It's all Greek to me!

So yesterday I got a phone call from my daughter's hoity toity English teacher, Mariko.  She and a couple of my pals said they wanted to sacrifice their beauty sleep and desert their families so we could stay out late together eating Greek food and watching movies about French food.  

I was so excited I peeled off all my clothes and jumped in the shower.

It wasn't long before I remembered that I'd been cleaning and scrubbing all day and there was no soap or shampoo or satin fresh shaving cream within 100 square feet.  There was, however, a bottle of lemon lime soft scrub and a scrubbing brush so I'm not complaining. (Though I will say I've gained a new sensitivity for porcelain and tile cruelty.) 

I was ready and waiting (and squeaky clean) by 5 p.m.  Since there is no Olive Garden in Hawaii, Mariko and pals took me to The Olive Tree Cafe, which is one of those hip Greek joints where the combination of sparkling lemonade and Greek bluesy music makes you want to start spilling your (psychological) guts.  

When Mariko asked me what I wanted to eat I shrugged and said,  "It's all Greek to me."  

So she ordered for all of us. 

First we had babaganoosh, which is a fancy way of saying tortillas and eggplant.

Then we ate Shawarma. 

And for dessert we had baklava.  I have no photographic evidence of it, but it it was finger lickin' YUM-O!  

Mmmmm.  Mmmmm.  Mmmmmmm.

Great food.  Great conversation.  Great friends.    It was all very intoxicating.

My only disappointment is that Mariko isn't hoity toity at all.  (I hate it when my blanket stereotypes and sweeping generalizations are way off.) 

Here I am with Mariko and Pam.  Pam is also an English teacher who is light on the hoity toity, heavy on the uber cool hippy vibe. (Just between me and you, Pam is a fantastic writer who should be hoity toity.)

Here I am with Pam and Colleen (sistahs). Colleen is one of my closest friends. She's the reason my kids get so far in the History Day competition every year.   

LY Co!

Lub this photo!

 

After dinner we spent a few hours becoming even more intoxicated by French food with Julie and Julia.  Great movie!  (Nothing like the book.)  Meryl Streep is amazing.  And Amy Adams ain't bad either.  

After the movie Colleen said, "I heard Amy Adams is a Mormon."  

"And so was Lionel Richie, (before his wife smacked him around)," I said with a hardy har har.  

Then we got into a fist fight over it in the parking lot.

But that darn Colleen googled it, and tamnit, she was right. Bless her heart. Amy Adams was a Mormon until her parents divorced when she was eleven.   

And so was Jewel, until her parents divorced when she was eight. 

(I bet Colleen didn't know that!)

Anyway, MUCH MAHALO Mariko for making all the arrangements and for driving and for using handwritten directions instead of that skanky GPS.  

For a second you almost made me forget I was moving away!