Had dinner with one of my besties in Old Town, Alexandria tonight. So very nice to be out and about, having a nice meal with a dear friend, walking around seeing the lights, and seeing all the other people who were out having a good time, many of them in Christmas sweaters, Santa hats, reindeer headpieces, and Christmas light and garland necklaces. It finally felt like things had returned to normal, like before the pandemic. So many happy people.
It was the first time I ate in a restaurant since the heart attack, and although I was a little nervous about the sodium content in the food, the server was kind enough to talk to the chef and he prepared my dish in a low-sodium way. Never be afraid to speak up about dietary restrictions, folks. People are usually more than happy to help. As with anything else, given a chance, most people will take the opportunity to be kind and helpful.
My buddy gifted me with three charming hand-knitted Christmas trees, as knitted by her roommate. They’re currently on my desk in my home office, but they will go out to the living room tomorrow.
Remember how there was no fortune in the fortune cookie that came with my traditional birthday take-out? Not that I’m supersitious or anything, but I did have my heart attack four days later.
My buddy always has my back, however, so she threw three fortune cookies into the gift bag and said I could choose the one to carry in my wallet for the year.
The first one said, “Calamity is the touchstone of a brave mind.” Well, Liz, I think we can agree that I’ve had enough bravery for the time being so maybe not that one.
The next one said, “A shooting star tonight will bring you good luck tomorrow!” I guess I will buy a few scratchers tomorrow, heh.
The third one said, “To make the wheels go, you must grease the wheels.” This is probably the most fitting, as I am planning on making some major life changes in 2024, so that one it is! Thank you Liz!
Here are a couple of denizens of Old Town that caught my eye.
The Hard Times Horse is an unofficial landmark in Old Town. The story goes that Fred Parker, the fellow who opened the restaurant back in 1980, saw the horse in a tack shop in rural Virginia. The horse modeled saddles, but the tack shop was getting rid of it, so he bought it and put it in the back of his antique truck. He and his sons drove the truck around to different events in the D.C. area. Parker died in 2020, but his sons still drive it in parades. It’s a great story, and I’m glad I found an article about it because I’ve been wondering about it for years.
And now, tonight’s state trees are going out to two sisters I really must have dinner and a couple of margaritas with someday, Michelle and Karen. I “met” Michelle through MySpace, when we were both in a bird group and at the time had the same combination of birds, a Nanday Conure and a Green Cheek Conure. Karen’s posts on Michelle’s wall always cracked me up—the two sisters took the Ermahgerd meme to new heights—so with a couple of clicks, there we were. Ermahgerd, Chrersmers Trers!
zenzalei 