A Pleasant Surprise

My wife surprised me today in a good way. She is usually horrible at keeping secrets, so this time she caught me completely by surprise. It seems that at some point on Saturday she came across one of my close friends on Facebook. They worked out a plan for him to come up for a late Sunday lunch. She decided to hide the plan from me.

My wife apparently went through some great lengths to keep this secret from me, though I think she probably tried harder than she needed to. She takes pride in the fact that she kept us from going to lunch so we could eat at home, considering we did quite a bit of grocery shopping the day before. This of course made sense to me, and I went about my day.

I was just getting the grill going for some Carne Asada when I heard a noise up front. The wind had been knocking the blinds around all day, so I figured that is what I had heard. My wife told me to check the door, so I went to the door to comply. I looked through the peephole, as I was not expecting company. I didn't see enough to make out who it was, so I opened the door. To my surprise my friend was standing there.

Part of the surprise was that in the two plus years I have been married he had not been to my place, and we are now on our second place. He was a Groomsman in my wedding, but hadn't seen the boy. My son has been to his house, but that is another story.

I think this was a pleasant surprise. This is a particularly good friend, but we get so busy that it is hard to get together. On those rare occasions where it works out, it is always a fun time.

When he arrived, my son was still taking his nap. We got to visit for a while before my son woke up. As my son made it known that he was awake, I warned my friend that he might not get a warm greeting for a while. My son tends to have a warm up period, and won't give a stranger the time of day for at least five minutes. To our surprise, my son was instantly taken with him. He acted like he knew him forever, though he was seeing him for the first time. It was pretty entertaining. They had quite a bit of fun together.

We took my son to the park on the beach near my house, and let my son get his legs wet in the ocean. The water is still pretty cold, so we didn't stay there long. It is convenient to have some slides and swings right there on the sand. My son can't get enough of that place, and prefers the big kid slides to the one more appropriate for his size.

Today was a pretty fun day. I always enjoy playing with my son, but to add my friend to the mix made it especially fun. Hopefully we will be able to get together before my new baby is two years old. :)

Wine, Food, and Friends

Tonight we had some friends over for dinner. We grilled some steaks on my charcoal grill, and I had a chance to open a bottle of wine for the first time in a couple of months. My wife is not much of a wine drinker to begin with, so add the fact that she is pregnant, and I have no wine buddies. I have found that though my buddy rarely touches wine, his wife is usually a pretty good sport. She, like most women I know, is a bigger fan of white wines, while I am a fan of reds. My wife can stand a red wine if it is fruity, so I have tasted quite a few wines in order to find something she will enjoy. This helps when we have company, as I have a red to present to a non-red audience.

For dinner we had grilled steak, seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic. I added some Montreal Steak Seasoning to my buddy's and my steak. I also grilled corn, and ultimately a loaf of garlic bread. My wife made a wilted spinach salad, which is always a winner with me. It involves balsamic vinegar, bacon, fresh spinach, and dried cranberries, among other things I may not be aware of. I normally go for a hearty red when I have a steak as thick as these were. Tonight I had to go for a lighter one, so I went for an Argentine selection. I chose the 2004 Tapiz Malbec.

It turned out that I made a good call. I have found that I am pretty happy with just about anything out of Argentina, and this was no exception. This Malbec was light and had some distinct fruity flavors. I read a review that mentioned blackcurrant. I am not sure what blackcurrant tastes like, but if it tastes something like blackberries, I agree. My buddy's wife liked it too, so it turned out to be a good pick. I will make a red oenophile of her yet. :)

After dinner my son decided to ham it up, which kept us entertained well past his bed time. I have a feeling he planned it that way. He figured if he could keep us laughing he wouldn't have to go to bed. He was right, for a time. He is finally starting to warm up to this set of friends, so we tried to encourage it.

All in all the evening turned out pretty well. We had good friends over, had some good wine (at least two of us did), and had a good dinner. When it comes to grilling, my wife and I make a pretty good team. She preps it, and I grill it. It tends to work out well that way. I am looking forward to seeing what we can come up with this summer. The grill has been primed...this should be a good summer.