggled at their booty-shaking rock-star moves. So much fun to watch two thirty-year-old guys revert to teen-hood together. We made it home just in time to watch Conan’s last show (when I say ‘watch’ the show, I mean Shane watched it while I fell asleep on the couch).
Saturday was wonderfully lazy – I stayed in my pajamas until 6 pm, spending most of the day watching old episodes of Lost, knitting, and finishing our 2010 calendar. I peeled myself off the couch late in the day to head over to Jason and Nancy’s for our very first crab-cooking extravaganza. Jason had ransacked the Asian market earlier in the day and picked up a two and a half-pound live crab that they were looking to share. Shane and I felt it would be a travesty to turn down an offer of fresh seafood during our frugal month, so I grabbed my crab mallet and a bottle of white wine, and we were off. There’s something a little un-nerving about throwing a living, moving thing into a pot of boiling water, and we all laughed a little nervously as we watched Jason squeamishly transition the crab from the fridge to the pot, but he managed to cook it to perfection, and we feasted on a delicious crab salad, followed by a hearty Udon noodle soup.
Today was another mellow day, with church in the morning, naps and football in the afternoon, and a potluck dinner with friends this evening. Shane and I have found several people here that seem to enjoy eating, chatting, and laughing all in equal measure, and we have come to love the three-hour meals that often occur as a result. My belly is full of potato croquettes and carrot cake, and I am ready to end the day with one last cup of tea. I feel so blessed by a weekend full of solid rest, good food, and truly amazing friendships.