Nirvana. No lie.

I've blogged about my friends, Mike and Sue before.  I met them through my brother Darryl and they've become good friends of mine as well.  I blogged about them when they came for a brief visit last year and this year they decided to come for a longer visit.  I'm in heaven.  Holy cats.

Mike and Sue are two of the most generous people I know.  They arrived with gifts for the kids.  Thoughtful gifts that really indicated that they knew my children and really understood them.  Valued them.  Celebrated them.  They brought me a book (yay books!) and..... cheese.  Cheese.  Cheese-zilla.  Not no-name cheddar.  Oh, no.  Cheese from Quebec.  From France.  From Spain.  Triple cream cheese.  Goat brie.  Blue cheese.  Now here's the interesting part; Sue doesn't eat cheese but she knows how to buy it and how to pair it properly with wine and port.  It's entirely possible that my two favourite things on this planet are cheese and books.  Did I mention how much I love Mike and Sue?

Yesterday I came home from work to Sue in my kitchen cooking a beef tenderloin with a pinot noir sauce.  Oh. My. God.  Mashed baby potatoes and a butter lettuce salad.  Mike has been painting; he's a talented artist and has been sharing his gift with Gigi.  The two of them are very funny together and have a great banter that has kept us all entertained.

Today?  Good music.  Good food.  Great company.  Relaxation.  Being around Mike and Sue reminds me that art and literature and music are a big part of who I am.  Their company feeds that part of me and it feels really, really good.

Below is a picture from their first night here; port and blue cheese.  Heaven.  I could get used to this.... Frippeneno, I could get used to this!!!