Susan Senator

Ned and I had our 22nd wedding anniversary on July 1st. To celebrate, we did a number of fun things, most of which I can describe here. 😉

We went out to brunch at Zaftig’s, a Jewish deli kind of place in our town. Zaftig in Yiddish means “voluptuous,” so it was very apt, considering what I ate. It was a totally carbed day, so I had a bagel and cream cheese and a side of pancakes! I cannot believe how good that stuff tasted. I hardly spoke to Ned because I was in a haze stuffing my face. I did not eat for the rest of the day (except for a perfectly ripe spotted banana, also verboten on my usual cockeyed diet) because I was so full. We lazed around in the sun and also did a lot of odds and ends to get ready for our vacation on Cape Cod, which is where I am right now. Ned had to make sure the bike rack fit on the Amazon, which we have never yet taken on a vacation. The old car, the Party Slipper, could not be used with any old bike rack so we jerryrigged a Thule one and always felt nervous whenever we hit bumps. Lo and behold, the Amazon worked with our bike rack! We could not believe that something happy and easy could ever occur with that car of mine, considering all the headache she has been (although I still love her look, her ample space, and her power). She is very high maintenance, but then again, some of the most worthwhile people in the world are…

At 6:30 we got ready to go to Tangierino, a Morrocon restaurant in Charlestown where they have bellydancing. Because I did not wear it to the wedding (grrrr) I wore the red dress out to dinner! Finally. Loved how I looked, and so did Ned.

The place was amazing. Inside were maroon gauzy veils hung with little lights, festooned from the ceiling, creating little tented booths, and little corner tables of heavy carved stone and sumptuous burgundy velvet chairs. The waiter was flirtatious and charming and the food was fantastic. I had “Sultan’s Kadra,” a lamb filet with carmelized apricots and figs and cheese-filled eggplant. Ned had salmon with olives. Also a chocolate molten lava cake, which was exquisite.
The dancer was beautiful and very fluid. She had a ponytail which had an I-Dream-of-Jeanie bit of hair wrapped around it (I want that!) and a gorgeous burgundy beaded top and harem pants (I need a good website for this stuff). She did not use a veil, probably because the space was narrow and the tables had candles. I studied her moves and I noticed/overheard that just about every other woman around us was doing the same. It seems most of us were taking bellydance classes! I had a really great conversation with a B-dancer from Tampa, and she was very encouraging to me.

The only thing I didn’t like was that the owner put money in the dancer’s bra, which turned the whole thing into something a little gauche. The place seemed far classier than that. I truly loved it and wish I could dance there but I would never let people put money in my clothes that’s for sure! Hand me a paycheck at the end of the week, thank you very much.

We drove to the Cape after that. I slept in an overstuffed stupor most of the way. Got to the house in good time and it was so lovely to be here!

Woke up to beautiful sunshine and despite a crick in my neck, I ran 4 1/2 miles, to the ocean. What could be better than July on Cape Cod? Not much.