I came home early from work yesterday, feeling nauseous and grumpy. After a nap and as the evening progressed, the nausea faded but the grumpiness remained. I went to sleep on the wrong side of the bed and awoke there this morning.

I was feeling grumpy about something somewhat petty, and life thought I should be reminded of that.

So when Rudi got a phone call that will probably require him to go home to Salt Lake, my petty grumpiness fled, replaced only for concern about Rudi and his family.

Life is predictable in that way: only so much self-pity allowed before you should be reminded that your problems are minute and unimportant. I just wish I could learn this lesson without that unpleasant slap upside the head…

Science is an interesting subject to follow.

(more…)

I hope the Yankees appreciate me. I sat starting pitcher Al Leiter down this morning before his scheduled start against the Toronto Blue Jays and explained that I had faith in him, but that he needed to dig deep and come up with a good game.

You can ask Rudi. I did. I looked right at his name on my fantasy baseball lineup and spoke aloud to him through the computer screen.

(Maybe it’s good that I don’t live in the town that houses Connecticut’s mental asylum anymore…)

Al must have heard me, though (or read the pre-game reports that said this would be his last shot). But I think it was me.

You see, I explained to him that I had once had the Toronto pitcher on my team but that his performance hadn’t been up to snuff and I had been forced to drop him. I added that my fondness for Al had kept him on my team all through the troubles in Florida and New York and even during that time when he was in limbo on waivers and was absolutely no good to my lineup. Because, you see, we have a history together. All those years together with the Mets. And while the Mets management (and Florida’s) may have forsaken him, I hadn’t. So, please, for all those games we’d had together, would he please pitch his best ball today? I had faith, you see. I just knew he could do it.

And all that faith and loyalty paid off today:

Al scattered four hits over the 5.2 shut-out innings he pitched. The Yankees went on to win the game 6-2.

And I couldn’t be prouder.

I’m sorry to see the weekend come to a close. I really enjoyed today — probably because I did very little of use. All relaxation. All focused on what I wanted to do. All very luxurious.

First, I slept in. That was accidental, but not unappreciated.

Then we got up and went to the farmers’ market. We hadn’t used up half of what I bought last week, so this week was limited to essentials: eggs, scones, milk, a cucumber (for Rudi), white and black beans, garlic, peaches, corn on the cob, and flowers (a big bunch with a combination of herbs and flowers, including a pretty sunflower).

We came home, ate scones, watched The McLaughlin Report, and lounged.

Then Rudi headed out for a thwarted tech help visit, and I scurried out to Silver Spring to see the second of the Thin Man movies (After the Thin Man), which stars Jimmy Stewart in addition to the magical combo of Myrna Loy and William Powell. This is the first one of the series I ever saw and I harbor a fondness for it for that reason. Plus, the AFI was giving away a copy of the new DVD box set of the series, and someone has to win. (That someone was not me.)

Before hopping the train home, I wandered over to Marshalls. I did not buy the pretty lace blouse or the volleyball-themed baseball tee or the green long-sleeved tee with the bicycle rider on it. I also refrained from buying cute black sandals and a scone mix. I felt comfortably frugal on my way home.

I finished my book while I was waiting for Rudi to come home. The Whispering Road by Livi Michael came my way as an advance reading copy I brought home from the midwinter meeting of ALA. It took place in Manchester, England, and its environs during the Industrial Revolution and focuses on a boy who is trying to find his way in the world and protect his odd sister all the while not getting swept up by those who would use them for their own nefarious purposes. I liked it well enough, but wasn’t blown away by it.

Rudi and I had decided this morning on tonight’s dinner menu — tuna steaks, corn on the cob, tomato slices, and some of the appaloosa beans I bought at the market last week. (The farmer says they’re appaloosas, but I think they look more like cranberry beans, myself.) I have never made fresh beans before; they’re very tasty! And it’s definitely August because this week’s corn on the cob was just incredible. It’s hard to imagine it will get any better for the season.

We concluded the evening with Pepperidge Farm turnovers with homemade whipped cream (only because I was out of store-bought) and a viewing of It Happened One Night. Rudi had never seen it, and I hadn’t seen it since my film studies class in grad school. Just as funny as I remember it.

How lucky can one girl get — two screwball comedies and a delicious dinner, all in one day!

We headed out to Virginia today and checked out a local winery — Chrysalis Vineyards. I don’t drink, but it seemed like a nice place. Rudi got to sample some of their local wines (which he seemed to enjoy) and got to keep the wineglass!

I curled up with a book at a shady picnic table and took in the vineyard’s bucolic surroundings. It was just very peaceful — and hard to believe that we were a mere 35 miles from a large city.

They have a fairy for a logo. You see how I judge my alcohol. Pretty bottles, nice logos. Who cares what’s inside?

We then went to Middleburg where I went on a five-mile bike ride and Rudi continued on for another 15. The power went out in Middleburg while we were there, forcing nearly everything to close. Not the best way to enjoy small-town Virginia, but a fun Saturday, nonetheless.

The AFI in Silver Spring is showing some of my favorite movies over the next three weeks — the Thin Man series starring William Powell and Myrna Loy.

Powell and Loy star as Nick and Nora Charles, a martini-swilling, wisecracking husband-and-wife team based on a Dashiell Hammett novel. Nick is a street-tough detective, respected by both the law he helps and the criminals he puts away. Nora is his debutante wife who wants nothing more than to be in on the excitement. (Nick consistantly tricks her into jail cells and taxi cabs to keep her away from the action; she responds by pouting, “Oh, Nicky!”) Asta is their scaredy-cat charmer of a pooch.

Gramma introduced me to this slapstick film noir series shortly after Grampa died when we had a weekly standing dinner and a video date. And ever since then I’ve been enamored. Gramma has good taste.

Loy and Powell made six movies over the course of 13 years. The series was so popular that it spawned a successful radio series, a three-season tv show, and a 1990 Broadway flop (starring Barry Bostwick and Joanna Gleason). As with most prolonged series, the first three or so (the scripts that Hammett wrote) are superior to the last three, but Loy and Powell’s chemistry carries them regardless.

If you haven’t seen this hilarious series of films, please rush out to your local video store or web retailer and pick up the original right away!