Oak Ridge Boys and Girls

The day is a series of reunions accompanied by good foods. We meet with our special friends the Einsteins (I went to nursery school with Ruthie). We eat --yes you guessed it--leftover turkey (and some bread pudding which David & Laura's wee one, Ava, devours impressively). And we drink way too much black tea.

Later on, Susannah, Chevy, and Susan come over and we scheme to find (and crash) the Brynestaad Reunion. After several false starts (including arriving at the entirely wrong house, calling information for phone numbers, doubling back to Sonya's house and vehicular/ route logistics) we split up into the globally unconscious contingent of 4 cars for 6 women and head to Oak Ridge. Success!! We find the cozy Brynestaad home and mingle with good old friends and eat superlative and diverse snacks of the world: baba ghannouj with pita, dolmas, gjoest (and other) cheese, ribs, meatballs, stuffed celery, ginger snaps, Norwegian cookies, cous-cous, and more more yum. I get to chat with all the Brynestaads--except my friend Sigrid who didn't make it home for the holidays--dang! Jay Manischmidt & I raise our glasses to the memory of Jarrett Washington.

After the party we make a detour and have a night-viewing of the 185 Outer Drive Eichler house. It is strange but nice to see the house where I was a wee lass. Now someone else reads in my old bedroom and sleeps and wakes up and goes off to college and dreams about her old house fondly... You can take the girl outta Oak Ridge, but you can't take the Oak Ridge outta the girl...