Baby's Homecoming; My Mother-In-Law is Better Than Your Mother-In-Law

Last night, after a three day backlog due to 'the winter storm of 2010,' David finally returned home from visiting his family in Louisiana. I decided I'd surprise him with a 'comfort foods' homecoming dinner which consisted of: French toast, crispy salami, cranberry-blackberry spread on toasts, garlic-parmesan sticks and spiced mixed nuts.

homecoming dinner

cranberry-blackberry spread

David's favorite; the crispy salami

After finishing dinner, we exchanged our parents' Christmas gifts: for David, a hand-knit scarf, gloves and hat and for me, a hand-made qulit, quilted by Mrs. Friend herself.

one of the best gifts I'd ever received

After our gift exchange, David unloaded additional goodies from his luggage: his own copy of Music for Chameleons, The Grass Harp and Bayard, "The most popular Southern European game."

easy like checkers, challenging like chess

After breaking into David's Mondel stash and opening a smooth and spicy (David: 'I'm in the woods!') bottle of Venta Morales, Tempranillo which Cynthia had brought to our holiday party, we settled into the living room where David taught me how to play Bayard. Two games in and I was failing miserably... although David had said 'I played well.'