Chez Nous

I don't know what it was about this morning, but I got up and I just worked. I cleaned up the kitchen, tackled the bathroom, hard, and then threw in a couple of loads of laundry.  Okay, the paper was uncharacteristically late this morning, so I didn't have that distraction. When it still hadn't arrived by 6:30 -- it's usually here by 5:00-something -- I decided to go all the way and packed up Banks.  We walked the old 1.7 route that we haven't done in a while, I took him home, tretraced my steps to get to 3.4, then went to St. Ed's and finished the majority of the walk around the soccer field. 

I'm sick to death of my summer clothes -- which stay in heavy rotation for six months in Texas -- and went shopping.  I am very, very pleased to announce that I now fit comfortably into a size 10 pair of jeans. I didn't find a pair that I liked enough to buy, but I wanted that size 10 validation.  But here's the best part!  At a fancy resale shop in Westlake Hills, I found a fabulous pair of Prada flats.  Oh, I love them.  Thirty-five dollars for a pair of Pradas! 

Although my birthday is not for another week or so, my GNO group took me to dinner tonight for the celebration.  I couldn’t figure out where I wanted to go, but Brian had the brilliant idea to celebrate my recently discovered French side, so we went to Chez Nous, a "casual French bistro" downtown.  Every single thing on our table was exquisite.  The carrot soup, the escargots, the salmon mousse, the lamb chops, steaks, filet, two bottles of excellent wine and, good Lord, the bread.  We were there for well over two hours, as were all of the other diners.  The perfectly prepared courses were timed to encourage the savoring of every dish, as well as relaxed and unhurried conversation. But it was not sedate; it was animated and even raucous, and gave me another chance to realize how incredibly lucky I am to have these three women in my life.  Cindy, Janette and Brian -- I love you all, don't know what I'd do without your frienship and support, and thank you again for adopting me into the group when I arrived in Austin 17 years ago.