Pro Fusion

I have lots to say today, so I hope you are sitting comfortably.

We had a really good evening yesterday.  First we went to Gary's squash club - the only one here with proper European sized courts, that they built specially for him shortly after we arrived here - to watch the club pro (Australian) play another visiting pro (also Australian, but playing for Ireland - his name is Liam so I am guessing his family may have originally come from Ireland).  The match was the best of five games and it went to 2 all and 9-9 in the last game.  Liam finally won.  Watching sports is not really my thing, but it was a very exciting match!

After that we went to dinner with one of Gary's squash buddies and his wife.  He works for the DABC (Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control) - the department responsible for enforcing the very strange liquor laws in Utah, so he knows a lot about wine and knows many of the local restaurateurs.

We went to the Butterfly restaurant that has recently opened here at The Depot.  The depot building was originally the Union Pacific Railway Station. The original Butterfly is in San Francisco.  The food is "Asian Fusion" and was really very nice.  We were introduced to the manager and he sent us a complimentary appetiser - smoked salmon and strwberry wraps which sounds like the weirdest combination but really did work.  We also had some edamame - Gary and I both discovered too late that you don't eat the pods, just the beans inside!  I had duck, kind of Peking style, but not traditionally so with the really crispy skin.  (I have never had duck served with really crispy skin here and that is the bit I really like - fatty though it is.  Or pork served with crackling for that matter.)  Gary had Fillet Mignon.  I had creme brule for dessert (my favourite) but it was not the best I have had - it didn't have the silky smooth texture I would expect.

While we were eating the chef came out to make sure we were enjoying it.  He was a nice guy not at all like the Monty Python chef with the meat cleaver, and anyway we really did enjoy the food so he would have had no need to use it.

After dinner the assistant manager took us on a tour of The Depot club.  It was shut that evening because the scheduled band had cancelled, but it was an interesting place., She showed us the VIP club room as well - very swish, but don't think we will be joining.

We were chatting with the assistant manager and it turned out that she lived in Chatham, near Maidstone in England where our families are from.  Her mother was English but her dad was Columbian, so her first language was Spanish.

A very nice evening and we didn't get home til after midnight and no one turned into a pumpkin.

Today we went to buy hanging basket plants and found some of my favourite fuschias - the ones with the dark purple petals inside and dark red petals on the outside.  Fuschias do well on our porch as they get a bit of shade - and they attract the hummingbirds.  We still need to get plants for the window boxes and some to replace ones that Charlie dug up from the flower beds.

We also went to Joanne's for more supplies for secret projects.  Haven't done any knitting lately.  I am ready to cast on for one of the front pieces for my Vogue Top and will probably do that this evening.

I have received answers to the One Skein Secret Pal Questionnaire that was sent to us, from my 'downstream' secret Pal (who, amazingly, has a Boston Terrier too) and sent my answers to my  'upstream' secret pal.  I have a while to decide what to send but have a couple of ideas of things she might like already.

Comments

[Jacquie]

I forgot to mention that there was a drawing/raffle at the squash game and Gary won a very nice racquet bag.

[carolinne Willson]

or was it a "sports bag"?????