It’s Mardi Gras… or Fat Tuesday is you prefer. Back in 2020, I purchased some green, yellow and purple sugar sprinkles with big plans to bake a king cake. The sprinkles have yet to be used and I’ve never made a king cake.
That’s how baking goes in my world. I did make a cherry pie last night, on a whim, on a Monday, I haven’t lost my domestic goddess badge quite yet.
The more I think on this, the more the tacos I have planned for dinner seem like the most inappropriate meal for tonight. Some gumbo might have been a more festive menu option.
If you’re a religious type, I suppose you might be thinking about what to give up tomorrow for lent. It wasn’t a thing I did growing up in a church (and it certainly isn’t something I do now that I’ve left the church far behind), but it seems that any friend I have left that still does the church thing gives up something for lent these days. I have a hard enough time giving anything up for any reason, so I don’t really see the point in starting on the Wednesday following Mardi Gras.
Good luck to those who do. If you are giving something up, I’d love to hear about it. I’ll cheer you on from here and I admire your steadfastness with the upmost respect and admiration.
We escaped Oregon this past weekend. I’d love to say we headed out of town on a whim but those days are few and far between right now. This was planned back in November when we booked a night at a hotel in Tacoma, WA in an effort to add some stamps to our McMenamins passport with an overnight at the Elks Temple.
Stamps were added.
We slept in a bed other than our own.
New places were discovered (including a roadside burger stand with the best milkshake I’ve had in over a decade).
We might have listened to a drive by around 4:15am on Sunday morning (they don’t call it Grit City for nothing).
All in all a very successful getaway.
Would I recommend Tacoma for a wild weekend away? Maybe not, but I would head back to the McMenamins Elks Temple in a heart beat. The team there did not miss a beat. This should be celebrated. I find it hard to find a restaurant in the PNW that can keep your drink somewhat full, these days, let alone handle a sold out hotel, a concert, a restaurant with a wait list over an hour long, 4 overstuffed bars on a Saturday night and still provide the unique experience these hotels are known for. I’m not sure what they are doing, other than taking care of their employees, that made a difference, but they are doing it.
The next couple of months are already a bit of a blur. Between a bachelorette party in Seattle I’m planning the menu for (if you need good food, find me, that seems to be known), a bachelor party deep in the woods Rocky is 100% in charge of (I won’t ask, if he won’t tell), and a long weekend at our favorite cabin, it feels that things are back up and running.
This doesn’t even get us to May when concert season picks back up and the long weekends and road trips start piling up… I’m foreseeing a nap or two in my future. I’ve spent most of my time at home since mid-November and am finding myself staring out my office window longing for a break. So as exhausting as this sounds, I’m welcoming it with open arms.
Are you looking forward to anything grand adventure this spring? And if not grand, even just a small one? If not, there’s still time to throw something together.
IdyllHands 