If Only.

This past Saturday, I went to PJP fairly early in the morning with the express purpose of not staying terribly late into the day...or at least, not as late as I usually stay on Saturdays.  Honestly, I felt like if I didn't have a hot second away from PJP, my head was going to implode.  Charming, yes? And just as I hoped, I was able to leave just a bit before 10 am.  Me, on the way to my car (please note that Baby Houseman didn't need to stop for gas or by Panera because her children kept texting for bagels, but even so...):

Here's a few other updates:

1. After a lovely Saturday afternoon doing normal Saturday afternoon things with my people, I realized that Team PJP doesn't really need me as much as I like to think they do.  If ever asked in a formal interview, I'm going to call my leadership style "helicopter bossing".  I think that could trend, don't you?
2. One of the perks of living across the street from Jeanne is that on Sunday mornings, she often pops over in her bathrobe and we watch an episode of House Hunters Renovation while analyzing the homes like our very lives depend on it.  Though sometimes when I was a kid, she would drive me to the school drop off line while in her bathrobe, so maybe it has nothing to do with being neighbors and everything to do with the fact that she super likes a good bathrobe.
3. Last week, a guy stopped by PJP while we were all working away on the pie tasting menu for Thursday evening.  He was an odd fellow, jumping out of a nondescript van in the parking lot and then marching in and laying a lot of stuff down on the front counter.  He then said to me, "Sweetheart, let me show you what I'm selling" like it was the most normal way to start a conversation ever.  As it turns out, he was selling a cleaning fluid the looked like Windex in a plain bottle.  I frantically turned to Jeanne to tell him to move it along (she's always the heavy in these situations), except cleaning fluids that promise to do 18 functions AND a small scale infomercial presentation are her kryptonite.  Long story short, she bought two bottles for home use.
4. I was too caught up in the nondescript van that slowed enough for him to jump out before it sped off to even listen to the 18 promised functions, but he did some cleaning demonstrations for Jeanne.  I still marvel that he got her to listen to him AND buy it, given her low tolerance for shenanigans.  The siren song of a faux-Windex was too much to withstand, I suppose.
5. All that said, we recovered after his van picked him up and we went right back to working on pie tasting.  As always, the event was a total success.  We focused a bit more heavily on savory pies this time, doing a chicken pot pie, a quiche, and spanakopita...all of which were big hits.  On the sweet side, we did both a caramel cream pie and a Snickers pie that were crowd favorites.  If I remember to buy Snickers this week, we will try to work it into the menu.  If only I had a nondescript van to drive me over there and then pick me up...