All Thai'd up
This is a longish story to make everyone smile--
Back in September, I volunteered at a golf charity tournament, as I have done for at least the last six or more years, which benefits special needs kids in the local school district. One of my jobs is often to help set up the silent auction table. So I get first look at all the items. I generally put my name on three or four items--the first bid-- partially because I'd like to win them, but more to encourage the golfers to bid higher. The tournament is near George Lucas', and the late Charles Schultz' homes, so there is always a Star Wars basket and a Peanuts basket. Often lots of wine, beautiful wood bowls, golf packages to Big Sur, and then assorted other stuff. I put bids on a gift certificate for some gorgeous cupcakes that looked exactly like flowers made of icing and a bowl full of Thai food items, which included a gift certificate for a local Thai place (that I had never been to). And forgot about it totally.
Over a week after the tournament, my friend, who is on the board of the charity, called to tell me I'd won the Thai basket. Well, cool, cause in 6 years, I'd never won anything on the silent auction. I picked it up at her house and was surprised to discover that my $100 went for not only the lovely ceramic bowl and assorted Thai food items to use in some future recipe, but that the gift certificate alone was worth $100. I knew immediately what I was giving to my Gluten intolerant, Thai loving sister for Christmas.
So today, Mom, my sister and I went out to dinner at the restaurant--which is Michelin rated, as it turns out. The food was excellent; we had chicken satai and mango/carrot salad for starters. I ordered chicken Panang curry over rice--to die for--my sister got green curry & rice, which I didn't try because she said it was really spicy, and Mom got pineapple/chicken fried rice which I will eat leftover tomorrow for dinner at work. We were all very happy. Mom and my sister had glasses of wine and I had yummy Thai iced tea. As the waitress came over with the check, my sister started to ask if she would be able to get credit if the gift certificate was more than the bill, when she looked down at the amount. $100.97! We didn't even plan ahead by adding the prices of our dinners or anything. I was astonished how perfectly that came out. My sister added a twenty for a tip and we took home our doggy bags, very well fed.
One other funny thing was that it was really loud in the restaurant, so you had to shout--particularly to my mother who is a bit hard of hearing. Of course that meant that every once in a while you heard someone at another table's comments. At the table beside us were five women. One was saying--"And his name was Rice: R-I-C-E, in the old country, but when he came from Ireland, it sounded like Royce in his accent, so our family name is Royce." My sister and I looked wide-eyed at each other because, of course, our family name is Rice. We didn't meet the other group, but I kind of wanted to!
Back in September, I volunteered at a golf charity tournament, as I have done for at least the last six or more years, which benefits special needs kids in the local school district. One of my jobs is often to help set up the silent auction table. So I get first look at all the items. I generally put my name on three or four items--the first bid-- partially because I'd like to win them, but more to encourage the golfers to bid higher. The tournament is near George Lucas', and the late Charles Schultz' homes, so there is always a Star Wars basket and a Peanuts basket. Often lots of wine, beautiful wood bowls, golf packages to Big Sur, and then assorted other stuff. I put bids on a gift certificate for some gorgeous cupcakes that looked exactly like flowers made of icing and a bowl full of Thai food items, which included a gift certificate for a local Thai place (that I had never been to). And forgot about it totally.
Over a week after the tournament, my friend, who is on the board of the charity, called to tell me I'd won the Thai basket. Well, cool, cause in 6 years, I'd never won anything on the silent auction. I picked it up at her house and was surprised to discover that my $100 went for not only the lovely ceramic bowl and assorted Thai food items to use in some future recipe, but that the gift certificate alone was worth $100. I knew immediately what I was giving to my Gluten intolerant, Thai loving sister for Christmas.
So today, Mom, my sister and I went out to dinner at the restaurant--which is Michelin rated, as it turns out. The food was excellent; we had chicken satai and mango/carrot salad for starters. I ordered chicken Panang curry over rice--to die for--my sister got green curry & rice, which I didn't try because she said it was really spicy, and Mom got pineapple/chicken fried rice which I will eat leftover tomorrow for dinner at work. We were all very happy. Mom and my sister had glasses of wine and I had yummy Thai iced tea. As the waitress came over with the check, my sister started to ask if she would be able to get credit if the gift certificate was more than the bill, when she looked down at the amount. $100.97! We didn't even plan ahead by adding the prices of our dinners or anything. I was astonished how perfectly that came out. My sister added a twenty for a tip and we took home our doggy bags, very well fed.
One other funny thing was that it was really loud in the restaurant, so you had to shout--particularly to my mother who is a bit hard of hearing. Of course that meant that every once in a while you heard someone at another table's comments. At the table beside us were five women. One was saying--"And his name was Rice: R-I-C-E, in the old country, but when he came from Ireland, it sounded like Royce in his accent, so our family name is Royce." My sister and I looked wide-eyed at each other because, of course, our family name is Rice. We didn't meet the other group, but I kind of wanted to!