Party On!

You know you're at a great party when good conversations, fun activities, booze, and tons of food continue to flow throughout the event. Don threw a party Saturday in Joe and Kaitlyn's honor. All the locals were asked to bring a dish or a pop up tent. The food was literally different every time you went for seconds, since more and more folks kept showing up with dishes. There were four beers on tap and mini bottles of champagne that I could not resist. After living here for the past 5 years I now know most of Don and Joe's friends, so the hugs didn't stop for me. Not to mention the fact that my whole family was there including all my local cousin's and old friends of the family. It was such a wonderful gathering. There were probably around 150 people in and out of there. The only down side was the pool was too cold to get in to, but in a couple weeks in should be perfect. Great party, Don!! Remember me when the next one comes up.

Crunching Peanut Shells

Lonestar Steak House, back in the day, probably 20 years ago, used to bring customers big bowls of peanuts, which you ate, and then threw the shells on the ground.  As a young teenager, the novelty of that alone won Lonestar a slot in my favorite restaurants list.  I was disappointed when, years later I went for dinner as an adult and found the practice abandoned.

But yesterday Kate and I hung out with her Uncle Don while he did a bar crawl through Parkville.  I was happy to discover that the third bar on the circuit, Racers, one of Kate's favorites, has peanut bowls.  But I found that the actual chucking of the shells wasn't the part I enjoyed anymore.  Of course the eating of was high on the list, but almost more than that was the visceral sensation of crushing the shells underfoot.

They make a very satisfying crunch when you step on them.  I can't explain it.  It's a combination of the tactile crunch feel and the pitch of the sound they make.  It goes right to the pleasure center of your brain and noodles it around nicely.

Of course I'm not advocating peanut shells all over our house.  The clean-up required would kill any buzz the crushing created.  But I'm more than happy to go to Racers with Kate every so often and let the friendly staff there handle the sweeping.

Now that smoking is illegal in bars and restaurants, maybe more establishments will bring back the practice of scattering potential kindling all over the floor.  Here's to hoping.