Susan Senator

A lovely weekend, for almost-fall. I took a long bike ride today and there were almost no cars because it was early enough in the morning, and a Sunday.

Last night Ned and I went to a wine tasting party at some friends’ house. It took me a while to figure out what to wear because I was having a “fat” day. Or maybe it was just so hot out, which was great, except it made it very difficult to slide into my newly-washed jeans. I succeeded, and ended up wearing my bright red silk V-neck sleeveless top from Anthropologie which I had bought for my book party at Emily’s, almost a year ago today.

At the party, we hung out with some old friends and met some new ones. Of particular interest were a sociologist couple from Harvard, and another couple that was an artist and a dermatologist. I had a lot of fun asking the dermatologist about all kinds of cosmetic surgery procedures (which I won’t get because Ned would divorce me) and the artist was a lot of fun.

There were six wines served: three white, three red. The white were a Gruet, a Chardonnay, and a Sauvignon Blanc. I loved them all. They paired them with goat cheese toast, tuna with chili aioli wrapped in cucumber skins (my favorite), and curried veggie crepes. It was obviously an eating day for me. Then, the reds, which I generally do not like: a rioja, a valpolicello, and a riunite- like dessert wine. The rioja had a beef carpaccio with it; I did not eat it because I am scared of raw beef (e coli, hello?). Ned ate it, however, and gave me the parmesan toast leftover — yum! And the valpolicello had a saltimbocca and prosciutto wrapped shrimp. Wow. And then, the finale, the dessert wine had vanilla and chocolate mini eclairs. I had five!!! And it was already a fat day, prior to the party!

Never mind, the long bike ride will help. Plus, it’s not what you eat one day, it’s what you eat everyday! We got home late, very tipsy, collapsed into bed and slept the sleep of the drunken.

And today, another party: Emily’s baby shower! This will be her third baby, and her kids are the same age difference as mine, except her oldest is 8, then the boy is six, and the new baby will (hopefully) be a Libra, born in two weeks.

Had less trouble finding an outfit: showers call for pretty dressy girlie stuff. So, a pink trumpet skirt with bows all along the hem, and a sleeveless angora Audrey Hepburn sweater. Peep-toe pumps, and totally straight hair. I walked in, and a friend I haven’t seen a few years did not recognize me! Emily looked absolutely gorgeous: A Tiffany-blue polka-dotted empire waist top, that fit her snug and showed off her marvelous round belly, and a little black ruffled skirt. Most of the women there were friends of mine, which was fun, and the food was great: all salad fixings, easy to eat carefully. (There was a large, round, old-fashioned style chocolate cake with mini baby rattles stuck in it, and I could not resist eating some of the frosting.)

I gave Emily a gift certificate to a great spa near us, so she could get a fantastic treatment after the baby is born, and she has to go with me! New moms — no, make that all moms — need all the pampering they can get!

I had to leave the shower before I wanted to so that I could take Nat to Special Olympics soccer. Rush out of the car in my fancy clothes and high heels and throw on jeans and boots, rush back out with water bottle and a sweat-shirted Nat, and speed away to the soccer field! And, the piece de la resistance: Nat did great at soccer, smiled and participated the whole time!