Three beautiful things from the last week:

1. There is nothing better than coming home from a trip. Walking in the door and being met by three cats who absolutely adore you is incomparable. They want nothing more than to sit on you to prevent you from ever leaving again (unless it’s to buy them some more cat food, of course).

2. The Mets have been playing remarkably well this year. Right now they have the best record in baseball and last night they became the first team to reach 90 wins for the season. It used to be that I’d go places wearing my Mets cap and people would greet me with sympathetic looks. This year, I’m greeted with, “How about those Mets?” Even in Salt Lake! It’s a nice feeling to be at the top for once.

3. Washington, D.C., is a Democratic city. 74% of registered voters are signed up as Democrats. We’re so Democratic, it’s a law that the City Council has to have two members of a “non-majority” party just so that it’s fair. So when the primary rolls around, essentially you’re electing the person who is going to assume power. This year we had two major positions open up — mayor and city council chairperson. Adrian Fenty, who is only a few years older than I, won the Democratic nod for mayor. He has a vision for where the city should go from here that many people think is exciting. And Vince Gray, formerly the executive director of Covenant House, won the primary for council chair, offering hope that the next iteration of the council will consider ways to attract businesses and to provide services to low-income families simultaneously. I didn’t vote for either of the two winners, but I am excited that they bring fresh blood and enthusiasm to their positions. May they help to keep D.C. a nice place to live.

Rudi and I just returned from a fabulous date to the 1789 Restaurant in Georgetown. I am stuffed. I may never eat again. Saying that pretty much guarantees I’ll be starving in the morning.

The meal started with some tasty bread.

Rudi opted for fish for both his first and main courses. The first course wasn’t cooked. Rudi informs me this was both intentional and delicious. I took his word for it.

I ordered a delicious tomato salad for my first course — huge slices of yellow and red tomatos with some basil strips (okay, Suzanne, you’re right; it would really suck to be allergic to basil) and ricotta cheese and balsamic vinegar. It was just the perfect blend of salty and sweet.

For my main course, I supped on the vegetable tasting menu. Let me tell you, when people think, “You’re a vegetarian; aren’t you hungry all the time?” they’re dead wrong. My meal literally arrived on a platter and took twice as long to eat as Rudi’s. It included green beans marinated in balsamic vinegar (my least favorite part of the meal), an espresso-sized cup of tomato-squash-ginger soup, grilled kernals of corn, creamed spinach, chanterelle mushrooms, fried potato wedges, tomato and spinach, mashed potato, and a mushroom roll. I honestly thought I might explode when I finished.

But did I stop there? Oh no. There was still dessert and tea to come.

Rudi had a cheesecakey tarte. It was okay, but I opted for the peach galette with bergamot ice cream. Divine. Would have been better if I hadn’t, by that point, been wishing I’d worn a skirt with an elastic waist band.

We walked back up to Georgetown to collect Rudi’s bike back at his office and then biked home as the clock ticked its way down to midnight.

(It was a lovely anniversaryish dinner, dear. Thanks for taking me out — and for being a wonderful part of my life for 11 years.)