Week 2, Day 4

saturday 24 january 2015

a good day for counting blessings. and enjoying them too. stomach settled. fatigue predictable. the only complaint is the underlying sinus infection, which i think i've had since october. every blow of the nose was bloody. 

nevertheless, every plan for the day got fulfilled, including the 4 p.m. nap. there were quite a few plans.

first, the molasses ginger cookies, made by a woman in amherst who has a table at the horsefeathers winter market on connecticut street on saturdays. i hadn't seen her in 2 weeks. got there just as she was setting up and bought 18 cookies, six for friday partner judy kaprove, a dozen for myself. ate one at the sectional bridge tournament and gave away five.

chemo brain tried to derail my bridge game at first, but focus came easier this time. partner paula kotowski and i brought home a 54.9% effort, tenth overall, for 0.67 of a silver master point. that wrapped up tournament play for me this time around with a point and a fraction overall. no complaints whatsoever. 

i eschewed the expressways en route home because of the wet stuff dropping from the sky. sleet? freezing drizzle? whatever. it was getting slippery. then belatedly, but not too belatedly, i remembered the cider tasting at farmers & artisans market. could be a mildly alcoholic alternative to bubbly for me at our super bowl gathering next week. tasted three vintages from south hill cider, an artisan mill in ithaca, and brought home a bottle of their bluegrass russet.

evening plans meant a return trip to williamsville for dinner at brioso by butterwood in the wyndham garden hotel with friends tom and sandy kumiega, whom we hadn't seen in more than a year. butternut squash bisque, a crab guac to share with the table and, in place of an entree, the lobster salad, which included with lots of arugula, all a little zingy thanks to the restaurant's brazilian theme and all good.

then to musicalfare on the daemen college campus for musical comfort food -- a three-woman cabaret show, which included two old friends, singer-songwriters cathy carfagna and leah zicari, doing wall-to-wall carole king songs. i was lucky enough to score the last table for four back on wednesday. final performance is 2 p.m. sunday. 12 tickets left.