Broken Bones, Birthday Dinner, and a Bookstore Date

After loading up on ibuprofen and borrowing a pair of crutches from P's Aunt, P took me to Applebee's Friday night for my birthday. Dinner was far from a five-star affair, but the price was right, the food was quite good, and someone else cooked.

P enjoyed a steaming bowl of shrimp, fettuccini, and veggies in a light alfredo sauce. I feasted on steamed veggies, rice, and mini skewers of marinated beef and shrimp.

Dinner took quite a bit longer than expected because of a full house and a new chef in the kitchen. Fortunately, unlike some of the other patrons who needed to get out in time for a movie, we were in the enviable position of having nowhere to go and plenty to talk about. And bonus for us, we were treated to free desserts on the house because of the wait. P tempted a diabetic coma with a hot double-chocolate-fudge brownie smothered in vanilla ice cream. I savored a slice of chocolate raspberry layer cake drizzled in raspberry sauce.

We continued our evening at Barnes and Noble. Yes, that's right. A bookstore.

Now, for some of you, the concept of a bookstore date probably sounds less than romantic. But for P and I...well, let's just say roaming the aisles sans children was just what we needed. First we haunted the scifi/fantasy shelves looking for new titles by favorite authors. Next, we oohed and ahhed over cover artwork, and sampled first pages of potential new favorites. Then we wandered the rest of the store, ending up in the bargain bin area with an armload of books, and wish lists for both of us.

The birthday celebration continued Saturday with presents from the girls. I'm now the proud owner of a tabletop Zen garden, an authenic crystal ball, subscription to Writer's Journal, and my own copy of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.

Appetite for writing: Hungry.

Current read: The Blue Girl by Charles de Lint.

On deck: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, reviewed recently by Cynthia Leitich Smith here, and The Book Thief by Markus Zusak reviewed here.