first, i do keep thinking about getting a new whysper up, i just usually end up without the time or without anything to say or both. life is generally the same old, same old right now: saxy's in culinary school and working and not home all that much, all the younger kids are in school except the grand baby and not much of anything has really changed for them (grades and all), two older girls are working (with kitten also going to school) or not around for other reasons. the only change recently is that the ferret now has a new home with some friends that have 3 other ferrets and the time to take care of her. i'm still home all the time, stressing over finances and writing. a reprint of mine is up in the spring edition of golden visions and i've signed the contract and checked the edits on a short that took me 9 years to sell. now i'm just waiting for the anthology to come out so i can announce it. still working on losing weight, still slow going, and easter doesn't help much. so, not really a whole lot going on to chatter about these days. and that tends to keep me from posting new entries. i mean, really, who wants more whining? i'm tired of doing it, and i'm pretty sure all 2 of my readers are tired of hearing it.
besides, despite the financial strain we're still trying to get through, things aren't so bad right now.
but things were really bad for quite awhile, and during that time, we did have a couple friends who helped us out. some in small ways (a neighbor saw saxy was busy busy and took care of our lawn for us for awhile), some in financial ways (a few sent us funds or food or gift cards), and one couple in big ways (under the table work, letting us borrow a car, giving us food for the ferret, taking saxy to interviews in the worst snow storm in 10 years, and so on). this couple basically took us on when survival was becoming a shaky prospect, and they did everything they could to help and then some. things are still on shaky ground in a lot of ways, but we decided we needed to take them out in appreciation for everything they've done for us. this weekend is the last weekend of lobsterfest and possibly the last weekend for a bit where saxy's paycheck is halfway decent, so we took them out friday night.
like us, they don't go out too often. unlike us, it's not because of kids and finances. regardless of the reasons, though, for both of us, this was something different: a night out with some friends. saxy and i used to go out every other week when he was working in cali, but even then, we never had another couple to go out with, so this was a new thing for the both of us. saxy gave them the choice of any of the restaurants where he gets 25% off: red lobster, bahama breeze, olive garden, longhorn, seasons 52, and the capital grille. they chose red lobster, which is no surprise. j.e. likes lobster. they buy it a lot. lol
we really enjoyed it. we met about 6:30 and i think we left pretty close to 9. we talked about a lot more than i thought we would—j.e.'s business (going well), my brother (briefly), work, life, you know, the good stuff that doesn't cause arguments (so we avoided politics and religion, lol). they decided to pay for the drinks (which i suspect came pretty close to what we paid on the final bill without the gratuity but including saxy's discount). and we just talked and laughed and had a really good time. then they said, "we need to do this again some time, and we'll pay for it." saxy and i looked at each other and tried to get across that this was in appreciation for everything they'd done for us to help us just get through when things were at their worst, and the brushed it off. they said they appreciated the fact that saxy watches the house and the ferrets when they're out of town, and that we help them out as much as they helped us. um, i don't see it, but okay. and really, i'm not inclined to protest too much going out again and having someone else cover the bill. although, we might have to help pay for the drinks like they did, and, really, that's kind of scary. lol
and they are the couple who agreed to take the ferret—they picked her up the next day. ;)
anyway, we're already talking about making plans for downtown atlanta's restaurant week. we have to decide on which day to go as a group (and i'm hoping to convince hubs that he and i should go to one place just as a couple) and which restaurant to go to. this is a bit of a new experience for me. i've never had another couple to occasionally make plans with. if things go well, maybe next year we can catch some of the other local restaurant weeks that happen earlier in the year (we just missed buckhead's and another one, but midtown's is in august or september) and maybe the food and wine festivals. we'll have to see.
yea, kinda looking forward to this. and i can see us, if things settle down and i can make the house look better and get a new dining room table, inviting them over to try some of saxy's dishes for his restaurant. it's been a long time since i've had local friends i can see on any kind of regular basis. add some good food from places that we can't usually afford, and it looks like a lot of fun. yea, definitely looking forward to it.
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word of the moment: argosy
a large ship; especially : a large merchant ship; a fleet of ships; a rich supply
