Wine and Spirits

I had a few friends over for dinner the night before last. I'm pleased that my home still smells of good food and a crackling fireplace. A few staunch pals came over again last night and had leftovers with me. Although I prepared some things fresh and was glad to be able to actually sit down and enjoy the meal with them. And we watched State and Main, which I am pleased to report was a wonderful film and quintessentially David Mamet. My sister had previously warned me that it wasn't very good, but I have to continue to remind myself that our expectations of film differ. And maybe who you see a film with has a great deal to do with whether or not you enjoy it.

I've been trying for two days now to burn a piece of wood that was sitting outside my back door. It pops and sizzles a lot and sort of melts, but very little actually burning appears to be taking place. By the time I gave up on it last night, it had a sort of crescent shape hollowed out of one side and was glowing orange along the edges, sort of like the phony burning wood you see on the Pirates of the Caribbean.

Without fail, any time I am able to sleep in or endeavor to, there is some sort of hubbub going on behind my apartment or upstairs that keeps me from being able to rest. A neighbor moved out last weekend, so last Friday, I was kept awake by loud conversation and the sound of furniture items actually being dropped off the second floor patio to the concrete below. This morning, the workmen who are refurbishing the apartment -- who have also been preventing my access to my garage nearly every morning and evening with a big white van that is always parked in my driveway and which has created an unsightly track of mud from the driveway down to the street -- were using every loud tool imaginable. I awoke thinking, "Now, why would they be using a leaf blower in that apartment? And what need would they have for a wood chipper?" But I'm over it now. Poorly rested but looking forward to a few days of performance and rest and time with friends, I am.