21 years ago today....

First this public service announcement....Bret turns 21 today! Happy Birthday Bret!

Now back to the regularly scheduled blog post:

When I got up this morning Bill had sent me a photo from his big night out in LA seeing Adam Carolla, Bill Simmons and Jimmie Kimmel. The winning trifecta for Bill. Mandate - get it on!!

Meanwhile, back in the civilized world of Newburyport, Diane, Laura and I went to breakfast at Mad Martha's with the Sunday Globe and New York Times.

Bluestocking day

I had a full day today - first a literary walking tour with my Books on the Nightstand Goodreads friends. Marly, Callie, Trisha, Ann, Loretta and I strolled through down town Boston and Beacon Hill listening to stories of Longfellow and Louisa May Alcott. Then we had lunch at Scollay Square.

Then to top off the perfect day - cheese, wine and Jane Austen dvds with Diane. So agreeable!

Laura's best meal of 2011

Laura and I went out to dinner at Enzo tonight. She deemed it the best meal she has had since July 2010. She even indulged in dessert (Lemon Posset (rhymes with faucet)).

I had a linguini that was covered in hen of the woods mushrooms (delicious!) That lead me to describe childhood meals where we were not allowed to leave the table until all the mushrooms were eaten. We ate our meals in silence because we all read books (my mother had a novel and Andy and I devoured Archie comics....until we went to college...and beyond. I love my Archies!!!) When the boys were little I would sometimes declare that we were having an "Entwistle Meal" which meant everyone could get a book and read at the table. It makes me wonder what childhood "oddity" the kids will incorporate into their lives when they get older.

Not exactly kosher

As I was searching for a blog post on this uneventful night I realized that I never posted the end result of Laura's labor - my dill pickle bathroom. So tonight I decided to put it to the test against a Claussen kosher dill spear. Not an exact match but who wants to have a gherkin bathroom?

Super Sad True Night in Harvard Square

Today was so raw and rainy that I convinced myself that I was going to go home and get into pj's right from work but at the last minute I talked myself into going to see Gary Sheyngart (author of Super Sad True Love Story) in Harvard Square.

I can't say that I loved the book but he was very entertaining and his reading had a flair to it that made me appreciate the material more than I did from hearing in my own head.

I capped the night off with a slice of Pinocchio's pizza - quintessential Harvard Square fare. (This was part of the bargaining I did to motivate myself..."Come on, Jen, you can buy a book and even get Pinocchio's for dinner if you go!!" For the record, I bought Master and Commander - the first in the Patrick O'Brian series. )

And, yes, it's still raining!!!

It's not easy going topless in a one piece

I had lunch date with Shelly and Patrick. The three of us like a good gab session but the gossip was a little thin today. (Could our coworkers please start sleeping with each other so we can talk about it?? We haven't had an interoffice affair in a loooooong time!!!) Our hottest story was about Arnold Schwartznegger and his illegitimate ten year old until Shelly started telling us about her vacation in St Barts. As you can probably tell from the blog title - much was revealed!

We've Got Ourselves a Bull!

You may recall in the not too distant past Bill posted that someday we would have a Bull...and now we do! Vicki presented me with a post-festival gift - a painting by a local painter that Bill and I have long admired. This is supposedly a painting of baskets in a field in Long Island but I prefer to think of it as stacks of books...in a field....on Long Island. I mean, neither story makes much sense so why not just go with the festival appropriate book scenario?

Bulls and Manatees

Big night wiped us out. Our big event for the day was lunch at 10 Center Street.

One of the topics we covered was: If you could ride a giraffe, a giant eagle or a manatee, what would you choose? Joey loves manatees so he picked that. The eagle seemed the natural next choice except for those of us who get sick in a hot air balloon. I'd hate to throw up on an American symbol. And I'm rubbish in the water so the manatee was out.

I defaulted to a giraffe.

Behind Pretty Jen is an Alan Bull paining. It's one of our favorites of his. One day we'll own a Bull.

Happy 50th Steve!

Steve turned 50 this week and asked to celebrate "Big Night" style. Turns out many people are not familiar with the 1996 movies starting Cambpell Scott and Stanley Tucci but Bill and I knew it meant Lisa would cook a multi course big italian meal - count us in! (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115678/ )

Of course, you can't throw a 50th birthday party without goofy over the hill jokes...walker and birthday cake hat courtesy of Steve's friend Rich.

So while we were technically there to celebrate Steve, the real star of the evening was the meal. Lisa rented tables and cloths to set up dinner for twelve. We devoured six courses: melon wrapped with prosciutto, asparagus risotto, osso bucco with potatoes and spinach, salad, cheese and gelato.

Steve entertained us by shouting lines from the movie and pounding on the table. Few of us remembered the movie enough to understand the references but it was fun to see Steve cut loose and make a ruckus, tipping over wine glasses with his vigorous table hammering.

Steve shows off his AARP card.

Old Men:

Trophy Wives:

Happy birthday, Steve - can't wait to see what Lisa cooks up for 60th!

Man of his word

Joey went to the junior prom tonight with a friend (made the plans before he started dating a girl he really likes). He's sticking with his commitment for both proms.

It's the right thing to do. Proud of him.