Good and Better

It just keeps getting better with Ellen here.  We met Louise, my pal from Players & Playwrights, at 1:00 at Italian Gourmet in Galloway.  Had a terrific time over a two-hour lunch, the girls (they'll always be girls to me) discussing ruefully some of their misadventures with guys, interspersed with lots of laughs.
After saying goodbye to L., we drove down to Long Beach Island to view the destruction.  Damage seemed mild after we went over the bridge, but then we headed to the southern end.  I specifically wanted to see Holgate, a pretty upscale town, but badly hit by the hurricane. 
It was a shock.  Even this long after, there are houses tilted sideways here and there, windows covered with plywood, and piles of debris on the sides.  But the really startling sight was the sand.
Sand still covers about half of the streets, and great mounds of it are still in so many front yards.  There had surely been grass in front of many houses, but now you can see nothing but sand.  We were warned not to continue if we weren't residents, but--daring law-breakers that we are--we went on.  I was hoping to show Ellen the end of the island with its breath-taking views of waves crashing on the breakwater, but there was a barricade and we couldn't get through.
Drove to the other end, parked, and walked up to "Old Barney," the Barnegat lighthouse--Ellen's idea, with me protesting about the cold all the way.  Stopped at Acme on the way home and picked up ingredients for our Christmas dinner.  I want to have a pork roast and got veggies and baking potatoes (yes, yes, I know they're veggies, but I consider them in as entirely  different category).  Got MacIntoshes and will make applesauce, then we'll have the rest of my birthday cake for dessert. Have plenty of wine, both white and red, plus appetizers of grapes and mixed nuts.
Picking up Aline for breakfast in about ten minutes, then it's up north and Christmas Eve, Moravian style.