Saturday, October 14, 2023

Three Beautiful Things 10-13-2023: Easy Drive Home, A Delicious Pasta Dinner, Yakkin' with Debbie and Sippin' Whiskey Barrel Aged Rum

1.  After a relaxed morning of casino house coffee, puzzle solving online, blogging, and getting cleaned up, I checked out of the Wildhorse Resort hotel.  Ed and I piled into the Camry and zoomed back to the Silver Valley. It was an uneventful and easy drive from Pendleton to Kingston/Kellogg, bringing our three night fun trip to a satisfying conclusion.

2. Back home, I unpacked, got Copper and Luna squared away -- they expressed, in their own well-disguised and subtle ways, happiness that I returned --, and broke open a HelloFresh bag and fixed dinner for Debbie and me. 

HelloFresh favors the pasta called cavatappi. Tonight's dinner featured cavatappi cooked with kale and butternut squash in a creamy Parmesan sauce, topped with toasted panko.

It was easy to make -- and Debbie and I wholeheartedly agreed:

It worked! 

3. Debbie and I then settled into an evening that was at once relaxing and invigorating. We yakked for at least a couple of hours. We talked about Debbie's pretty good week at work and what she's learning about her students and what she's doing in class to engage their attention, get them excited (at times), and to let them know she cares about them. 

We also talked about aging and our mortality, which might seem depressing, but it wasn't at all. 

While we freely yakked and jumped from one topic to another, I enjoyed a small pour of Cointreau followed by two or three small pours of the Rattle Creek Rum I purchased at the Stein distillery in Joseph. It's a terrific spirit, aged in whiskey barrels for four years. It is, to my taste, a light rum, flavorful, and perfect for sipping. I wouldn't want to mix it with cola or use it in a daiquiri. I enjoyed it straight over a small cube of ice. 

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