Nice Sunday

Had a pretty day. Friday and Saturday the water left the streams. Every blade of grass, every tree, every shrub collectively exhaled its moisture. The air coated you in wetness. You felt as though you were sweating, even when you were not hot. The weatherman described it as "gross, an official new weather term," he said.

Sunday morning it broke with cozy, stay in bed and talk on the phone with a cup of coffee in hand gray, gray, rain. After noon, I emerged to a new weather system. Blue sky, cool breezes and a kind sun. The deck furniture beckoned. I brought my coffee and Hemingway's "Men Without Women," out with me. I read Hills Like White Elephants, a very short story that put me in mind of a Twilight Zone episode I once watched. But I really enjoyed The Undefeated, which I read while cooking dinner and finished with a couple of glasses of white wine on the deck. Talk about the ability to build tension in a story. Morally, I'm against bullfighting but when Hemingway, a big game hunter and man's man, writes it you do pull for the bullfighter especially one such as Manuel, the underdog. I found myself holding my breath while reading, in spite of the relaxing wine. (though I can't recommend the Dooby Blues, which comes from the Finger Lakes where I live, unless you like super sweet). I prefer a drier, viscous, peachy Chard or a spicy, black pepper red. I like to eat Lindt's Chili Chocolate with the red and chicken with the Chard.