A mother/daughter evening

The Hapkido Kid

Jacob is taking Hapkido, a branch of the martial arts, and here shows off his brand new uniform. He said to me, "I know a lot more moves than you do." A safe bet--I don't know any. I countered with "I know more yoga than you," and he said, "Yeah, but I can still beat you up, but I would never do that." Such a sweet boy. He was waiting for his dad to pick him up, so his mom and I could have a girls' evening.
Having blogged about best friends last night and how my daughters are probably my best friends, it's only appropriate to report on our girls' evening. Jordan and I enjoyed a long delayed dinner at Winslow's Wine Cafe tonight. To top it off, she had a $40 gift certificate which helped the bill considerably. We had crab cakes, salad (split one order of both) and two glasses of wine each. Really good food. The wine loosened our tongues, and we had real heart-to-heart talk. No one in the immediate family needs to worry--what we said about everyone was all good. Others might worry, however--just kidding. But it was nice to share confidences and concerns without having to worry about who else was in the room. We made some decisions, like what snacks I'll feed Jacob after school--he'd gotten in the habit of helping himself to too many granola bars. Sure they're healthy, but they're not sugar free. But the best part was to feel that we are on the same page, we can share confidences, and we're friends beyond our mother/daughter relationship. We laughed about all the ills she says I gave her--anxiety, tummy troubles, etc., all things that might be passed on genetically but, hey! She's adopted.
My conclusion at the end of a lovely evening? There's nothing like a daughter. She undertands how I think, shares my joys and concerns and shares hers with me, gently chastises me when I must be better behaved and let go of some anger--or save it to vent to her alone.
Now I'm going to start lobbying for my older daughter, Megan, to come for a weekend so the three of us can have some shared time--down and dirty, full of love and happiness.
I am so blessed.

The puppy chronicles continue

 Jacob in the doghouse.

Sophie in a quiet moment--don't be misled!

This week I applied the word "fractious" to Sophie. I think the cold weather makes her frisky, but she's ended up spending way too much time inside to work off her energy and probably too much of it in her crate, especially yeserday when the plumber was installing a new hot water heater. But it began the night before--I came home late from a book club meeting, tried to take her out, and she balked, didn't want to go. So I thought she didn't need to go and left her in the study, while I brushed my teeth and got ready for bed. She peed and pooped. Next morning, I put her out for a good bit, she came in and peed and pooped.  She was out of control when one of the men went out to wrap the outdoor faucet in the back yard and he, usually a gentle soul, lost patience with her. In the afternoon I knew I was going out for supper, so I fed both dogs early--Scooby outside and Sophie in the study, our usual pattern. Instead of eating her supper, she ate a basket I had put on the floor. I thought with company coming this weekend it would be neat to collect all her toys in the basket. Yes, she'd scatter them but I could just throw them back in half a second. I scolded, put her out and cleaned up the mess. When I came home I put her out and she tore all the rags off the faucet that Jim had carefully wrapped in the morning. I put her in the study and cleaned up the rags. Fed her (she hadn't eaten earlier) and thought I had her settled when I looked down and she was chewing a book--one that I'd written, no less. Scolded, re-shelved the book, and she got a picture of one set of my grandchildren down.  She's spirited, delightful, and sweet--but I sure will be glad when she grows up. She's seven months now. Today she seems much better and now is playing contentedly with her toys--I know by saying that I'll jinx it.
Christmas dinners with two different sets of friends the last two nights--I'm feeling like an overfed social butterfly. Last night Kathie, Carol and I went to Winslow's, where Carol and I had roasted chicken with sage gravy, scalloped potatoes with gruyere, and a mix of spinach, asparagus and cherry tomatoes. Absolutely wonderful Tonight Betty, Jeannie and I went to Lightcatcher Winery and Bistro in Lakeside, about 30 minutes from here.It's a working winery and we dined surrounded by oak barrels with other winery equipment all around. They have an excellent chef--we began with lobster ravioli with a rich, creamy wine sauce; each of us ordered Celtic Lamb Shepherd's Pie, which was wonderful, and we shared a chocolate tart with red wine/raspberry sorbet and red wine ganache. All delicious. Lightcatcher serves only their own wines, and we ordered a bottle of chardonnay but uniformly agreed it was too sweet. Still, we soldiered on and drank it--well, most of it. The gift shop is intrigiuing, with many items related to wine, some not, and of course the ubiquitous T-shirt.
I spent two mornings doing grocery shopping and guess where I'm going tomorrow--the grocery. Forgot the extra cup of sharp cheese I need and parsley to put around a cheese ring. It's that time of year!