Day 3 - 261 -- Evening with friends

It was a lovely sunny Saturday. Most of the day was spent doing laundry and reading bits for class next week. The day ended with a great dinner out with friends at my favourite restaurant. We had a great time chatting and laughing. The food was stellar as usual -- I had the stuffed salmon -- a spinach based stuffing -- served with roasted yellow beets, red cabbage with fresh currents and mixed pepper strips lightly sauteed. We chose a red blend with Mourvedre, syrah, petit syrah and something else that I'm forgetting. It went well with everyone's meals. I splurged and had dessert since it was a celebration meal after all -- a pumpkin cheesecake that had some pecan dusting on top. The flavours were delightful and it was lighter than many baked cheesecakes.

Taking time to meet with friends over food brings many joys. Seeing each other outside of the work setting brings the feeling of normalcy -- we didn't have to speak of work-related irritations and assured ourselves that we can speak about wider topics without getting into daily nitty gritty. Taking time to listen and laugh together can be enjoyable as well as cathartic. Again, we are reminded that there is more to us and life than what is at the office. Celebrating a significant life event for one of the crew adds to the experience. We don't have to have something to celebrate to go out together, but it is an added bonus when there is a special day or event.

The thought for the day -- friends support us by having fun as much as being there when we need help. The song choice today is an homage to friends -- we may be very different, but we are alike enough to share the journey. Enjoy!

Friends -- Blake Shelton