Old Friends

My lovely friend Bev is visiting us this weekend from Italy. Her Christmas gift from her love was a ticket home for four weeks. How sweet is that! He gave us all a gift of her presence. It has been a year since she was on California soil and we have missed her.

She was unfortunate to be refreshed as to what commuter traffic is like by driving through San Jose at rush hour. Sigh. Five mph is just not any fun especially when you can't even chat on your phone. It was especially hard on Bev as she was stuck in the family truckster, a vintage station wagon with wood panelling. Definitely a blast from the past. Reminded me of the cute little Vega that we owned when I was about 15. My parents had to buy it as the engine blew while we were in Modesto on yet another shopping trip. The Vega was white with wood paneling. My poor stepmother had to learn how to drive stick shift over the weekend as she had to commute to Modesto to her teaching job. Dad was so frustrated at trying to teach her to drive stick. He just couldn't understand how her feet could fly over the pedals of an organ but she just couldn't get one or two pedals just right in a car. Poor woman. To add insult to injury, she had to take that car to San Francisco for summer school!! She was far braver than I would have been.

Back to Bev, I opened a fantastic bottle of 2004 Edizione Pennino Zinfandel that I have been saving. What a rich full bodied wine. Pure nectar. Not that I know much about wine but it was even rated high by those in the know. By the time we had finished indulging in a glass each, my darling husband had joined us and we headed out to downtown Martinez for some Thai food at the Lemongrass Bistro. This was my second trip to this lovely restaurant. I was surprised at how many people there were in what was suppose to be dead Martinez. I thought the sidewalks were rolled up at sundown or when the courts closed. Pleasantly wrong.

We were quickly seated by a young waitress with a very short hairdo. We ordered a pot of Ginger Peach tea which hit the spot on our chilly evening. Even Pat had a cup. It was hard to choose from the menu as there were a number of options that looked good. Oh, it didn't help with our elderly eyes and the type that was printed in a very light green. Pat ordered the yellow curry with tofu. Bev ordered the BBQ Chicken and I had the Spicy Fried Rice with Basil. It was fun to catch up with Bev while we waited for our food. It was not a long wait and the presentation was quite lovely. I don't know where Pat's and my heads were as we should have eaten the food family style as others were doing. D'oh! Next time. Bev loved her chicken as it isn't something she could get in Italy. She said the sauce is what made it.

After paying the bill and leaving the restaurant, we walked around until we were chilled to the bone and then we rushed for the car and home. I had some more of the Zin and Bev went for some herb tea. Pat just hit up some sweets and a warm blanket. We settled down and watched an Italian mystery that I had taped called Il Giorno Delo Lupo and it was quite amusing. It had to be at least ten years old. I will say that the leading character was quite good looking.

I am looking forward to spending sometime with Bev!