Renie got into town last night after Jen and I put up the Bat-Signal last week. We asked her to come down and help de-paper the hallway so that we can clean it up and get it painted, which will push us even closer to our goal of getting the upstairs finished before Christmas. In a strange bit of serendipity, we also got a call from our friend Martha, asking if we’d like to stop over on Thursday for some fresh Maine lobster brought down by her parents.

A bit of personal history: When I was still in college, I did some contracting work for a friend, and I was introduced to her neighbor across the street, who also needed work done on her house. For the next three years, I worked steadily from house to house in the neighborhood, doing everything from simple interior painting to a complete bathroom renovation. During that time, I got to know Martha and her family, who happen to be some of the best people I’ve had the pleasure to meet.

We arrived to find the house full of people, conversation, and the smell of good food. Introducing Renie around to some of the people I knew, we caught up with Martha’s folks until it was time to sit. And what a feast it was: bowls of fresh lobster with butter, salad, roast beef for the non-seafood types, and plenty of wine to go around. Jen got in from the paper show a little later and we fed her the first real lobster she’s had, which got a hearty thumbs-up. Afterward, we closed out the evening with apertifs, dessert, and helped clean up after ourselves. All in all, it was a great way to start the weekend (early.)

Listen to Morrissey. Morrissey speaks. and his current album isn’t too bad either.