Winter Solstice (Whew!)

This week has been yet another of my many, many crazy weeks in San Antonio. My electricity went out, and when I went to examine the meter, well, there was no meter. When the CPS folks came out they said it was a common thing to have your meter stolen by someone whose electricity was cut off and whose own meter had been locked. They said it takes a while to trace, so if successfully rigged, the thief will have free electricity for a short time before s/he's caught. Seems a sad crime to me, so I wasn't so much mad as thankful that I had 1. enough money to pay my own electric bill and 2. just bought the battery-powered, stick-it-anywhere INSTAbulb as a joke gift for a white elephant gift exchange at work. That thing is pretty damn handy when someone steals your meter, let me tell you. The white elephant present was promptly replaced with The Perfect Tortilla, and I was good to go until my lights were restored. In other news, the work week was stressful, and my new medication made me break out in hives all week which, as you can imagine, made me quite lovely to look at.

So Saturday eventually came. Whew! Yesterday was Winter Solstice, and it was beautiful outside, just a little cool. Chris and I went to the River Walk to see the lights and dine at Boiler House at Pearl. The food was fantastic, and the service was just shy of okay. It was a small-plate place that had an amazing quinoa with zucchini and golden raisins (soaked in Moscato, so I ordered a Moscato to accompany it). Since fancy for us is usually Outback, it was a nice treat to ourselves. I always feel somewhat awkward at really nice restaurants, mainly because I devour food as if it might run away from me if I don't. It's a bad habit and, like in many other aspects of my life, I am trying to slow it down. The lights were lovely (not in a hives way, but in a real way), and the time was wonderful. My husband has been traveling a lot lately, and my stress levels (for many reasons) have been off the charts. So our night out was especially magical.

In writing news: I'm writing a lot, looking forward to AWP, and applying to residencies where I can finish my Rattle book. More soon.

Happy Everything to All.