coffee and sugar and ice cream and cookies

a coffee and sugar overdose this weekend has driven me to drink ... soy chai. yum. and deceivingly healthy, too!

the weekend was incredible. friday night, laura, erin and jen came in from wisconsin. kat and i caught up with them over thai take-out and, later, beers at the hopleaf. it had been too long since we'd all been together last, so just knowing i'd have them for three days was a pleasing thought. late that night, erin's three friends - heath, matthew and jared - came in from ohio. nine of us in one house. it makes me really want to adopt a dozen kids someday. so many people in one small space makes a house really seem like a home. i love it.

anyhow, saturday we woke up slowly and left the house around noon to take the el down to chinatown. joy yee's - chinatown's best pan-asian offering - hosted the nine of us for a lunchtime smorgasbord. i liked everyone being together, learning about each other, sharing stories and jokes. i felt SO comfortable all weekend, never like i needed to bridge gaps between folks or pull teeth to get someone to talk. to have 9 skilled conversationalists - or what's more, 9 ready lovers (and by that, i mean, open-hearted, no-pretense, it's-just-me-and-you-and-you're-at-home-here people) - all together seems a rarity and an extra special blessing.

so we took the el back up north to millennium park and played outside in the late autumn warmth, enjoying the open spaces of the park, the "bean," the pseudo-maze of trees and the bridge/slide (see http://elknowles.fotopages.com for pics). we were in no rush to be anywhere yet, so we walked down michigan to the john hancock, rode the ear-popping elevator to the 96th floor, and checked out the view from the top. beautiful.

erin and co had a concert to check out (www.inmuseworld.net) at 7 p.m., so my girls and i parted with the others and went to my favorite spanish restaurant for dinner. sangria and tapas consumed, we returned to wrigleyville with designs on meeting the others at guthrie's tavern for drinks and games.

halfway there, erin and i touched base via phone about a coffee vs. beer preference which re-routed us back home. it couldn't have been better.

now down to eight (jen - you were missed!), we poured coffee with cream - bailey's or coffeemate, to each his own - and pulled out cranium. i love board games. i wish i played them more often. and even though laura and i should have won (i'm sorry, but WHO can hum bob seeger's "old time rock 'n roll"?), heath and jared fairly and graciously emerged victorious.

sunday afternoon, laura and erin took their leave of me. i know i'll see them again soon. i love every moment with them, love seeing who they've become, who they want to be, how their desires have changed - all that. they're incredible women. i am glad they still like me after all these years. i really am.

kat and i enjoyed a few hours of quiet that afternoon, giving me a chance to write notes to friends - some joyful, some heartbreaking, but all with love. i wish handwritten letters would come back in style. i'm gonna add that to my list of new year's resolutions. i don't care if it's 2 sentences or 5 pages or just a little something wrapped up in a ups package. it says "i love you" all over it. and more people need to hear that. need to hold onto it. need to see it addressed to them.

erin and the boys returned that evening and seamlessly joined our quiet evening. reading, listening to music, drawing, you name it. those boys - jared, matthew, heath - there are few in the world like them. please understand how i intend this - i fell in love with all three of them. it's like snuggles the teddy bear landing on a soft pile of freshly cleaned laundry, like falling into a warm place, and their spirits wrap arms around you, and you feel ... you feel content. boys, you're welcome at our home anytime.

we watched a "b" movie that night - the new stepford wives - and were more than happy when it ended. but the night was not a disappointment at all. much to my delight, we played "catch phrase" till 1 a.m. (and not because i begged, but because someone suggested it! ah, what rapture!) i'd gladly do it again any night of the week.

this is a bits and pieces blog, sure. but those bits and pieces made up one yet another memorable weekend. god, i am lucky.