As for me, I'd scheduled my twice-yearly lunch date with college girlfriends. We're always on the lookout for cool vegetarian/gluten-free friendly places to meet, so this time I'd found something in Frederick called Sanctuary Modern Kitchen that sounded like it could be promising. It turned out to be a tiny, inconspicuous cafe tucked behind a retail strip near the heart of downtown. It seems like the bulk of their business lies in the food that you can buy to take home and prepare yourself, but they also offer a very limited eat-in menu as well. All three of us chose the burrito bowl--which are cooked fresh for you individually when you order them, and which proved to be absolutely delicious.
The bonus was that, in a city with few free parking options, the small shopping center has its own lot. So we could leave our cars where they were, and take advantage of the pleasant late-December weather to walk around and enjoy the holiday decorations and quirky shops that abound in the historic section of town.
Next up, a day with the extended fam at my dad's house, for cousin-bonding, Ravens-viewing (although the game has serious playoff implications, so depending on how it goes, the experience could either be tremendously exciting and positive...or more along the lines of "Whoa, howzabout we just turn off the TV now, so Pop Pop doesn't blow a gasket"? Obviously keeping fingers crossed for the former scenario...), and....whatnot. (Update: the boys from Baltimore pulled it out, but it literally took until the last minute of the action to decide their fate, so needless to say, it was thrilling...and tense...and required much yelling at the television to achieve the desired result. Good grief, the whole thing was simply exhausting...)When we weren't all absorbed in sports mania, one of the random activities involved my sister's and my annual attempt to wrangle the younger generation into an at-least-semi-presentable holiday photo--you know, one that doesn't involve any poking, wild waving of limbs, obnoxious faces, insults, or threats (the last one admittedly being issued by the adults, in exasperation after 5, 10, or however many failed shots). As you can see, we were eventually...um...moderately successful? (Hey, you work with what you have, yeah? Although someday, in the elusive "future", I dream that they'll all calm the heck down and hold still at the same time...siiighhhh...)
Then on Monday, the social whirlwind will continue: a coffee catch-up with an old pal from my interpreting days, followed by the New Year's Eve shebang, which conveniently will be taking place at the very house where we're staying...so basically, we're living in Party Central, and all the fun will come to us. Win! (I mean, let's be honest: that's my kind of fiesta, for sure--hang out and chat with people for as long as I want...hold on until the ball drops to usher in 2019...then sneak downstairs to bed when the finite power contained in my Extrovert Battery has drained away for the evening.)And with that, the seasonal follies will conclude, and Team WestEnders will hit the road again, for the return trip to Chapel Hill, and whatever awaits us in January. Hasta luego and thanks for the memories, Northern friends and relations--we'll see you in 6 months or so!
No comments:
Post a Comment