I waited patiently, and finally got my turn to see Avdi, as I knew I would, once he had luxuriated in child-free lounging.  He looked so much better.

We went out for craft beers and a bite at Perennial, a small brewery and eatery in Old Webster Groves, and caught up a little.  Then we adjourned to his house (so quiet!!), where we made a brandy Alexander, and then one of his more regionally-inspired creations, with gooey butter cake cream liqueur, crème de cacao, and vodka.  It sounds… questionable to the uninitiated, but it’s a great dessert drink.

I changed Percy’s cage (he was happy to see me), and helped Avdi assemble one of his challah bread puddings with creamy rum topping (a great way to use up stale challah).  Jess had arrived by then, and we all tried it.  Talk about a decadent alcoholic sugar rush!  Then they dropped me home.

Today I’ll probably do another abridged version of erev preps, for just the three of us, and then this weekend Avdi will be traveling to meet up with Stacey and return with the kids.  Then it’s back to where we left off in our drama thriller.

Update: I was getting ready to go to Avdi’s, when unexpectedly I had to do an hour-long interview with the state to determine if I had qualified for SNAP.  Not surprisingly I didn’t, after all that.  As usual, they think I have too much money!  Huh.

Then I went to Avdi’s and did the usual preps, only for the three of us.  Just for fun, I halved the challah recipe and made three personal challot!  They still came out huge!  I made salmon and tilapia, Brussels sprouts, and baby potatoes.  We had a nice quiet dinner talking, then cleaned up and helped Avdi pack the car for the long trip tomorrow morning.  He’ll stay with the kids overnight at a hotel in Columbus, OH.

Once again I’m back home.