Up in the aerie, after the most beautiful drive home from Great Barrington. Dramatic, changeable weather. In Egremont rain pummeled the roof while ahead I could see it was sunny blue skies and white clouds. I felt as though I was in a Magritte. The road shone silver as I headed down County Route 9 towards Ghent, the only shadows those cast by roadside pines, and all around were dazzling glimpses of limelit green. I drove, thought of you, and took note of my surroundings, murmuring "silver road," "dark pines," "heaven, except for you not in it," while listening to Dizzy Gillespie on Radio Archaeology. Wondered if the clerk had overcharged me on day old bread I bought from a large market basket at the front of a cheese shop in G.B. It's all I ever buy there, I stop in after the cinema. Was one of the loaves really originally as much as that, that she was asking her coworker what's half of $6.95? Round up to seven he advised, then noticed that it was the day old bread - no round down, he hissed, I usually charge two dollars, but in all her prettiness she lethally insisted on the math, and I am quite well dressed and attractive but with her obliviousness was starting to feel like quite the charity case and a line of fullprice paying (twelve-stepping, paint-chip wielding, Louis Vuitton carrying, etc.) cheesebuying customers was forming and a young girl in front of me had just charmingly handed off the first of a series of framboises cones off to her father, saying cleverly, well-trained girl, this is for you Papa - what am I going to do, haggle? So I paid me moneys, $11.35 for three loaves of mystery bread and a baguette, and got out of there. A little more than I usually get away with there, but it's fantastic artisanal bread (Stella taste, P.B.R. budget, to paraphrase Paul Higgins), and when I got home I see that I had scored a cranberry-nut loaf along with a deliciously aromatic loaf - what's in it, molasses maybe? May report back after breakfast tomorrow.

All in all a nice day, a change of pace for me. No walk, but found another pair of jeans that fit my form well, and I don't mean in a mutton-dressed-as-lamb way, either - I think I look really quite nice in them. With a coupon, they were $15, and with another coupon I paid five dollars and change for a very pretty pocketbook - nearly 90 percent off. (For the record, my first new one in well over five years.)

Wow - you never know when the universe is going to rise up and bite you. I was just typing here and all of a sudden yelped in pain - as I typed my forearm touched my desk blotter where evidently was a wasp or a bee - which stung me! and flew off. Bloody hell! Can you believe it? Wow, that hurt, and now there's a welt forming.

I refuse to let that ruin so much as a moment. I had a nice day, and with the money I'd saved on necessities, allowed myself a couple of dazzling nonstop begonias to brighten the houseplant collection in the solarium. The nurseryman recognized me, beamed at me again, and remarked on the clear bright colors. I tried to figure out which two to get, and a few moments later he brought out a tray containing more which he brought straight to me, and I liked those hues very much too...

I hope I'm not dying. There's quite a welt now. What should I do? I have no idea. More rosé, I think. I have no idea for a title for this post. I believe I will take the liberty of adding that tomorrow, under the circumstances.

Oh, plus, the movie City Island - what a charmer! I enjoyed it greatly, it was much better than I expected, a very entertaining farce, of "Greek scale," as the Emily Mortimer character charmingly frets. Te amo Julianna Margulies, and Andy Garcia, and the hunk who played his son, and especially the director who lingered on those shirtless shots of him, and I'll always love you City Island.