Nostrada

So it's Friday evening.  I have a list of things I wanted to accomplish this evening, having the house to myself.

First of all, Big G came home this weekend since he didn't have a game ... thrilled my heart to have him home with us again.  It's cool to look out the window and see his little orange Kia parked on the street.  Makes my heart smile.

(It made Chessie smile too!)

So C, a freshman, has to dress for tonight's game along with the varsity, even though he won't get playing time.  It's what Freshman Athletes do to earn their stripes and support the team... AFTER ALL!  So I prepared him a quick bagged dinner and ran it down to the field house for him earlier this evening.  G eagerly agreed to help my husband handle the video duty for tonight's game, giving him a chance to hit his ol' stomping grounds and catch up with the coaches after the game at the field house.  My oldest is hanging out with his friends tonight.

So.  That leaves me having THE NIGHT TO MYSELF.  A FRIDAY NIGHT TO DO EXACTLY WHAT I WANT TO DO -- or nothing at all.  I choose.  SUH-WEET.

I broke open a new bottle of wine -- one I hadn't tried before -- a tempranillo.  Nostrada.  Picked it up on my trip to Lake Norman in September and just now getting around to trying it.  Not bad.

I've spent a few hours making a homemade gift for my friend/neighbor who is moving away to SC.  My other neighbor is hosting a going-away dinner for her tomorrow night, so I'm trying to get it finished by the deadline.  Love being able to satisfy that creative/artsy passion within me.  This is one of the ways I hope to be able to spend my time one of these days when I retire.  "Life is Art."

As I was painting earlier, I looked out the window and saw a shower of leaves falling from our maple in the back yard.  I smiled inside.  How I love fall.  I grabbed my camera and took a few pictures to capture the moment.  Loving this date night with myself.

As I work and paint, enjoy my wine, I listen to a CD I burned earlier -- Johannes Linstead, Boney James, Wynton Marsalis, a variety of CHILLIN tunes.  It just dawned on me that I haven't had anything to eat for dinner; strange, but I'm not hungry.  No appetite whatsoever.  Wine has hit the spot.  A nice bit of yummy cheese would be a nice complement.

I'll finish up my gift project, and then I'll do a few chores, maybe practice my realtime dictation a bit more before grabbing my Kindle and doing a bit of reading before bed.

It's the perfect Friday evening.  

Simple pleasures.  

cheers!