Potatoes in the Mist

So D and I went to a birthday party tonight. A couple of noteworthy things happened: 1) A drunk girl, also celebrating her birthday, came over, high-fived the birthday boy, and distributed party hats to our table. 2) I met a French girl named France (one of the birthday boy's friends). She said matter-of-factly, "I am France, that is my name." May I also mention...unrelated to the above...there is no advantage to having a heightened sense of smell? None. The *only* time it is an advantage is when I walk by the pie place near my pool...D thinks they are purposely wafting the scent of freshly baked goods onto the sidewalk. Other than that...not so good. I remember, before I even knew for sure I was pregnant, the subway car smelled like they were roasting peanuts on it. I thought I was losing my mind...and then I saw that the man next to me was eating a small packet of peanuts. Also, I am a little jealous of the seniors in my building! They have such a good time. They have s...

So last night was not that bad after all. In fact, it was much better than I expected. Maybe the key is low expectations ;) Although they say the opposite with childbirth pain - if you think you can't stand it, you can't; if you think it's manageable, you'll be okay. We had dinner with DG at a restaurant with golden walls and a very kind owner, who said, "Can I say congratulations?" after I took my coat off. They gave us some strawberries and biscotti at the end, dusted with confectioners' sugar, just to be nice. My eyes were closing at the end, I was so tired, but DG thought a change in venue would invigorate me. It did -- we proceeded to a party at a gorgeous apartment that costs $6700/month (sometimes the wealth floating around Manhattan freaks me out) and there was a sweet black Lab there who greeted us. This was the best-behaved dog I have ever seen. Most dogs bark, jump or freak out when there is company, but this one just wagged sedately, as if to s...

So D and I went to a par-tay tonight in Brooklyn, which involved a somewhat lengthy subway ride, and the cars were filled with Santas! At first we thought they were Salvation Army folk, but some of them were in full drag, complete with red stilettos, and others were in "blueface" (like Blue Man Group). Apparently, some of them were chanting, "Ho Ho Ho" at one station, and it was described as "amusing and intimidating." The party was fun; the dogs were a little over-excited, and a stray paw on my stomach made me nervous, but nothing happened. The food was yummy. I tried a date/semolina/rosewater concoction that was like an upscale Fig Newton. Anyway, it turns out the Santas were part of a convention, called Santa Con, and they have a parade. Around Halloween, there was Zombie Con.

So D and I went to a party tonight at Leela Lounge . We didn't know most of the people, but we had a good time anyway. The strangers had good social skills and soon we were all chatting. D got a drink called a hot chocolate, which was cold, but he was not disappointed. It apparently contained vanilla, Bailey's and Godiva liquor. "Do you know what made it really special?" he asked me this morning. "What?" "There was a Hershey kiss at the bottom." Then he forgot about the Hershey kiss, and when he had his second drink, he was surprised again ;)

It's kind of grey and lifeless, weather-wise, in New York. In a way I like it, because when it's sunny and warm, I feel obligated to go outside. When it's cloudy, I can wander outside, but it's not required and there are fewer people :) (Yes, I don't like large groups, yet I always score as an extrovert on those personality tests. Hmm. Maybe I am an "intimate extrovert.") Have become addicted to librarything.com. I don't know why. It's a place where you can catalogue whichever books you want (ones you've read, loved, hated or want to read). For some reason, I got hooked. Am currently knitting a sea-foam green shrug (a thingy you can put on your shoulders, with a little back and front). I'll put up a picture when I'm done. I realized socks and me are not really meant to be...I get bored with the slow progress on #3 needles using floss-like yarn. We went to DG's birthday party on Saturday night. There were three distinct groups at the...