Ho-hum weather, a new restaurant and an experimental dinner

Today, the steady slow drizzle that so benefits our gardens was getting old. It was chilly and damp, though not really cold. I suspect we're in for a long spring of this, and I try to be grateful. But sometimes I long for sun. And about 5:00 tonight I got my wish--the sun was shiny bright, even though everything was still soggy and wet and the schoolyard across the street was filled with puddles.
Still the day was brightened by lunch with my friend Carol. We tried out a new restaurant, Cat City Grill (so named because of Fort Worth's old reputation as Panther City--too long a story to repeat here), and enjoyed it. I passed on the hamburger, though she said hers was really good, and had a spinach salad with gorgonzola, dried cranberries, and bacon. There was much more spinach than the latter goodies and the dressing was a tad sweet, but I still ate every bite. They have wonderful appetizers, like fried lobster bites--what a temptation!
Carol and I share a lot of professional interests, especially the history of Fort Worth, and she is reading a manuscript for me now. But we're also longtime friends, and she said a most interesting (and flattering) thing to me. When I was telling her about my renewed difficulty with open spaces, she said, "For me, it just makes you human." She said that she admired what I'd done and accomplished in my life but was glad to know I had a very human weakness. I laughed, demurred, but said, "Can I lean on you?" and she gave me a big hug and said, "Anytime." Aren't friends great?
Tonight I had an experimental dinner. I've really been trying to eat up the food in my freezer, and I came across a small portion of ground veal, left from I know not what. I sauteed it with some garlic, breaking up the pieces as I went, and then threw in sliced mushrooms, asparagus pieces, and sugar snap peas. When it was all almost crisp-done I seasoned it with salt, pepper, a bit of thyme, lemon, and a splash of white wine. Then I ate it out of the small skillet I'd cooked it in (oh, what would my mother say!). But it was so good. I may have to buy more veal! And I have very few dishes to wash.