Monday, May 29, 2006 | by nathan

Date Sunday and Five-Hour Naps

Saturday we spent all day helping Erica and Alex move into their new house. I have helped Erica move more times than I can count - to Stillwater for college, around Stillwater to houses and apartments, back home, and then, of course, when we lived together in Norman - and every time it has been fun. I hate moving myself, but for some reason helping other people do it can be quite enjoyable. Especially when said people make sure to have their brand new refrigerator stocked to the hilt with water and beer.

We sat up with them on their back porch talking about the Dixie Chicks, and Jesus, and why Erica finds Catholicism so confounding. These conversations are helped and hindered by beer.

Brian and I got home around 2:30 and went straight to bed.

Yesterday morning we got up in time for church; I am finding that the more exercise I get the better I can fit into my regular clothes, which makes me happy, and so I felt very excited about getting to dress up just a little - with holes in my jeans, granted - for the service. Robin and his familiy are on their annual summer retreat, and so our service was led by Rabbi Barry Cohen of Temple B’Nai Israel in Oklahoma City. I like anyone who can be a guest minister and pull out all the political stops - Cohen talked about how Oklahoma’s legislators and representatives in Washington are not doing what is best for our state, or our country, and how what they are doing cannot be considered "Christian," or "faith-based" at all because they are tainted with oil money and hold no traces of compassion.

So after a fairly invigorating sermon Bri and I headed to the Paseo Arts Festival, because I was hella-hungry and we had been wanting to go. Also, all that beer from the night before had made me queasy - and the fact that I had helped Erica and Alex polish of a pack of Kools made it twenty times worse. So we ate, and walked around a bit. I love doing things like this with him because he is a wonderful people-watcher. We escaped the heat by hanging out for a bit in Blue Moon on Paseo, but mostly we walked around, eating gyros and mango-flavored Italian ice, holding hands and watching people.

Of course, the heat was exhausting and so we headed home, vaguely thinking we might watch a movie. Five hours later we woke up on the couch. Gotta love a date that involves a five-hour nap.

So as it was evening we decided to find something to make for dinner, settling on the red pepper and artichoke pizzas from the Betty Crocker Healthy Choices cookbook. So we hiked over to the grocery store to get the stuff for them, and then to Blockbuster. We rented Transamerica, Waiting for Guffman (Bri hadn’t seen it), and Happy Endings. 

The sweetest part of the night, for me, was standing in the kitchen, making pizza, listening to Herb Alpert, just being with Brian, being domestic.

At some point in the night I realized that Bri had scotch, but I had nothing to drink. I lamented this for awhile until I realized that I had one more Caffrey’s in the fridge from Jaye and Laurie’s trip to London. And as much as I had been saving it for a "special occasion," after last week when Zach accidentally drank one, I figured I’d better just go ahead and bite the bullet. Also, what better special occasion is there than a sweet night at home with the man you love?

Caffrey’s may be the best beer in existence. It is aromatic like an amber, but creamy and not bitter at all. It gets a perfect head on it when you pour it in a glass, and it doesn’t twist up the back of your throat when you drink it. Anyway, I thought I would memorialize my last glass with a photo: