My Mom's night out

[pegkerr]

My Elven brooch pin arrived today! I pinned it to my black japanese-style coat and wore it when I went out tonight. The black simplicity made it stand out beautifully; it looked splendiferous. I shall wear it often.

After duly considering the suggestions made in my LiveJournal comments, I decided to do something I have never done before and went to Kieran's Irish Pub for the evening. I don't like any kind of beer at all, but I ordered a Guinness, which is something I do about once every two years or so. I took a sip and the shock of memory that the taste brought back was startlingly strong: I suddenly remembered sitting on the patio of one of the pubs (it was called "The Mill," maybe? I think?) overlooking the River Cam in Cambridge, England, over twenty years ago. There are punters going slowly by in the river. It's late afternoon, and I am tasting my first pint of Guinness ever, screwing up my face at the bitter taste as my friends around me all laugh.

I drank about a fifth of the pint I was served tonight and decided that was about enough for another two years. I want to like it, but I still don't. The first sip goes down okay, it's "interesting," and I like savoring the memories that it evokes, but I just don't care for the taste after the first three swallows or so. The pot roast sandwich they brought for my dinner, on the other hand, was so good I almost cried: tender, juicy meat with caramelized onions--they flavored the gravy with Guinness; I decided I liked my Guinness better that way. The potatoes were flavored with garlic and chopped scallions; delicious.

I sat there for a long time in the open air patio, reading American Gods. I laughed at what the Raven said to Shadow when Shadow asked him to say "Nevermore." I ran across this on p. 323:

"Fiction allows us to slide into these other heads, these other places, and look out through other eyes. And then in the tale we stop before we die, or we die vicariously and unharmed, and in the world beyond the tale we turn the page or close the book, and we resume our lives."

Live Irish music started at 9:00 (guitar, flute, concertina, pipes, bodhran, etc). I stayed until 10:30, until my yawns seemed to grow too frequent, and then left to come home. I tipped the waitress hugely; she had not seemed peeved in the least that I had taken up one of her tables for over three hours, but apparently many people do, so that they can listen to the music.

Verdict on tonight's entertainment:



A good experience breaking out of the rut. Thanks for the input, everyone.

Cheers,
Peg

Comments

[rhiannon333.livejournal.com]

Delighted to hear the Elven brooch is divine - now I will *have* to get one! Glad your variation mom's night out was also a success - I am with you on not being able to like Guinness in the glass (although it makes for a yummy beef and Guinness pie!), which is a problem when I am in Ireland for work and all my colleagues are "encouraging" me to try the local drop. *makes face* I am not even a fan of beer! On another matter, although at the time I did not post, I was very sympathetic to your entry about trying to find time for creative efforts inbetween the demands of work and family. I remember from many years back debates about the relative lack of "famous" women writers, artists, musicians etc, and the difficulty all mothers (mainly the primary care-givers) face in finding that discretionary time for creative pursuits. So hard to find, yet so necessary for balance and a sense of achievement. Not that I have an answer, more a sympathetic fellow-traveller's shoulder. (I seem to have so little time that I treasure the time I spend voyeuristically reading MLs and other people's LJs - while on the phone for work calls! - as the "Me" time in the week - ha!). I wish you all the best with your creative pursuits and finding that elusive time.

Megan

[titanic-days.livejournal.com]

Now, Guinness is a bit of a taste enigma. You either worship it (like I do) or you simply can't stand it. It is a bit of an acquired taste. Glad to hear you had a nice evening. I spent most of mine watching Blackadder repeats on BBC2.

I keep thinking . . .

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

it'll be like coffee for me. I couldn't stomach coffee at all until I was thirty. Then I started teaching freshman composition at 8:00 a.m., and suddenly I couldn't get enough of it. I absolutely adore coffee now. So I keep trying Guinness intermittedly, hoping that the switch will suddenly flip to the "on" position in my brain for that, too.

Of course, it helps that I add cream and sugar (and occasionally chocolate) to my coffee. Can't do that with Guinness (yuck).

[aome.livejournal.com]

My husband is a huge Guinness fan - his approach is that if you can see through the beer, it's not dark enough. ;) He doesn't drink beer too often, but when he does, that's usually his choice. I hate kissing him afterwards, though - I don't like beer at all, and you know how much more potent this stuff is! ;)

Glad you enjoyed your evening, though, and that it got you out of a rut. The elven brooch sounds lovely.

Beer!

[peacockharpy.livejournal.com]

I think Alex is right about the taste enigma thing, as I kind of had to grow into Guinness myself. Then again, I'm a Beer Snob who won't drink American swill. ;) Guinness is the nectar of the gods.

If you can lay hands on one, Peg, you might enjoy a lambic -- they are Belgian beers fermented with fruit (typically raspberry, peach, cherry), and are quite delicious.

Your night out sounds delightful! (And reminds me I need to go visit the Harp and Thistle again...)

- Darice