Rounds Two & Three: Success, Success!

Hey, Bloggy Friends.

I'm writing to you today from hangover central. All aboard!

The remainder of the weekend with Alan's parents sailed by smoothly. We definitely broke new ground, and are entering a new era where we can all be happy, harmonious and free.

Yesterday afternoon we brought them out to Manayunk to see our place and to meet Mary Todd, Abigail and Galileo. The two of them fell in love with Galileo after he showered them both with wet, puppy kisses! Later, we went to Main Street to have a light brunch at a restaurant called Derek's. I had a pear and gorgonzola salad with organic strawberries. It was perfectly delicious. We all enjoyed ourselves, still had a ton to talk about and went about our merry way. They went back downtown to freshen up for the evening festivities, while Alan and I hung around the house taking care of Sunday chores. The landlord stopped by to show our apartment, and expressed his pleasure in how well we have maintained the place over the year. That made us both feel nice.

Around five we headed downtown to meet up again at Jude and Lou's. As always, they went out of their way to make us feel so comfortable. We enjoyed an impressive spread of appetizers and an array of refreshing beverages as we chatted each other up before dinner. Lou provided the entertainment. Besides being a constant jokester, he had female jazz artists like Sarah Vaughan and Helen Merrill playing smoothly over the sound system. What, may I ask, can set a mood of ease better than that? Not much. Well, unless of course you count the aroma of the slow cooking pot roast wafting through the air above us!

It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of the magic Jude works in the kitchen. She is one of those rare people who can take the joy of eating to a whole new level. So, needless to day, dinner was fantastic. We began with a first course of pasta and pesto. It was warm, smooth and delicious. Pesto is one of my favorite flavors in the world. Next she brought out the pot roast that had been teasing us all night long. Most of you know, I'm not a big meat eater, but after eating this I just may rethink my decision. It was so tender and juicy. It was infused with some flavor that made my toes curl up (in that good, I'm so happy way) every time I took a bite. Yum. As a side we had beets, that I assume were local and farm fresh, and a wonderful tossed green salad. And to top all of this off, we were served a red wine that complimented the flavors to perfection. Halleluiah!

For dessert we celebrated Alan's mother's birthday with a cake. It was freshly made from a local bakery. It was really good, but to be honest this was the moment of the evening when I started to realize I drank too much. I had two bourbon's on ice and probably two glasses of wine at dinner. The room started spinning a little, but it wasn't long before we were heading out the door. Thank you so much, Jude and Lou, for another extraordinary evening. I really appreciate all you did to make us feel at ease. You're awesome.

So, this brings us to the end of my weekend. Everything went very well with Alan's parents. Through each gathering I think we became closer and closer. I know their effort meant so much to Alan and it meant a lot to me as well. I'm already looking forward to having them back again!

I have to run now, though. I need to hop on the train for school in about 9 minutes. Thank you all again for the support you gave us over the weekend. I shared your thoughts with Alan and he found it as touching as I did. I am so blessed to have you.

Have a great day. I'll talk to you soon!

Love, Josh