7/15/13 girlfriend time

Steph, Clara, and Bella came to stay Monday night before flying to North Carolina for a couple of weeks. I didn't manage to get a picture of Steph and I together, but the puppies certainly enjoyed having little girls' attention. 

Steph also brought a bottle of wine which we shared over spaghetti, although I have got to remember to invest in a bottle opener soon.

Then, yesterday, Deana came up and we had dinner together in Morrison, on the patio of the Inn with live music no less, and then curled up in a cozy corner of the local wine bar to catch up. Any place with a Garrison Keilor quote over the arch is good for me. 

In the back 

And the amazing little dessert, something called a triple chocolate bomb, with fresh blueberries and whipped cream. 

Afterwards, knowing the concert had been cancelled up at Red Rocks, we drove through the park without a lot of people and enjoyed the view. 

I'd opened my birthday present from Deana at the restaurant, but we had to make a stop at the grocery to complete it. That's when the skies opened up. 

We got back to the house supplies in hand to enjoy the rain and watch the Dobie Reunion video I've been working on (Deana is not going so she got the preview). 

This is the liquor (technically, spirit) that allegedly led to Van Gogh's cutting off his own ear and, strangely, using so  much yellow in his paintings. Picasso, Manet, Degas, Gauguin: absinthe drinkers all. And let's not leave out the writers: Wilde, Hemingway, Baudelaire were all fans. Poe, although long rumored to be in the sway of la fée verte may not have even been aware of its existence, as he was dying in the same year that the Green  Muse was first making its way to American shores. He'd have like it, though, I'm sure. 

It's quite fun to do the alchemist bit with the special spoon and the sugar cube, melting through the silver and clouding the green liquid. 


So, first foray into the taste of Absenthe and I have to say: tastes like a jelly bean. 

Not exactly what I'd expect a Muse or  Fairy to taste like, but there it is. Maybe it's the combination of wormwood, anise. and fennel that created the pleasant sensation of absolute floating clarity, but still not something I have, heretofore, associated with jelly beans. Odd. Not bad. But odd. 

I was also gifted with a certificate to a store we both love in Manitou, which means birthday shopping soon, too. Overall, a lovely early birthday evening all around. Thank you D!