I am a bit tipsy this evening: had a whiskey and a margarita; the sweetness of which I sometimes like to cut by pouring beer into it. (Learned that trick from Book Club.) Try it! It's good. However, my organizational skills may be a bit compromised.
My Dad had lots of ways of embarrassing me when I was younger; for example, how he was always striking up conversations with people, then referring to them as his "good friends".
We took a canoe trip on the upper Missouri River a few years ago. Dad had driven out from Wisconsin and arrived a couple of days before us. He left the canoes up at the put-in, then drove to meet us at the take-out, where we left a car. Driving back to the put-in was very time-consuming, because we had to stop several times to check in with friends. When he told me, "We need to stop at this little diner up here, so I can say, "Hi" to my friend Connie. She works there.", I thought he was talking about an old friend from years gone by. No, turns out he stopped there for lunch a few days ago and got into a conversation with Connie.
That's how he ended up traveling to the Gambia a few years ago. He met a Gambian Boy Scout leader at the World Jamboree, who said, "You should come and visit my home in the Gambia!" So, Dad announced that his good friend Babu had invited him to the Gambia and he was going. I wonder if I have photos... I used to... Huh. Maybe not. I am drunk, though. And my bedroom cupboard needs weeding out.
I guess this used to bug me because I thought that he was irritating people with his chit-chat. Then I stopped caring. The irritated people would have to cope as best they could. I now find myself doing the same thing without realizing. Then afterward, I think, "That's just what Dad used to do that bugged me so much!" Whoops.
I met my new friend Vince today at Trellis, a new garden place not too far from my house. I wanted to patronize this business as a sort of quid pro quo and ended up melting the mag strip on my credit card. I like it there and will go back because the place is crawling with people who seem very keen to help me. And when it comes to my garden, I need help. Vince asked if he could help me and actually reached out and squeezed my hand warmly. I squeezed back. Off we trotted to look at roses. He carried heavy stuff for me; I called him Prince Charming; he bowed and made a leg. I gave him shit because he wanted me to buy Bougainvillea so badly and I didn't want to. I gushed to his boss about him as I was checking out. And since the check stands looked like birch, I stuck my neck out and told the guy in charge that they were beautifully made. Watch, I will have been complimenting him on the wrong pieces, in which case I may get teased some day. I was at least grateful that he didn't look at me like I was a sandy raisin and tell me that he got them at IKEA...
I am not as bad as Dad, though. If I were truly like Dad, I would now ask for Vince each time I visited Trellis. I won't do that, but he added a little fun to my day.
Inebriated woman now loses narrative thread and rambles.
It was a beautiful day and I made the most of it by hucking steer manure all over the place. and all over myself. It frustrates me sometimes when I find stuff I still can't do since my surgery, since it was a long time ago! The manure bags were heavy, and wet, which made them heavier. I wanted to hoist each one onto my shoulder and carry it easily that way, but I couldn't get it there. Ended up sort of hugging / dragging them and getting manure juice all over myself. I'll try again tomorrow. There's still plenty of it available!
I took the down comforter off my bed and replaced it with my favorite quilt. I opened every window and let the breeze blow through. I like opening the window right by the shower, so I can watch the world go by while washing my hair. Have you ever seem cormorants resting with their wings spread wide open? That was me today when I finished running. My whole body was sweat-slicked and holding my arms out to cool in the breeze was heavenly. I tried on a cute little sundress that Rai gave me because she was tired of it. It looked amazing! I didn't think it would fit but it looks so sexy I almost asked myself for my phone number. It screams "dinner al fresco". And ladies, I have the right shoes for it already. Bonus.
My friend Diane came over to cook a new recipe with me and stay for supper. This raised a difficulty when I told Simon - he told me that he would leave before she arrived. He didn't want to see her, because she's "my friend". He doesn't want to see "those people" ever again. He assumes that they have taken my side. My opinion is that so many friends get lost by accident in the process of divorce that it is pretty silly to lose any of them on purpose. I objected that Diane's feelings would be hurt because she considers BOTH of us to be her friends. Plus, what would the kids think? In the end, he stayed and was polite, but almost silent; and spoke with her as little as possible. She understands, since she has been through a divorce. She saw the awkwardness and later just told me, "It's just time to move out, is all. You need to stop staying here."
No comments:
Post a Comment