time in a bottle...

This little mini-break I took for my birthday, taking Thursday and Friday off, which gave me a 4 day weekend, has been TERRIFIC. I’m going to make it an annual event, maybe even when my birthday falls on a weekend. It’s true that I didn’t get all the things done I’d like to have gotten done, but that’s OK. To have time to putter around doing whatever one wants is truly luxurious, and the more so when it’s the exception rather than the rule. Tomorrow I’ll get up early and face the dreaded commute, but today I slept in, and ate a leisurely breakfast, enjoying my freshly squeezed orange juice and ripe cantaloupe.

I did manage to go to Home Depot and order the counter top for the guest bath. Now I have to hustle and tile the walls. I also went to Lowe's and picked up one tread and riser for the stairs. They're 48" wide so I'll have to cut them down to see how they look, but I'm thinking it would be hard to prefer carpet.

This evening I saw an excellent film, Elegy. It's about a love affair between a successful, aging professor, played by Ben Kingsley, and a beautiful, young student, played by Penelope Cruz. She's certainly very beautiful, but I've never been a fan of Penelope Cruz before, however, she was very good in this film. In addition to Cruz & Kingsley, Dennis Hopper, Patricia Clarkson and Debbie Harry have roles as Kingsley's best friend, his long time lover, and his best friend's wife (just a cameo for Debbie Harry). And Peter Sarsgaard has sort of a throw-away role as Kingsley's estranged son. I don't know that everyone would enjoy this film, but if you're middle aged it's well worth seeing, especially if you're a woman. Sad to say, the world is filled with men like the characters portrayed by Kingsley and Hopper: accomplished, outwardly successful men who have somehow managed to grow old without making much of an emotional connection to anyone. But the film is not that simple, and so it's worth seeing.

After the movie, dinner at a new restaurant, Rise No. 1, a souffle and wine bistro with outdoor seating and good food and wine. It's a beautiful, clear night and it was a pleasure to eat there. When I was a bride, I mastered the art of souffles, both main course and dessert, and tonight I was reminded that it's been way too long since I've made my own Grand Marnier souffle. Mmmmmmmmmm....