Tomatoes and cicadas and Minis, oh my....

To celebrate Ari's upcoming internship in Chicago (as in, he leaves tomorrow), he, Jonathan and I went to Newport on the Levee in Kentucky for dinner. I can't remember the name of the restaurant, but it's waterfront with a fabulous view. And guess what they served as a side? Fried green tomatoes!! They were... um... greasy. And fried. But I ate two anyway, just so I could say I've had them. At this point I don't even remember the part they played in the movie, but I was excited anyway.

Simcha and Osher have had a great couple days. Since Jeffrey and Courtney are in Baton Rouge, they asked us if we would mind receiving all their wedding registry gifts. Of course not, we said. This means that boxes have been coming in and out of our house all week. And since Jonathan doesn't necessarily have the time to move them down into our basement the moment USPS delivers them, this means that the cats have been overjoyed playing king of the hill on each and every box. They wrestle and tumble and hiss at each other, then rule that box for two or three minutes before the process starts with another one. Simcha has also claimed the glider in our bedroom as his own. Or, to be more specific, the glider ottoman - he likes to sit on it and swish his tail to make it move.

Work is going great. Just when I think I'm getting bored stiff, along comes a tape that's fascinating. Last week I listened to Robert Frost read some of his poetry, and then there was a 50's radio interview with a Protestant minister who was advocating the separation of church and state. The minister didn't want any tax money going to parochial schools, and he was getting creamed by all the conservative people calling in. The best part was the interviewer though, who had to read all these random commercials every 10 or 15 minutes from his sponsors. It reminded me of watching the George Burns show when Gracie Allen would play Vanna White to the new refrigerator at every break.

I think Jonathan may write about this later, but are any of you familiar with cicadas? Oh my GOD they are loud. When we drive down the freeway with the windows closed we can hear them screech, so loudly they sometimes drown out the radio. There are so many of them warbling their mating call that it's like white noise times ten. I can't think of any California creature that makes such a large impression on the area as a whole. It's like an infestation... Mom, a cicada makes a junebug look itty bitty by comparison.

Jonathan's been working all weekend, much to my (not to mention his) frustration. There was an issue at work Friday afternoon that never ended, so he's been glued to his Blackberry. In between calls we wanted to amuse ourselves, so we started watching episodes of Lost (a TV show is easier to pause than a movie) - and you know what? I'm hooked! I shouldn't be surprised though, I love JJ Abrams (he also produced the TV show Alias, the movie Mission Impossible III, and he's doing the upcoming Star Trek movie).

And the best news of ALL - our Mini has been shipped! Instead of the first week of August, we may be driving it by the beginning of July. This means we're stepping up the plans to sell the bike, too, since a two-car commute is in sight. Yay Mini!