So, of course we are away from home and can't sleep. This is normal, but I hate it. I think we've gone on vacation once where we found the bed so comfortable that we could sleep properly. Either the mattress is too soft, or hard, or the pillows the same, or the room is too warm...it's frustrating that our bodies are so contrary. And, ironically, the one time the bed, pillows, and ventilation were perfect, we were so dog sick we couldn't enjoy them. I pretty much couldn't sleep because I had to keep rolling over due to my hips hurting. Annoying and not the hotel's fault, because they put in a new mattress last year.

We had breakfast in the common room (they have a nice buffet that includes eggs and sausage; I hope they do some bacon this weekend), then decided to walk into Helen. It was chilly this morning, with a strong breeze, so we had to don flannel shirts over our short sleeves, and jackets over that with hats. It didn't seem so bad until we came out of the lee of the hotel; goodness, what a gust! Otherwise it was sunny and lovely, the just-budding trees waving back and forth in the erratic wind, the occasional blossom or two coming loose and swirling around. We loved it! It's the kind of wind that puts heart in you. Also saw something neat as we left: there was a pickup truck parked behind the hotel, with a big German Shepherd lying down on top of the toolbox. He belongs to one of the maintenance men, who brings him to work every day, and he stays there until his person is done. He was there when we left, and then when we came back over an hour later.

We stopped at the olive oil shop to get a new supply of white peach balsamic vinegar; sadly, we forgot our bottle to refill. We also got some honey sesame ginger vinegar as well. This will not only be good on Asian salad, but should be a good finishing sauce for chicken, too. Then we hiked up the hill to Hoher's Bakery and bought a treat for each of us: I got a cinnamon twist, which is the closest I can get to a cruller these days, and James got a German chocolate brownie. We also stopped at the candy store to get my annual dark-chocolate almond bark fix and James got a small assorted box of sugar-free candy. We enjoyed the stroll, admired the spring flowers (especially the ones against the Christmas decorations still remaining—it was funny seeing garlands of pine and fir with tulips and daffodils swaying in the background), and stopped at Wendy's for James to get lunch (I had leftover wings and waffle fries from Bigg Daddy's).

When we got back to the conference room, we started talking and our plans changed. We had decided we were going to the new Thai place for supper, but everyone was going there for lunch. Well, lunch would be cheaper, and it's no fun going alone... So we put James' Wendybag in the room refrigerator and went off to Spice 55 for lunch: us, Alice, Ken, Aubrey, Jessie, Dorothy (Kristine's sister), Alex, Pat, Shari, Charles, Terry, and Juanita. I think this is a new place; I don't recall it being here last year (but then last year is rather a blur). Anyway, the food is outstanding. Alex and Pat raved over the sushi. I had Pad Thai and probably the best I've ever had. It had ground peanuts in it and tasted wonderful. James had Pad Cashew. Everyone else was pleased as well.

I'm not sure what other groups of people do after they have lunch together, but we went to a bookstore together. We always stop at Mount Yonah Bookstore, and the lady knows us since we've been there so often. In fact Terry is on their Facebook page and told her we were coming. She had a big sign outside that said "Welcome, Atomicon! Check in at the front." I found two anthologies of juvenile mysteries and James found an old flying manual plus a real prize: a copy of Igor Sikorsky's autobiography signed by Sikorsky! I had a blast from the past in the kids' section: they had an assortment of the Thornton W. Burgess Mother West Wind books, which I remember from the old Arlington Library on Cranston Street. Back in those days I wanted to read Marguerite Henry and the the Trixie Belden books, and Arlington had what could charitably be described as "vintage books." I once complained bitterly to my mother that the newest book Arlington had involved a girl with a car with a running board. Now I would give a lot for those old books. I did find one of them once, Flax, the story of a police dog in Germany.

Some of the group then went to "the mead place," but James hadn't brought the power chair and had been walking around for a while and his back was killing him. So we just came back to the hotel via Nora Mill and bought some new whisks and a new bag of Pioneer Porridge.

We ended up playing a game of "Roll for It" when we got back with Terry and Jessie (and later Shari). This was fun. You get three cards with different die faces (six sixes, for example, or a one, three, and five, or four twos, etc.) and you throw your six dice trying to match them. Then a group went off to Catch 22, which we went to last year, and a small group to Spice 55, but I got out my leftovers and James had his chili and cheeseburger, and we snacked on the veggie tray that Shari brought. People eventually trickled back in to chat, and then to play games. I spent most of the evening watching Dorothy, Shari, Shannon, and Terry play Rummikub (I was helping Terry, which helped me learn the game). Alex brought a blender with him and was making drinks. There was watermelon with vodka, Bailey's, and some type of margarita. I had a couple of sips of the Bailey's but couldn't really drink what I wanted because it was time for my heart medication. The Bailey's was good, and the watermelon one looked fab.

Labels: books, dogs, food, friends, games, restaurants, weather

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