Davenports (x2), Dildy, and Davis come to visit!

This weekend, we had some wonderful old friends come into town. I must admit, the prospect of having 4 guests all weekend (in a big apartment, but still--an apartment) after both of us were exhaustified (to quote Amy March) from the week was daunting. However, these were possibly the most low-maintenance guests we could ask for, and the weekend was fantastic.

Mary Davenport is one of those rare and wonderful friends with whom the friendship is always effortless and fresh, no matter how long it's been since you stayed in touch. We were very close in high school--she was certainly my best friend--but we didn't stay in very good touch during college, due in large part, I'm sure, to my depression. I don't think either of us particularly enjoyed college, and are now in that awkward "I don't know what the hell I'm doing with my life" post-college year, so it was wonderful for me to see her and have someone to commiserate with! She and her sister (Penelope) have such friendly, relaxed attitudes, it's hard not to feel the same when I'm around them.

Chay (Penelope's boyfriend) was assigned as Preston's freshman year roommate at Princeton, and they roomed together for three years during college. Chay is a ton of fun, and brings out a side of Preston that is ridiculously funny (and that I have no hopes of bringing out), so it's always great to be around the two of them together. At any rate, it wasn't till our senior year that Mary and I put two and two together and realized that Preston's roommate was Mary's sister's high school boyfriend from St Andrew's (in Delaware). Anyways, small world.

So Mary, Penelope, Chay, and Luke (Mary's boyfriend) arrived late Friday night and stayed until early Sunday afternoon. We had a very lazy Saturday together which included walking to Bryn Mawr College, having an indoors picnic, eating lots of homemade hummus, watching 8 episodes of "30 Rock," and finally finding a restaurant open for a 10 pm dinner.

We went to Gullifty's in Rosemont, which I've enjoyed before (mainly because they have an incredibly extensive beer selection), but was disappointed by their pizza. We ordered a pizza that sounded delicious: gorgonzola and parmesan, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, capers, caramelized onions, and maybe a few other things. However, it was decidedly under-seasoned, and ended up being pretty subpar. Unfortunately, at that point I was so hungry I would have eaten anything, but in retrospect, with a full stomach, I'm pretty sure it wasn't very tasty. In their defense, however, the beer was delicious. I had Sam Smith's Oatmeal Stout (always a solid choice, for me, at least), Mary had the Lancaster Milk Stout, Penelope a Chimay, and Luke a McEwan's Scotch Ale, all of which got good reviews.

So I was incredibly under-prepared for class today, and had little motivation to work last night, but the weekend was a lot of fun, and made me really grateful for the natural friendship I have with Mary.