Good evening my Corona friends. I hope you are happy and healthy. First, let me wish you all the Happiest freaking New Year, and hope you are all in line for the vaccination. Who would have ever thought that in this day and age so many of us would be anxiously awaiting a shot. I usually would be hiding from a flu shot, only because the sight of a needle freaks me out. Let me just state that yes I am ready willing and able for my shot in the arm. Anti Vaxxers? Bring them on! More for the rest of us! Of course, I am thinking I am already of an age where I have over the years put a lot of untested and unknown things in my body that this vaccine is the least of my worries, bring it on ASAP.  Well, I know the news won’t be good after all the people who traveled over the holidays and are now back spreading the love, but we have to keep trying to put an end to it.

I know now when my roommate and I take our daily walks around the city and I look in a restaurant and see people enjoying dinner out I feel like crying because I want to be part of it. The worst thing was today I peeked in a place and people were sitting at a bar while dining, my favorite perch, and all this time I thought bar seating was off-limits.  I seriously wanted to break our family rules and just go for it, but alas I did not and settled for takeout with my own bottle of wine. Yes, I have read about sober January, but this is a Pandemic, and no need to be overzealous, ok maybe only on weekends, but that may be too harsh. Let’s just say one day less a week and there are eight days in a week, right? This New Year Eve was a different kind of celebration. It was one that surely made up for how bummed we were feeling for not being able to have our traditional New Year’s dinner with friends because we were lucky enough to have two important overnight guests.  That is right my friends we had a sleepover with Charlie and Maisie our grandchildren. Their parents went nowhere but just wanted a night off, and as a matter of fact, they forgot to pick them up the next day as they were in a bit of euphoria. I mean in today’s world who could really blame these parents that are working from home and while trying to keep the online learning going at the same time.  Heck, I had a full-time Nanny but there were still times when I really thought I might leave my son Max among the lettuce in the grocery store. Today they have many more worries and I can only imagine all those toddler heads in the produce aisles at the grocery store and what kind of picture that would be. Well, we were very lucky that the weather held and we were able to spend hours at the park outside our door because this one room can get exceptionally small when we break out all the Legos and trucks with two small people.  It was like a dam had opened on New Year’s Day with the sun out in a nice 35-degree weather everyone was at that park, slipping and sliding you could almost forget there was a plague except for all those little masked creatures on the slides. I really don’t want to pay it any mind because it makes me sad when I have to zip up their jackets, get their hats and mittens, and oh ya now we need a mask.  I think most of them are faring pretty well and I love them for it. The sad news is that their parents remembered they had two kids and came yesterday to reclaim them, so we reluctantly returned them and cleaned up all the debris from having two kids who you let do absolutely anything they want while under your roof.  Well after all the excitement and fine dining on mac and cheese and hot dogs I decided today was definitely going to be take out day and I had the perfect place in mind. My friend Sarah had told me about the most perfect chicken Parmigiana in Boston. We placed our order at Table in the North End with a pick up at 3:30, Techie misheard the closing time and a whole another story about getting a hearing aid, but we got to the place at about 3:15 and it closed at 3 but the door was open so I walked in and it was all dark. I yelled out and she called from downstairs what do you want? Just my take out, “go next door to the market and I will come up.” That was closed as well but the person opened the door and let us in. The chef came up to berate us that we were late as they closed at 3 and we should have picked up at 2:30.  I said no worries we placed it online and could we get it another day, we had it wrong. No, she was going to make it for us, but we were late and would have to wait outside, while she turned the oven back on and cooked it for us. She left to do her magic and I said to the woman in the shop, well if she was going to make it for us she should at least do it with a smile because right now we thought she was rather a bitch.  Well of course I was willing to wait because I had already anticipated the best chicken parm and since we skipped lunch we were going to have it for Lupper, as I hear the new dinner hour is 5 pm and we are giving it a shot, as now we just eat all the time and dinner is 7:30 so enough time for snacks. I was sitting on a bench outside waiting for this most anticipated dinner, I got to thinking about a most delicious sandwich Shoppe we used to frequent in Cambridge, High rise bakery it was fantastic and probably still is but they had the worst customer service and they were downright nasty at times.  I kept going back because the food was so dammed good that I could stand the abuse if I could just get that number 4 sandwich. Funny I am not a big yelper in fact probably have never posted just feel it is a place to complain but then one day looking for High Rise number the yelp reviews popped up and it was hilarious how bad they rated the service but how incredible the food was and for that we can overlook the rudeness. So that was what I was thinking on that bench waiting for my dinner tonight when she came out with my order and said that she gave me an extra helping as they were out of pasta, didn’t know it was included, her employee that chef was rough around the edges but really a good person inside.   Well, I can relate because sometimes I go on tirades and hope no one is listening.  The reason I am going to give her a pass is because that dinner tonight was beyond delicious. First, there was an amazing huge piece of Focaccia that was dripping in oil and rosemary that took the edge off the hunger till I could reheat the dinner, and all I have to say that I will be ready, willing, and able to take the abuse if you can deliver this scrumptious a dinner.  Funny how this shutdown all comes down to food and toilet paper.

Just saying……….