Annivbirthary

August 23 is Mary's birthday and our anniversary. Mary got the day off work and went into San Francisco with some friends. She sent us this picture from their picnic. (Full House and Mrs. Doubtfire fans will recognize the scenery.)

Meanwhile, I don't know if they were for real or just humoring me, but my two sisters Kelle and Kathy sent this picture of them toasting to the big day in Denver.

Brad and I celebrated our anniversary by going out to a special dinner. Brad had read about a restaurant in a small town west of here called Stone Soup Cottage. It's supposed to be one of the best restaurants in the Saint Louis area, and it did not disappoint. The small cottage holds just 24 diners. We all arrived between 6:30 and 7:00, and over the next three hours we were served the same multi-course meal. Our servers were the chef and his wife. There was one other wait person who helped out. It was absolutely superb in all ways - one of those meals we'll remember for a long time.

Meanwhile in Palo Alto, Mary went out to dinner at a restaurant we all know and like. It's called Nola and it's in downtown Palo Alto. I'm not sure what drink she's got there, but since she turned 21, I'm guessing that whatever it was, it was a doozy.

We are enjoying a weekend with no plans. Yesterday morning we drove into the part of town called Tower Grove to go to the Farmer's Market there. We brought home some yummy peaches and tomatoes and cucumbers. (We have no harvest here at home, as the squirrels have helped themselves to virtually all of our tomatoes.) Tonight it's gazpacho for dinner!

Last night we went out to dinner again. This time we went to a part of town called the Central West End, and ate across the street from where Troy works. Afterwards we went over to iTap to say hi to her.

It was a great night to stop in, as it was her first night to work behind the bar. (Troy, please forgive me for sneaking a photo when you weren't looking!) After having a beer we saw the movie Blue Jasmine. Even though Brad hated the movie (I thought it was just fine), it didn't put a damper on an otherwise great weekend!