banjos and baby showers

Hello everyone! I had a really fun weekend! Friday evening I went to Elaine & Gina’s house. Elaine & I played some cards then Gina and I went to O’Malleys to meet a friend for a drink. This was our old neighborhood bar for but I haven’t been there in ages. After one drink we drove over to Ichidai for some amazing sushi. Delicious! After dinner we hung out at Gina’s house and watched some tv while she knit knit knit that baby blanket she’s working on.

Saturday was a very rainy day. I watched some Netflix and read my book. I had gotten my new camera though so I was dying to use it. My other camera had stopped working the last time I headed up to Trout Lake. It’s amazing how cheap high quality digital cameras are now! I was so excited about my new camera that I went for a long walk in the rain with it. I walked up to Mt Tabor Park and took pictures of mossy trees and walls covered in small ferns. I ended up being thoroughly soaked and finally headed home where I took a hot shower.

I went over to Elaine and Gina’s house, as they were hosting a big dinner for everyone before the show. Our friend Dave Clarke’s band, Jim the Bad Goat was playing at the bar in our neighborhood. Wampler was down from Trout Lake (he plays accordion in the band) and he was preparing bacon wrapped asparagus (grilled) as an appetizer. They were incredibly delicious and so easy to prepare. A bunch of friends came over and we had dinner for 9: grilled flank steak, fresh pasta, broccoli and a huge salad (spinach, red onions, pine nuts, avocado and yes, more bacon!). It was another phenomenal meal! After dinner we all played Dance Dance Revolution, a video game where you have to move your feet on a pad in time with the music and in certain patterns (it’s not really dancing but it does get you moving). I’ve only done it a few times and am not very good at it but it sure is fun. Elaine and Gina are pros.

Eventually we all headed down to Sassy Jack’s for the show. There was already bunches of people there. I was amazed by the number of Trout Lakers that had come down for the show. Dave used to play up there regularly and with the closure of the Trout Lake Country Inn there is really no formal place to see live music up there. The band sounded fantastic and the crowd loved them. We all sang and danced and had a fantastic time. It was a really fun night! I stayed until bar time and helped the guys load their gear into their cars then I walked the 4 blocks home.

Sunday I woke up, showered and walked the few blocks to pick up my car. I then met up with Gina and we headed to our friend Tami’s house for Erin’s baby shower. Erin and Terry are both so excited about their baby girl. They haven’t decided on a name yet and she’s due on March 11th. The shower was really nice and mellow, no silly games just good food and great friends. Elaine’s mom had brought her incredible carrot/pineapple/coconut cake with cream cheese frosting. It is so moist and delicious! Tami’s son, Thomas was running around and another woman brought her 10 month old daughter Lily. Erin opened her presents: diaper champ, pink dresses, receiving blankets, super soft stuffed animals and a breast pump. After the presents we all just hung out and talked. Melissa finally felt the baby move in Erin’s belly for the first time. She grinned with delight.

After the baby shower I went back to Elaine’s house and we hung out and watched the Oscars with Kyle. I was happy to see Little Miss Sunshine and The Departed win so many awards. They were both great movies. Elaine grilled up another flank steak and we had it for dinner along with some leftover pasta & salad from the night before. Those Hilberts sure do feed me well! It was a really fun weekend!

I’m off to Trout Lake straight after work. It’s been raining like crazy here and the mountains have been getting tons of snow. It should be really beautiful up there!

Please let me know how you are and what you’ve been up to!


xoxoxo,
carolyn