What made you smile today?

Worked all day and then knocked off early, took a shower, put on a nice dress (don't get the chance to do that so often working from home) and makeup and met a good friend who i had not seen in over a year for a theatre reading in a small playhouse on the other side of town and a drink afterwards. We both used to work in the major theatre of this region a few years ago and saw several people in the audience who we sorta recognized (board members, theatre buffs) and two of the actors we knew well, from their performances at the other theatre. We chatted outside after the reading, catching up, and then girlfriend and I headed for the nearest margaritas and had a sitdown. When this woman and I first met, for whatever reason we clicked immediately and I just like her vibe, her sense of humor, her intelligience, and the stories she tells about her kids, twin girls and a younger boy. Tonight we laughed and talked and as always, had a great time with each other. I wish we could get tpgether more often, we always swear we're going to but, well, you know how it is.
I smiled all evening and I'm still smiling.

Eoe, that sounds really nice. One of those sparkly bits of life.

It was very nice.

Coming home to two hot and sweaty young men clearing out the jungle in the back yard.

Oddly enough..I wasn't smiling more about the men but about the yard. How twisted am I?

I have tiger lilies out along the back fence!!! WOW. Sooo cool.

Time to have a party - before it all grows back.
That's a nice thought too.

Mr. B. wanted to race me home last night. He on foot, me on a bike. Sure I said yes. I was showing off, sprinting ahead, turning around, that sort of a thing. Then I hear behind me: "So, you wanna race?" I chuckled.... "Bring it!"
Next thing you know a cab whizzes by me, Mr. B. grinning silly in the back seat. Needless to say I nearly spat my lungs out trying to keep up with the cab. The driver got a kick out of the whole thing, waiting at every corner and slowing down to accompany me on the cursed hill on my street to get a good look at my huffing and puffing. Oh well. Not the most gracious race ever, but what's a girl to do...

Oh, god. I'm laughing just remembering it. That cab driver was a great sport. It was his idea to wait at every corner for you. I was actually paranoid that somehow you might win.

Call it respect!!

I get a sense that Mr. B is not put off by the idea of a woman with muscles.



Respectful, and perhaps a tiny bit frightened, but not put off.

I think I like him.

Me too. :-)

I can bet the cabbie was amused, dag. My favorite story re cabs involved my aunt Madge. She was a very smart lady, very successful in her field, but she had a short fuse.
Once she was in NYC and was supposed to meet some folks at a certain hotel at a certain time. She was lost. She flagged down a cab. Take me to the (name of the hotel), and hurry. The cabbie turned and looked at her. "You want to go to the (name of the hotel)?" Yes, she snapped back at him, sighing deeply at his seeming density. "Okay, lady," he responded and drove forward 30 feet, made a right turn, drove another 30 feet, and there she was at the hotel. $5 poorer.

What's to be scared or put off by? As long as steroids aren't involved of course.

What's making me smile is...thinking about the three consecutive BBQ's I'll be attending this weekend. The first, on Saturday, I'm co-hosting with Ms. D. (Any ideas y'all, btw). The second, on Sunday, isn't a BBQ, but there'll be some killer Indian food. The third, on the 4th, is hosted by a Turkish grillmaster from Atlanta, whose stick tips and spicy italian sausage are too kill for.

Ahhh, the joys of swine!! Throw, in beer and Tequila and I'm in heaven.

Hahahaha! Dag, you did say you were looking for a personal trainer!

Very funny story, dag! Mr B sounds like fun!

Mr. B does not loose gracefully either. No wonder he was paranoid. Am getting some serious bike workout everyday since my car died. OK, that was 2 days ago, but the trauma makes it seem like weeks.
I'll tell you one thing though. Next time I enter into a race or a bet of any source, I want the conditions printed and there won't be no fine print or I ain't signing.

...sitting on my patio tonight watching a fireworks display...preeetty!

Have you ever been somewhere so beautiful you felt you were walking in a dream? I went walking up on the hills above my house yesterday evening. The sun was setting, but it was hazy - so the whole landscape was imbued with this golden light that made everything look like it was painted. I swore I could almost see the brushstrokes. The sheep were resting in the shade - in every little shadow - I'd look and suddenly see a sheep or lamb. The purple and yellow gorse was in full bloom. So beautiful - I had a blissful smile on my face the whole time.

That does sound beautiful, Aidan.

It's even better in the Autumn.....on a crisp, clear evening.

My colleague M. went to a conference in Bangkok. She was telling us about it over dinner last Saturday.

At the conference, she met this Indonesian man. She started talking with him. Upon hearing she was Italian, he at once stood up straight and sang: "Avanti o popolo, alla riscossa / Bandiera rossa, Bandiera rossa".

Heh. She was astounded that an Indonesian would know it, too. Even more surprised when both D. (from Serbia) and I could immediately sing along as well. Hey, it was a global family, no?

Other small things.

I went to have a bite across the corner at Dupla. Poster on the wall of this great Yugoslav movie I saw the other week, Sivi kamion crvene boje, which in Hungarian is called "Szürke, Mercivel" (Grey, with Mercedes). I told the waiter I'd seen it, that it was great, funny. He beamed, and said: "Yes, was it good? Me, I have a grey Mercedes too!"

This morning I went to Semiramis, the cutest of small coffeeplaces. Spent some time there, editing a paper - on gender. It was interesting. While I was reading, a woman came in, in her thirties - serious-looking, probably an interesting job. She had one of those sports-like t-shirts on, with a number and the team name - and looked attractive in it. I read: the number was 69. And above it said, "Sex Trainer"; on the arm, "Erotic Gym". LOL. Meanwhile, a young mum had come in with a little boy. The adorablest of little 'uns. She sat him on the counter, where he proceeded to loll and was soon distracted by the sets of (handmade?) earrings, made by a friend of the woman running the place I suppose, that were laid out there with a little leaflet. Carefully, he took each one and, after his mum told him they were not for in your mouth but in your ear, proceeded to hold them on his ear, first one, then the other, showing it to his mom and pruning. All he was missing was a mirror to look in.

I continued to read my paper about gender. <grins>