Date Night

Holly and I had a date last night and went to the locavore restaurant Watt's Grocery which is located in an older neighborhood in Durham about 1 mile from the University. We had an excellent meal with a roasted beet salad and an entree portion of their flounder cakes on a bed of creole style black eyed peas. We had a similar dish in Charleston last w-e at the Fat Hen, also a locavore place, that served us shrimp and crab on a bed of black eyed peas. Last night we talked about the fact that until we got together, Holly had not eaten black eyed peas. Amazing! I ate them lots growing up, and they always make me think of my grandmother (not my Mama who is my Dad's mom and always cooked an okra soup/stew/gumbo). It tickles me that this dish we used to have because it's thrifty has become one of those fancy sustainable foods. Of course it always has been a sustainable food and a delicious one at that. I usually fix it with rice and saute in some onion, garlic, and a little cumin. It goes great with greens like kale or collards. Add a little corn bread or a biscuit and Ruby (my grandmother) would be proud.

After our dinner, we drove to the Duke gardens to see the flowers. It was filled with families enjoying the sun after 2 days of rain. The big blossoms of digitalis, peonies, and allium didn't hurt either. The gardens are tiered, if you've never seen them, sloping down to a koi pond with water lilies. When I had my breast cancer chemo (every other friday for 12 weeks), we used to sit in the gardens on the other side of the koi pond and take in the flowers while we ate lunch. It felt odd to be back in that same place and just be able to enjoy the sight of it all-no need to steel myself for upcoming needle sticks, nausea, and feeling sick. Holly asked me if it feels weird to be back there where we spent so much time associated with my treatments. It does feel a little weird because it reminds me of all we had to go through so close by in the medical center. But I have lots of other happy memories of the place too-memories from my undergrad years of running through the trails, memories of walking there during med school when I had a short break, and even fond memories of Jason and LeAnn's wedding with the whole Riley clan taking over the lawn. I owe alot to those gardens with their soothing paths and varied plantings. And the best thing of all is that I don't take it for granted. I got another clean bill of health this week, and I'm almost a year out from my leukemia diagnosis. Very delighted by that.

Photos: Duke gardens on May 7, 2009 and Quigley sleeping under her mink with my socks and underwear to feel close, I guess