Bourbon & Chocolate

I never seemed to fret over growing old alone. I have a solid network of friends and family, so I was never really interested in finding a soul mate. Honestly, I thought it was a bunch of total BS. Then I met Keith and well, I guess you could say I got all soft. The thought of not having him by my side through all of life’s adventures just seems unfathomable.

So when I read a review of Epilogue: A Memoir by Anne Roiphe over on Joanna Goddard's blog, A Cup of Jo, I was intrigued to see how one woman coped with such a loss. Ms. Roiphe suddenly lost her husband of 39 years to a heart attack. Epilogue was one of her methods for coping with that loss – by writing about her daily life.

There are moments that are completely heart wrenching and others that bring a giggle or smile of understanding. Her memoir resulted in a true love story and how sometimes following such a magnificent loss the survivor simply tries to find a way to keep going on.

“I do not have my soul mate,” Ms. Roiphe realizes, “and most likely will never have another, but I will be fine…I will be sad often but not always."

I would best describe the writing as a stream of consciousness, which did take me a bit of adjusting too. However, this made it a great book for commuting back and forth – I was able to easily put it down and pick it up after short periods of time reading. This book is definitely worth the read; just make sure you have a tissue or two within arm’s reach.

Do you worry about losing a spouse or loved one? Do you have suggestions for a book to add to my list?

Last Saturday, the 7th of July, I had a pretty damn good day.  First thing in the morning, I drove out to the South Riding Golf Club to take a golf lesson that my lovely wife purchased for me as an early birthday gift.  Within five minutes my instructor, Kevin Hamluk, had me hitting the ball farther and straighter.  After bombing about 50 drives, we cut the lesson short because it was nearing 100 degrees.  I was okay with this because I had already sweat through my golf shorts.

Since I was out in "Real America" (Nicole and I don't go outside the beltway terribly often), I decided I'd pop over to Purcelville to visit Catoctin Creek Distillery.  This was a big day for Catoctin, as they were releasing 100 bottles of a cask strength version of their excellent Roundstone Rye.  There were about 50 people in line, which was fortuitous because they limited each customer to 2 bottles of the cask strength rye.  I was about 30th in line so I secured my allotment with no problems.  While I was at the counter I decided to pick up their Watershed Gin and a bottle of their barrel aged maple syrup.

Since I was out in Virginia anyway, I decided to stop at the local VABC store.  As luck would have it, I was able to find the latest rye release from Jim Beam, Knob Creek Rye.  So it was sort of a big day for booze purchasing.

When I got home, I was fairly tired (I hadn't driven that far in one day in over a year), but I pushed through and sampled the Cask Strength Roundstone Rye.  It starts grassy with a little mint at the end and is a seriously spicy rye--it is the purest form of rye I've ever tasted.  I very much enjoyed my first pour, and I'm looking forward to spending some more time with it in the future.

After a brief nap, Nicole and I got dressed and went over to Citronelle, which is widely regarded as one of the best restaurants  in the city.  It. Was. Phenomenal.  We both had the 10 course tasting menu with the wine pairing.  Everything from the lobster sandwich, to the halibut, to the foie gras (which I usually don't like) was fantastic.  We both agreed it wasn't as good as Komi, but far better than  CityZen. 

Anyway, Saturday was one hell of an enjoyable day.

The Fourth of July is by far my favorite holiday of the year. Apparently, I have a hidden pyromaniac just waiting to burst out. Unfortunately that has been repressed after moving to Washington, DC. At least, we call the nation’s capital home and are never short on things to occupy the time.

The heat wave mentioned on my prior occasions seems to be around for the remainder of the summer. Talk about putting a damper on most plans. Somehow we have found a way to power through and enjoy ourselves. Yesterday we hosted friends for grilled burgers and hot dogs along with fresh salads and watermelon. And because life is short there were Rice Krispy treats, blueberry crumble, and of course a little bourbon thrown in for good measure.

It was sweltering hot so we passed on the National’s ballgame, the neighborhood parade, and even the fireworks on the Mall. Instead we hunkered down with board games – you know they’re that much better when you have a group – and settled in on the sofa in the AC for the show.


Trust me. I never thought the day would come where I would forgo the Mall and the spectacular show. But when it was still 95 degrees at 9 pm, I learned there is a moment. Here’s to hoping next year is much more bearable. I’m not asking much maybe 89 degrees at 9 pm.

Hope you had a fun and safe July 4!

Monday has been a little slow moving for us. It felt like most of our weekend was spent with this as the view.

We flew out of Baltimore early Saturday morning for one of Keith's high school buddy's wedding in the Texas Hill Country. The trip was pretty quick as we flew back to Baltimore yesterday. This was my first trip to Texas with Keith and it was an adventure. But then every trip with Keith is an adventure. (Even to the grocery store.)

He's convinced the first thing one does when they are in Texas is stop at Whataburger. I think I may have made a mistake ordering breakfast rather than a burger. I just couldn't wrap my mind around a burger without having had breakfast first. Can you believe he wouldn't share?


The more I think about it, the more I feel like the trip revolved around food. We napped and then found our way to Phoenix Saloon, which I have no doubt was a pretty happening place come that night. Again I should have followed Keith's lead when it came to my order. That Frito pie looked really good and the smile on his face was priceless.



Let's not forget the real reason for the trip was the wedding. It was held on the River, which I had no idea was such a scenic view. I'm sure they will have gorgeous photos with this as the backdrop.


The groom was beyond happy to see Keith. It was like watching a high school reunion unfold. I enjoyed meeting so many of the guys I had heard about. All in all, they were a good bunch of guys. The evening was gorgeous and who would have thought that the weather in Texas was going to be cooler than what we left behind in Washington, DC?

It was short, whirlwind trip. I kind of wish we had more time to enjoy the sights. I hear the BBQ in Texas is something to enjoy. I'm just not so sure it's better than Kansas City, though. Guess, we'll just have to wait until another time.

What did your weekend bring?