getting old with gusto

Regis and I were sitting at the bar of one of our favorite restaurants last night, drinking wine and sniffing my perfume. It's Obsession by Calvin Klein and we both love it. We get our perfume and cologne samples from magazines...cardboard perfume we call it.

We remembered how there was a time we scorned smelly stuff and ripped them out and threw them away without a second glance. A couple weeks ago, we splurged and bought a bottle of Obsession, thinking it would be complicated to collect enough samples to get us through the winter. Yesterday I ordered a bottle of Yves Saint Laurent called La Nuit De L'Homme. 

So, what's the difference? I think as we've gotten older and our kids have fled the nest, we've made a conscious effort to enjoy ourselves and do things we didn't do in the past. Getting old is in the head, for the most part. Mom commented on the post below. She wondered if the old people we were teaching were a little over 60. Ha! Hard to tell. Some of the really old people don't act so old and some people my age act like old farts. You know what I mean.

My mom and her friends have a great sense of fun and I admire that. Not one to sit around feeling sad and blue, Mom invites people over for cards or potluck dinners or movies. She has election night parties, choosing carefully the friends to invite so they don't crow over a victory she bemoans. It's a good practice.

I'm not saying we're going to take up trapeze art or drive to Texas or anything like that. Don't worry. We might move to Poland if Sarah Palin gets elected to a national office but that's as daring as we'll get.

We went to Pappageorge last night for dinner. We love it there for many reasons. The staff is so friendly and they seem to remember us from visit to visit. We enjoy sitting at the bar for a glass of wine before moving to a table. Regis paid $3.60 for a bottle of Stella Artois which is a very good deal. The same bottle of beer is more than $7.00 at Grizzly's, a sports bar with many televisions (ugh) on the hill in Mankato. The food is incredible. I've had the seared ahi tuna three times now and it's been excellent every time. Regis had a rib steak last night that was not only enormous but cooked to perfection. Even the salads are delicious. I like the small spinach salad and it has feta cheese and bacon crumbles with a nice light dressing. You can't find food that good very many places in this area. Two thumbs up for Pappageorge.

I went for a long walk yesterday and noticed that this time of year, it's a black and white world. Only little splashes of color...a cardinal at the feeder, a blue jay in the tree, a flag. It's why we appreciate the color and the lights so much in November and December. Be a splash of color today.