O ma gosh e

The weather was amazing today. I've been admiring the beautiful Jacaranda that I can see when I sit in my rocker with my laptop on my . . . lap. I love this time of year because Pasadena and South Pasadena are filled with these beautiful purple clouds.

Then, all of sudden, massive thunder ripped through the apartment. Ripped. It was so loud and sustained that the lightening must have hit close by. We had a little mini-flood pouring down the alley beyond the last apartment. Crazyness. I was so lucky to be in my rocker and not at work. The guys without window offices had no idea of the cool things happening outside.

And in seconds, the rain was gone. Or gonish enough for me to drive to a restaurant by the office to have dinner with my friends. This was a tempura Omakase. Omakase, as I understand it, means the chef cooks what he wants and what is fresh that day. And you just have to sit there and eat it. Sigh. It was wonderful. We had: sashimi of tuna, halibut and yellowtail with delicious greens; asparagus tempura; squid; oyster tempura with salmon caviar; kobacha squash; mackeral; sole with salad; soup; pickles; rice; okra tempura (yuck); broccoli; lotus root; a crab claw; non-tempura'ed grapes and cantaloupe and green tea ice cream. And lots of green tea. The chef prepares a different batter for each dish. We could use the regular tempura dipping sauce or lemon and a green tea salt. It was fantastaic to have the chef focused on just the four of us.

Here we are. Cary, Per, Peg and Alexander. It was an amazing dinner with amazing guys. They are so entertaining. Honestly, we were all talking all over each other about everything in the world. Everything. Thank you, guys. This was absolutely the best good-bye ever. The best.