Best Date Each Year...

Claude and I created a tradition several years ago just for us. Every December we find one evening we block out just for us. We find somewhere special to go for a very nice dinner and to some type of entertainment if possible. It is simply a time for us to shut out the rest of the world and just enjoy Christmas to ourselves. If that sounds selfish, so be it. I told Papa on Wednesday that I would not be in Thursday evening. I explained about this tradition that Claude and I have and told him Thursday was my date with my honey. Papa just looked at me and said, "That is a great tradition!" So there, it is Papa approved!

This year we had Thursday, December 22nd as a free night and left it free. I found that Mannheim Steamroller was coming to the Lexington Opera House that night. I secured seats in our favorite spot in the balcony for that venue. 

We determined we would eat at Sal's that night which is also in Lexington and a favorite spot for special dining. Claude was responsible for dinner reservations. He found out that Sal's is no more. There is a series of restaurants along this portion of the shopping center on Tates Creek Road and they are all owned by the same company. They determined they needed more catering and banquet space. So they converted Sal's into this type of venue and all their dining is now at Malone's and Drakes, the bar/restaurant next door. Claude got reservations at Malone's.  

We spent our Thursday morning getting things done. I completed the laundry and ironing so none of that would be needed over Christmas. Claude was preparing to make mayonnaise cake cupcakes and banana bread when... at 11:30am...the power went out completely. We had anticipated leaving our home at 4pm. We planned to get our showers and get ready beginning at 3pm. Hmmmm... We checked and realized the power was out all over Sadieville and Kentucky Utility was working between Sadieville and Mallard Point. Not sounding too good. Claude called KU and they assured him they were researching the problem and planned on everyone having power by 2:30pm. Okay. 

We set to filling our afternoon as best we could with no power. Baking stopped, blogging could not be done. Vacuuming could not be done. So many things we do require electricity and you just don't pay any attention to that until you have none. Our home is all electric. So, after two hours with no power we were both putting on sweaters or jackets. I had decided to just sit on the love seat in the living room where some light was coming in the window and work on my crocheting. Claude did some reading, took a nap, and then started to pace a bit. Finally he stood near the end of the love seat and said, "Power could come back on any time!" He was over the interestingness of this little hiccup in our plans for the day. He was trying to decide about his cooking. At 2:30 the power did indeed come back one. Claude quickly whipped up his banana bread and put it in the oven. We got our showers and prepared for leaving our home. Whew! Our Plan B was to go to Papa's to take care of showers, blow dryers and curling irons. Thank heavens for a Plan B.

We made our way to Malone's and truly enjoyed our meals. We each had a shrimp cocktail to being our meals. To me, that cocktail sauce is what I love with a little shrimp on it. Silly Moi! We were served unending bread and salad. I ordered salmon with a dill sauce and Claude had steak and crab. Yummy!! We waddled out of the restaurant and Claude drove us to the parking garage across from the Lexington Opera House. He passed the ice skating rink that goes up in downtown Lexington over the holidays with its beautiful tree decorated beside it. Claude asked if I wanted to ice skate. It took me no time at all to assure him my knees have taken as many falls as they need, I really didn't want to fall on the ice at all. Very considerate of him to offer but, alas, I have passed that point in my life and am happy to watch others gracefully skate over the ice.

On to the Lexington Opera House for an excellent performance by Mannheim Steamroller. Absolutely exhilarating. We watched a full orchestra perform on a Christmas special earlier in the week. This little group made as much volume. Great to watch to see whose instrument is the one making the lead sound. They played Christmas favorites in their own style and some that I didn't know at all. They came back for an encore and played two other pieces. The first was a number with the University of Michigan Men's Chorus singing the lyrics. Wow! I truly love a men's chorus. Then they did a version of Silent Night that took my breath away. Great evening.

And now, for my rant, well, etiquette lesson. As a child, I was taught that it was not polite to enter or exit during a performance. If it must be done, it was to be done between numbers. But ideally, you should come in early and be prepared to sit through the performance. I was also taught that you didn't talk with others during the performance. You could sing along if the group was singing and you were invited or speak between numbers and during the intermission, but never while the performance was going on. As an adult, I am grateful for that instruction as a child. It makes for a much more enjoyable experience for all attending.

Why the rant, er, etiquette lesson? Once again the people behind us thought they came to chat and giggle. I mean really!! We all search for entertainment that fits what we like. I look for things that uplift or make me happy. We all pay a premium to view these performances. So we should all be respectful of that for everyone. These people must be placed in my path to teach me patience. I was good almost throughout the entire first half. I kept telling myself to lose myself in the performance and that would block out the riff-raff behind me. For the most part it did. But I did find myself once turning enough in my seat so they could see I was trying to look at them and let them know to be quiet. During the intermission the couple directly behind me said out loud that they would take their conversation outside. This they did and they didn't come back for the second half. The two girls sitting next to them however came back and, with the mellowing effect of the alcohol they consumed during the intermission, were more giggly than before. Goodness. I tried again to focus on the performance and ignore them but they only got louder. Finally I realized I had turned around, put my fingers to my lips and given them a loud SSSHHH. That only helped for half of one song. I was greatly relieved when a song later the man sitting to the side of them leaned over and asked them in words to please not talk. So, it wasn't only me. They were quiet for a bit but they still giggled and chatted. My plea to the world it that, when you attend a performance, please respect others and the choice and expense they incurred to attend. No chatting or whispering or giggling during the performance. There truly are lots of places for that to happen other than during a performance. There. Enough said.

Claude and I did enjoy Mannheim Steamroller. Excellent musicians. Program was well thought out and very enjoyable. It was just great to have a date with my hubby and pause to enjoy this time of year. Merry Christmas!