Oh, Joan... I'm so sorry to hear that. You will be missed!

Great, PieLady! We won't order for you then, and we'll meet you (and anyone else that wants to jump in at the last moment) at Miller's at 6pm tonight.

I have been looking forward to this all week! Woohoo!

Pie Lady wrote:It looks like I'll be there on time after all. I'll haul ass and see you guys around 6. Are there 3 of us now?

Hmmm,

I may make it. At least for the movie. I've got pilates on the northside at 4 & I've already left the Loop. Would have to buy ticket at the door. If I'm going to make Miller's Pub I will be there for 6.

The more, the merrier... hope you can make it!

I'll be wearing jeans and a reddish short-sleeved big shirt, with big white/yellow flowers, and I'll be on the arm of the cutest biology professor around.

See you in a few hours!

I'll be wearing loud '70s tights and a blue sleeveless sweater and glasses, so you'll know what I look like in case I get there first. (I doubt it, but you never know!)

Well it was nice seeing everybody even though we couldn't get in. Sorry again for being late! Hopefully we can get together again soon. How was the movie?

So nice to meet you both!

The movie was fun, and will be back in the first week of December. The theater only held 61 people, and apparently sold out most shows.

The film was slightly amateurish... you could tell it wasn't a slick production right off the bat. But that added to the charm. They tried a few editing techniques at the beginning that never returned... the whole film would have benefited from a good clean-up with an experienced editor, in fact. That said, we still had a lovely time. The "hero" of the piece, a local pastry school founder, was on hand to give a few follow-up stories that completed a few loose ends, so that was nice. He was also pretty funny in a dry French way... he mentioned something about how upset people get on those cooking competition shows: "They start to fall apart after a few hours. I'm thinking, 'Why? It's just a cupcake!'"

As a glimpse into the pursuit of perfection in the (slightly misogynistic) world of the French pastry chef, it was terrific. I love that it was a competition against standards, not each other... there was no sense of elbowing or nastiness, definitely a camaraderie and sense of brotherhood, even between the judges and the candidates (American that I am, I almost typed "competitors").

Thanks again for joining us for dinner, and I look forward to seeing you both again soon!