Happy New Year.

This weekend was super nice. I made Eric stand in line at the liquor store on Friday afternoon (sorry baby!) so that I could have a delectable white Russian while I cooked dinner after I got home from work. Friday was a bit hectic, what with the lunch-hour trip to get laden down with four huge bags of groceries, the NYE traffic going into the city, and cooking a two-course dinner for an already hungry man! First of all, one hour is not enough time to leave work, drive to the store, load up with groceries, and get back to work without feeling harried. But I did it. When I got home I cooked a fancy meal: to start, curried crab soup served with chilled white wine. To follow, snow peas, gorgonzola risotto, and mustard-crusted leg of lamb with shiraz. Eric drank porter. It was all very good but I cooked the lamb a little too long. Around 10:30 we popped open a cheap bottle of champagne that someone of his coworkers gave him, toasted, and went to bed. Well, Eric did – I played runescape for a little and then read. I turned off the lights shortly after the fireworks ended.

Saturday we got up early to a beautiful day, with no hangovers or anything. We waited around for my friend Jamie to call for our brunch plans, but he had to cancel so we walked downtown for a brief glance at the Mummers before heading to old city to eat at Eulogy and buy a copy of Catch-22 for my brother at the Book Trader. I like walks home after drinking two 9% ABV Belgian beers; everything is just perfectly surreal, but you’re not too drunk. We talked to my mom, who gabbed on the cell phone for pretty much the whole walk. Saturday night was also spent at home; I made soft pretzels (they are OK) and Eric worked on some work project that he’s going to a meeting in Paris for on Friday. It was cool to see someone get so in to his work, he was totally inspired. He started out reluctantly, worked until a block, then worked past that for hours. He’s so cool. I love him. I also got onto Runescape with my sister, who is the cutest little tough fighter-lady. She gave me all sorts of gold and weapons and armor, for she loveth me. Then I made soft pretzels, which turned out ok. They were really good, right out of the oven, but now they’re a bit chewy. I lazed on the couch, watching stupid movies like “The Air Up There” until Eric was done working, around 3 o’clock. Then, sleepytime.

Yesterday we slept late – until 9, heh – and had waffles for breakfast. E. suggested we call Ben and see what he’s up to. Ben is my old roommate, I lived with him out in the boonies of Coatesville. He still lives way out there, in the middle of nowhere, and is a bit of a hermit. He also goes into the throes of drug and alcohol dependency and we won’t hear from him for months on end. Amazingly, he answered the phone and invited us to come out and eat some food. But first, Eric POLISHED MY BOOTS. And that’s not a sexual innuendo: he really did polish two pairs of boots for me. I told you he was the coolest! I told you. You didn’t believe me. You. You internet.

We drove out to the WC to go to E’s bank, the book store to get a present for Ben’s birthday tomorrow, and food for him to make for us. We drove all the way out to Mortonsville, which is so small that there is no post office and all mail goes through Coatesville. I hadn’t been out there in a year and a half, ever since I had gone to pick up my things when I moved into Philly, and I was in the mood for a drive, so going through the rainy streets of the small town where I grew up was pleasantly nostalgic. We passed the Four Dogs Tavern and the Marshalton Inn, where I used to wait tables in a drunken fashion after I moved back from Italy. And we had a great visit with Ben – he seems happy and healthy, he has a cool roommate so he’s not living out there all alone, going crazy again.

We left around 6 o’clock and went to Victory to pick up a six pack of Moonglow and a growler of their new Resolution porter. Since they don’t sell the limited edition porter in growlers, we just had to sit and drink a few pints of it. At the end of my beer, my friend’s husband (who is one of those people I run into in all the random WC places) walked in, and I caught up with their family. One of my oldest friends, who I never speak to anymore, is his brother-in-law; seeing Sean reminded me how much I miss Joe. Ah well.

All in all it was a good weekend – lots of good eating and drinking and snuggling with my honey. Makes for a positive feeling for the first weekend of the new year. Cheers, 2005!