Dining Delights | Peaches Prattlings

{August 30, 2015} Three and a half cities in one day, who knew!

We know how to live it up, let me tell you!

PSM and I were supposed to go to Gloucester a few weekends ago, but plans changed as they tend to do, so today was the day. Gloucester, http://www.gloucesterma.com/, is the city where the hospital was that I was doing support this past month. It’s a pretty city, from what I could tell while I was driving to work and I wanted to see it.

We grabbed something really quick at Dunkin Donuts and headed up towards Gloucester, city number one, it was about an hours drive. We found a place to park and walked up and down the main drag, looking at and in stores and for a place to eat, to no avail. I did stop and get some earrings, a new pair of hoops and some fun silver studs, I was needing them!

We chose a restaurant with no wait and there wasn’t anything for me to eat and when I asked the server if they had anything for a vegan, he actually asked if I had questions if anything was vegan, really? Moving on…

We stopped in one place, asked if there was a place they served brunch and we were directed to George’s and were we pleased! It made up for a lot, the food was in abundance and we were sharing! The server was fabulous and the food was great, well worth the wait and search. The table of people next to us were a hoot, while they were there.

After brunch, we headed to city number two, Rockport, http://www.rockportusa.com/. This was a charming, thriving, bustling seaside town. We could tell why people like to visit, stay, even live.

We walked up and down the different streets, alleys, shops, I even got to stick my feet in the sand and the water, a bit chilly but wonderful. Then we sat on a bench and listened to the water lapping on the shore and admired the sky. We stopped in a candy shop and got some candy sticks and bulls eyes, you know, the caramels with crème in the middle.

The streets were teeming with people and energy, the eddy was beautiful to walk out on and sit and think and just enjoy. We enjoyed the sights, smells, boats, waves, weather, wonderful.

After a few enjoyable hours, we went back to the car on to city number three, Essex, in search of dinner, at Woodman’s of Essex, but when we went across the street to Shea’s, http://sheasriversideessex.com/, to have a drink, we ended up getting a table on the deck overlooking the marsh, absolutely beautiful.

Before we went to the restaurants, we drove a little down the road to see the sights and ended up in Ipswich, but turned back around, that was the half city.

We started talking to the women at the table next to ours and what are the odds, one of them was a Nurse Manager for one of the hospitals that we were supporting during Go-Live! They were a lot of fun to talk to and passed the time nicely.

After dinner we got back into the car and PSM drove me back to the hotel so I could talk to you, share some photos and get some sleep, I’m back in the office tomorrow. I can’t wait to see my friends!

{August 29, 2015} One too many

Tonight I had one too many…desserts.

Ha ha, you thought I had one too many drinks! But on the other hand, some of you know I don’t drink, so good conclusion knowing it wouldn’t be hooch!

Today, PSM and I were at a party, it was the “after party” after a golf tournament he participated in. It was fun because I’ve met a lot of his friends and every time I go to another event, I know more people! I’m looking forward to arranging some more events and maybe some double dates!

Well, I knew there would be good food, they had made special arrangements for all food needs, vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, you name it. Don’t fret, they had plenty for the meat eaters.

There were also chips and desserts, I had a few more chips than I probably needed, but I was hungry, what was bad was the desserts. Now, don’t get me wrong, they were good, but they were bad…for me. I split a black and white cookie with PSM, I took the white and he took the black, sometimes it’s actually chocolate, sometimes just black tinted frosting. I tasted another cookie later, it was too sweet, couldn’t eat more than a bite. After the b&w cookie, I dug into a cupcake, it was sooo good!

It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten that many sweets. I’ve really cut out everything I’m not supposed to eat, like chocolate. I don’t actually like chocolate, but I like the cookies. The bad/too much part came when I picked up a gluten free blondie, that was the big time one too many. Along with all the water I drank, it piled up to my throat and now I feel blech. I know I’ll be fine and tomorrow, back to no more crud for my system.

But boy did it taste good!

{August 28, 2015} Happy Anniversary GES

My sister is a survivor.

You can’t imagine how much I LOVE saying that!! The image below is the same one on the t-shirt I got her after she became a survivor.

When I say Happy Anniversary GES, it’s the anniversary of her last chemo treatment! The treatment that killed the cancer that tried to kill her, but…let’s face it, we come from a long line of strong, stubborn women, no way was it not going to work!

Happiest of happy anniversaries to one of the strongest, hardest working and hardest fighting women who is an inspiration to all of us, those who are related by blood and by heart. Anyone that meets her is touched by her strength and her perseverance and never failing positive attitude through all of it.

Happy Anniversary GES, I love you.

{August 26, 2015} Accomodating

Tonight was interesting.

As you know, I’ve been doing some testing to find out why I’m nauseous 24/7, well, this coming Friday is the next test, a glucose breath test. If this is anything like the other test, this is where they give me 8 ounces of glucose, then I get to blow into a bag every 15 minutes for 1.5 hours, fun huh?

So, part of the preparation for this test is to be on a very strict diet for 48 hours prior to the test, that means starting this morning no fruits or vegetables, what? What are you telling a vegan! I can eat any non-dairy “milk” products, rice, eggs and tofu. Yum…

This morning was easy, a nice omelet with eggs [real] and cheese [fake], it really was good and tasty. On the way in, I stopped at Dunkin Donuts and they have almond milk now, so almond milk/decaf tea, mmmmm.

Lunch was a little more difficult, I brought eggs and veggie hot dogs and coconut milk yogurt. I actually only ate the yogurt.

Tonight we had a team dinner, I know, “JJ, not another team dinner! Oh my! ”

Well, I called them to find out if they could accommodate me and my dietary restrictions. I mentioned eggs, rice and tofu. They said no problem, they didn’t have tofu, but could accommodate the rice and egg, great!

We get there and I introduced myself to the servers and said, “I’m a problem child” and we were all set. Eventually, I added an order of deviled eggs as an appetizer. The deviled eggs came out when everyone else was getting their entrees and I asked if they knew where my meal was. Oh…let me go check on that for you, hmmm…

“I’m not sure what’s taking so long”. “They are just waiting on the rice” What? I called earlier in the day to tell you of my dietary needs and it was the simplest food…So, everyone was about finished and here comes my food. I’m glad I ordered the deviled eggs, I was hungry! Finally, when the food came, it was very pretty, rice mixed with egg and tofu on top. How nice was that! And it was brought out by a manager, fancy.

So, all in all, I was quit pleased and full! And…I have lunch for tomorrow!

{August 22, 2015} What a day!

Sleep…here I come!

The day started normal enough, the cats woke me at 6:30 and I said no thank you and went back to sleep, woken up a few more times, then decided I had had enough and got up. Got showered and dressed and put the door to PSM’s.

I got there and Mollie was super excited to see me, she did donuts around the lawn, a nice welcome, hey cats…take some notes! Then off to The Friendly Toast for a great breakfast at the bar, first come first served. Then back to get the truck and head to Plymouth, Mass. Yes, that is Plymouth, where the Mayflower landed and we have Plymouth Rock! As seen in the photo, not the original thing, but there it was!

We walked through the rain up one street and down the main drag. We stopped for a cup of tea, walked into a few shops, then down towards the water again to the jetty and took that out to the end, it was quite enjoyable.

After Plymouth, we headed to a party hosted by two of PSM’s friends, G&J B. Really great couple and what a house! We also saw a bunch of the friends I have made at the ski house, that was great! We hung for a few hours, got a tour of half of the house. They have school lockers in their laundry room. Maybe the best idea ever!

Well, back towards the house, say hello to Mollie, grab some grub and here we are.

Now that I’m writing what I did, it doesn’t seem as exhausting as it was! I need a nap!

{August 21, 2015} Girls Night In!

Tonight, I had a girls night in.

I had the perfect GNI, just what I needed. It was me, Jymy and Peanut, yup, girls night in with my cats. Don’t laugh, it was all girls!

I got to the hotel, put on comfy clothes, settled in on the sofa with some veggies and hummus, a good start, then I decided I was going to go all girl. Into the bathroom to bring the red back [Revlon, 42], during the 25 minutes the dye was setting, I removed the polish from my claws and paws. After my shower, I put on some more comfy clothes and green for the fingers and sparkly purple for the toes. I tried, but the girls weren’t into getting their paws or claws done, oh well, more for me!

When I was sufficiently dry, top to bottom, I cooked an artichoke and some corn on the cob, a perfect dinner.

After dinner, I cleaned up then laid out on the couch with the cats and watched movies until it was time to write to you.

Girls night in, perfection!

{August 18, 2015} WH- I lived in The South too long!

WH is in the news a lot.

When you hear WH on the news or see it in the news, what do you think of? Is it the White House? It should be, really, it should be.

What is the first thing that comes to my mind? Well, I lived in Georgia for almost 20 years, so the first thing I think about…Waffle House! Really?

You’ve heard me talk about my love of Waffle House, or as some affectionately call it, The Awful Waffle, yes I’ve called it that, it’s wonderful and awful. I was actually talking about it this morning…mmmm.

So…did I live in The South too long, love Waffle House too much? Nah, just call it The White House and we’ll all get along just fine!

waffle house

{August 17, 2015} A roll off and a reunion

Another fabulous team dinner, yum!

SF, one of the team leads on the project, who has been at this hospital for multiple projects has been here 491 days, what!? Well, it’s time for her to roll off.

As I think I told you, we will have roll off dinners when co-workers leave the project. The sad thing tonight is realizing that a co-worker and friend is leaving, but the fun thing was a reunion of sorts. Since I am working in a different location, I don’t get to see everyone that was there tonight, so it was a great treat.

We laughed, caught up, ate great food, reminisced over the time together on the project and what was coming next, mostly vacations that are coming up, where are we going? What are our plans? Can I go with you?

It was a great night. Nothing but good wishes for the future FS!

{August 9, 2015} The weekend in New Hampshire

A new weekend, new friends, new experiences, new food, what more could you want!

Another eventful, wonderful weekend in New Hampshire, sounds pretty good, huh? I got lucky and had the weekend off, so I got to take advantage of the opportunity and join PSM up at the house in New Hampshire. We headed up Friday evening, I got back to the hotel from the hospital, remember…I am working at a hospital, I’m fine! about 30 minutes before PSM and Mollie picked me up and away we went.

We didn’t hit too much traffic, it was good, and unusual! Could be because it was close to 8pm. We got to the house about 10:30, settled in and relaxed, then conked out about one am, luckily I was able to fall back asleep after the alarm went off at 5:30am! PSM was not so lucky, poor guy! We finally got motivated and decided to walk into town to get some breakfast. It was a really nice walk, about 2.5 miles and it was off the beaten path, so to speak. We walked through the neighborhood, then the next, came out of there, crossed the street and walked on the path that was created behind the trees, off the street, then across the street, same thing, until we got to the street, about a quarter mile from our destination. It was a good walk for Mollie too.

After a great breakfast, we waited while the other families showed up, we decided to wait for them at the restaurant, easy to find. The first family, J&AH and their kids, C and B, every sweet kids and great family. Next was C&CV with their kids, O and E. E and C are the boys and were so excited to see each other, the girls were just as excited to see each other. After a nice reunion, we all piled into the two cars and headed back to the house.

M&K and their son JT were the last to arrive, another nice reunion, then everyone figured out where they were going to sleep, kids in one room, parents in other rooms, the kids were excited, there are bunk beds, what kid isn’t excited! All of these people have known PSM for a very long time and they are all part of the group who call him Boo. Even the kids!

That is frustrating sometimes…I call his name a bunch of times, but then I say “Boo!” and he hears me, geesh!

After everyone settled in, we headed out for a hike to a trail less than a mile from the house. All the kids piled in the back with Mollie and away we went. We hiked/walked for about a mile and a half, maybe two, possibly, came to a spot where we could go in the water. Lots of rocks and deeper pockets for swimming, the kids had a blast! Swimming, jumping a bit, skimming stones. Then it was back to the path to head back to the house, perfect timing so we could shower, have some snacks and then head to dinner, reservations at 7:30, there were 13 of us!

On the way back is when I twisted my ankle, fun…One of the kids gave me their walking stick, very sweet. We all piled back into the truck and headed back to the house, chilled out, wine and cheese, beers, special concoctions made by our two resident bartenders, AH and KS, I did not partake, but everyone seemed to like it.

The sad part was that C&C got a call that one of their dogs had gotten out and mom had to go because the dog would not come to anyone except her, we were all bummed out. 5:30 this morning we got the news that the puppy was home! Wahoo!

Off to dinner, all piled into the two vehicles again, apparently we were the kid mobile, they are so funny! Dinner was good, good food, conversation and company, then off to get some ice cream, well, most of the party had ice cream, yours truly and PSM were good and skipped. After everyone was happy with dessert, back to the house.

Right to jammies, brushing teeth and movies while the kids fall asleep, one even on the floor, he was so tired!

The rest of us huddled around the table and put in $20, thanks to PSM for covering me, and got down to playing Texas Hold ‘Em. Yup, yours truly included! I held my own for a while and as we neared 2:30am, I starting betting pretty hard, I was winding down and getting tired, I still needed to write to you, of course! I did this in between rounds. Finally about 2:45, we all cashed in and split the money, oh, I was the banker! It was kind of cool having that much cash in my pocket!

We all cleaned up and headed to bed, crashing out pretty quickly and slept until about 8:30am, it was lovely! No alarms!

Tired yet?

This morning, we all got motivated, sort of, and everyone decided they wanted breakfast from the same place PSM and I ate at yesterday and Dunkin’ Donuts, so orders were placed and away the guys went. We took showers, packed bags, stripped beds, threw towels and sheets in the washer and all cleaned the house, people were coming in about 5pm for the week.

The cutest thing, at one point this morning, all five kids were sitting on the sofa playing on their devices, but all the same game, they were in the same Minecraft world. AH laughed and said that they came all the way to the mountains to play games together!

After the house was cleaned and everyone was packed, all the families went to take the gondola up the mountain like we did a few weeks ago with GES and family. PSM and I headed to the craft fair happening in town, it was great! I got some Chanukah, Christmas and birthday shopping done! I am thinking I may go online to find some of these vendors, I want more! Not to worry, I did pick up a little something for myself and…one of the vendors found out I was buying gifts, gave me one of her products for free, how cool is that!

Then we got some lunch, headed out for home, PSM dropped me off at my hotel, I picked up the car and headed to GES and ACS’ house for dinner with the F family across the street. Grilling out, burgers, dogs, corn, the works, it was great! MGS even gets excited seeing PSM, running and jumping up for hugs, I love to see that, I know her parents do too! She was excited to see Mollie too!

After good food, friends, conversation, it was time to come back to the hotel to hang with the cats, unpack, get ready for the week and talk to you.

I am sure you are tired, I am, and you just read about my weekend! How was yours?

{July 30, 2015} Happy 6 months…and I’m happy

Six months, but with all good relationships, it feels like a minute and it feels like a lifetime, it’s a good thing.

Who knew, way back when, well, January, that when AT and GES decided to introduce us we would hit it off as well as we did. I know part of it was, ooh, JJ’s single, PSM’s single, maybe they’ll get a long…and they were right, oh boy they were right.

We exchanged emails for about a week and he asked me on a date, I said yes, how could I not? In one of the earlier emails, he came up with a list of six things to do. The first one we chose was to go to a pub, so we went. Then after a while, we were thinking about the list, so we decided that every six months, we do something on the list, I like that idea.

Tonight, we were going to go to China Town, but the traffic was tragic, so we decided on Fanueil Hall, http://www.cityofboston.gov/freedomtrail/faneuilhall.asp, a very cool place with lots of history and charm. We decided on Ned Devine’s Irish Pub and had a great meal with good company and good food, good until the sky opened, then we went inside, still good. It’s all about the company.

I’ve told you about some of the great things we’ve done, there are still private things I don’t share, they’re private! He’s a great guy and I am a very happy girl in a great relationship with a great and happy boy.

Happy 6 months, looking forward to the next six and the next and the next…

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