Happy Happy Friday in Darien

Lettie and Marisa walking the dogs

Marisa and Baba at the Darien Library

Slept in till 7:00, if that's sleeping in and only Rami was up.  It's now 8:30, Marisa and I are watching a kids' show and Evie's in the kitchen making crepes for all the sleeping Albarrans.  It looks like it's going to be warmer today, in the high 40's, partly cloudy, a good day to be outside.

Marisa and Granny at Weeds Beach

Yesterday, we relaxed at home with the kids, though Tyler was off at a friends house jamming with three buddies on their guitars.  Beth and Rami were off shopping part of the day and the rest of us went off to Weeds Beach with the dogs, three of them, to romp in the sand and enjoy the spectacle of the ocean, so different from our Chautauqua Lake.  Unfortunately, it was bitter cold and windy, a biting cold that went through your clothes, so we did not last more than 30 minutes but it was good to be outside and enjoy some brisk air.

The rest of the afternoon was taken up preparing for Ramiros' deep fried chicken extravaganza.  He had bought whole chickens, so he had to cut them up into pieces, soak them in buttermilk for a couple of hours before coating them with a spice rub, soaking them again in buttermilk, then once more in the spice mixture.  While this was going on, the rest of us prepped the rest of dinner, potatoes, macaroni and cheese and coleslaw, while enjoying guacamole, chips, and white wine.  A good way to spend the late afternoon.

The Chef butchers the Chicken

Around 5:00, we got the fryer going outside but had lots of trouble regulating the heat as, at first it was too hot and literally would not go down, even if we turned the heat off and added more room temperature oil.  After about about a half hour, we got it down to a manageable temperature but then had trouble heating it up to the recommended 325 degrees.  Meanwhile, batteries on thermometers failed, Itouches and Iphones were used, and we finally got things done by 6:30.  The chicken was tasty and everyone devoured it, as were the fix ins on the side.  I am not sure the drama of it all was worth it but Rami seemed to enjoy the 'doing' despite the hassles.  He's made it before and never had this trouble so I am sure they will do it again.

Cody, Bella, and Linus relax

Marisa went to bed around 9:00 and Beth, Tyler, Evie and I watched Moneyball.  Evey one else ended up going to bed.  Surprisingly, everyone enjoyed the movie, more interesting and compelling than I thought a movie could be about a baseball general manager.  Brad Pitt was actually good and I even forgot it was him playing the role, the way I felt when watching BABEL, his last really good movie in my estimation.