Millie's

C and I went to dinner at Millie's Diner last night. This restaurant is a Richmond institution. People travel to eat at Millie's. It's been featured in several well-known food and travel magazines. Every Richmonder recognizes how lucky we are to have Millie's and it's the first place we think of to take out-of-towners.

Despite being profoundly broke, C and I had things to celebrate. We're engaged! We're moving! And we finally, finally found somewhere to live. A frozen pizza was not enough for our excitement. So off we went. We arrived around 6:00 and were told there would be a short wait. There were open seats at the six-person bar so we settled in. I ordered a glass of Malbec and C had a Legend.

The wait was not short, but it wasn't unenjoyable either. My seat was right next to the open kitchen and we changed our entree choices several times as we saw each new dish leave the kitchen. C originally decided on the 20oz rib eye, but rethought his decision once he saw just how much over a pound of steak looks like. He settled on the pan roasted pork tenderloin and I went with the roasted half chicken.

We were seated a little after 7:00 in a cozy booth. Quickly delivered to us was a bread basket with the most incredible jalapeño corn bread I've ever had in my life. It was light, moist and flavorful, but it could have used a little more salt. Our orders were taken quickly and we settled in and took in our surroundings.

At every booth there is a little vintage jukebox. You can buy 3 songs for a quarter. I pulled out my wallet several times so C could pick a new selection. It felt similar to giving a child money to throw in the fountain at the park. C seemed so delighted by it.

My appetizer arrived first. I chose fried green tomatoes with pimento cheese. I'm not a huge fan of pimento cheese, but I love fried green tomatoes so I gave it a shot. The tomatoes were perfect in their cornmeal crust. The pimento cheese went well with the tomatoes, adding a surprising tanginess. My favorite part though, was the drizzle of basil infused olive oil around the outside of the plate. It was so unexpected, and a perfect addition to round out the flavors.

Then C's appetizer came. He chose chicken fried frog legs. Just thinking about it was making me nauseous, but I've always considered myself an adventurous eater. They looked like elongated drumsticks. They came with a chive biscuit and a drizzle of honey. I carefully used my fork to cut off a piece of "meat". It looked enough like chicken. I let it sit on the end of my fork for awhile, letting it cool, delaying the inevitable. Then I dove in. I was immediately repulsed. It did not taste like chicken. It was rubbery and the flavor was off. I could not believe how big they were. We watched an HBO documentary once about Louisiana and there were these backwoods country boys that hunted bullfrogs. They held them by the arms and head and skinned them from the belly down. I doubt I would have enjoyed the frogs legs before watching that, but those hicks definitely made it worse. C loved them. He looked like a frat boy digging into a dozen chicken wings before the big game (just kidding C!).

The entrees were up next. C's pork tenderloin with incredible. It was seared on the outside and stuffed with roulade. It rested on top of a stone ground grit cake and spaghetti squash puree. This meal with right up his alley. My chicken was juicy and flavorful and came with the lightest truffled celery root puree and swiss chard.

At this point we had been at Millie's for two and half hours. We were full and exhausted. I'll never understand how people can go on these restaurant marathons, sitting at a table for four hours. We ordered a piece of hazelnut chocolate torte to go and headed home. I tried the torte this morning. The flavor was incredible, but I would prefer for the hazelnuts to be ground a little more fine. What I love about tortes is the smooth, dense texture, this torte was almost gritty.

All in all we had an excellent time at Millie's. The staff was polite and attentive. My water glass was never less than a quarter empty. The food was incredible. C said it was the best dining experience he's ever had in Richmond. I'm sure we'll go back to Millie's someday, but we'll have to wait for another reason to celebrate.

One of Those Days

Today was one of those days. Everything seemed to go wrong. The apartment we wanted was taken by someone else. I know we'll find something, but I had started making plans. I was daydreaming about that big kitchen and where I would hang things on the walls. I was feeling relieved that we could check one more thing off the list and fill out change of address forms. The little things that seem to be piling up.

And then, when I was finally leaving work, I discovered that I had locked my keys in the car. On days like today I just don't know what to do with myself. Work has been exhausting for months, and it's really starting to catch up with me. I'm having trouble sleeping, and rarely get more than 5 hours a night anymore. I'm just plain tired. I am incredibly fortunate to have the life that I have, but today I just want to have a pity party.

Early Morning

It seems that early morning is my favorite time to write. My sleep has been erratic. Today I woke at 2am and again for good at 5. In the morning everything is clean and crisp. Outside it is quiet. There are only a few cars on the road. Where are they going?

There are boxes everywhere. The clutter makes me anxious, but I am relieved to see progress. C's parents are looking at apartments for us on Saturday. Once that is taken care of I think I will feel better. The bills are piling up, but I don't want to send them out until I have our new address. I won't be here the next time they come.

I try my best to do things perfectly. That's why this move is driving me crazy. I want it to go off without a hitch.. but it probably won't. I vacillate between being completely at peace with that notion and obsessive planning trying to come up with new ways to make it perfect.

I can hear the train. I hope there will be a train nearby in Northampton.

Big News

Well, big changes are happening on the RR/EG front. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about my name... I'm not a girlfriend anymore. On Sunday, C took me to the Shenandoah Valley and proposed! It's a great story, probably better told by him, but it was a beautiful day. The foliage was just starting to turn in the mountains. I am still riding high and can't stop looking at my ring.

On top of that big news we're also moving to Massachusetts! C got a job at Smith College. We're leaving Richmond in early/mid November. We're making a lot of progress over here. We're still looking for an apartment, but we've been packing like crazy and C is meeting with movers today. I'm so excited I can hardly sleep.

Friday at Four in the Morning

I have been awake for awhile. My breathing technique that usually puts me to sleep has not been working. I can hear an ambulance somewhere west of here. The cats are unsettled, the weather is unsettled. Earlier I was reading and the power flickered. It was absolute darkness for a moment.

I have a bad relationship with 4am. These past few weeks I see 4:00 one way or another. At first I woke up at 4:00, which was annoying, but not terrible. Now I wake up at 1:00 or 2:00 and don't nod off again until after 4:00. I feel exhausted right now, but not tired. There's so much to think about. I need to start packing. I'm making a mental list of all the things I can pack now. Books, pictures, most of the things on the walls. Should I try to bring my cacti along?

If you can shove through all of the worry and anxiety you can see that I am truly happy. I will get to be near Caite. I will be able to start fresh with a new job. C and I will be able to move forward with our lives. This is the beginning of our adventure.

I Have No Words

And that's a good thing. I will say more when I've found my voice.

The End of an Era

C and I went to Byrd Park on Sunday to try out the paddle boats. We had an okay time. My dad was right when he warned us that after about 5 minutes we would be ready to head back in. It's a small man-made lake and you rent the boats for $12/half hour. Sometime towards the end of our 30 minute ride my ID and debit card wormed themselves out of my pocket and into the lake. It's a very helpless feeling being without identification and access to your main bank account.

My new ID just arrived in the mail, and its a sideways license instead of the up and down license I've had since I was sixteen. I'm not sure if other states do it this way, but in Virginia if you're under 21 your license is read vertically. After you turn 21 (and renew your license) then you get one that's read horizontally. So now I have my grown-up license. In some way this solidifies my adulthood more than anything so far.

Thanks for making it official, DMV.

Lemon Drop Liquor

This is one of C's favorite drinks.

 
You make a simple syrup with one part sugar one part water. Add the juice from a couple of lemons and some strips of lemon zest. Throw it all in a mason jar with a bottle of vodka. Now, technically you're supposed to put it in a dark, cool place for three weeks, shaking the jar every two days.

It usually only sits for a week before C gets his greasy little paws on it in our house. I typically mix it with a squeeze of fresh lemon and sparkling water. However, you can shake it with ice and serve it straight up.

Exhaustion

It's a common theme these days. Even when my body is still my mind is racing. It's been too long since I got a good night's sleep. I usually do not write when I feel this way, but I think I should. I've felt this way before and it's a hopeless feeling, but it alway goes away. I will not feel like this forever. All I need is a cup of tea, a day off and a warm bed. This will get better.

Today I Would Rather...

Stay in bed all day with C
I wish I hadn't had to put on make up
Or blow dry my hair
I would have gone on a walk
and seen these flowers again
I would have gone out to breakfast
I could have played tennis
or gone on a run!
I have too much energy today
to sit at a desk
Maybe it's just anger
I never have real energy
but I'm so angry today I feel like I could
climb a mountain
wrestle a bear
beat cancer and
write a book
all before dark