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2/10/04
Do you think me posting these pictures is like: I had a vacation and you didn't - ha! Or do you think me posting these pictures is like: Oh my god thank god I had a vacation so that I didn't end up on a killing spree on the LES and here is the evidence that I did so, just in case anyone else goes insane. Or do you think it's just me showing you dreamy pictures of vineyards and children and trees because I just think it's awful pretty? I pick "C" too. I'm going to start off with just the Napa stuff today. My time there was surreal. There were some tensions up on the hill having nothing to do with me. My presence was required only as a witness in most events (drama is no fun without an audience), a friend in others. But I still managed to shut out anything funky going on, enough so that I could still relax and enjoy my daily walks around the vineyard. Sometimes I'd walk with Paige and the dogs, sometimes with Bernie and the dogs, and sometimes just with me and a cat named Baloney, who was so old he could only walk a little bit at a time, so I would stride along at a quick pace, then wait five minutes for him to show up, always expected to scratch his head and belly for encouragement. Also we drank so much wine, sometimes starting with lunch, but always starting at least before dinner. We ate cheese and crackers for dinner far too often (I noticed when we went grocery shopping most of what we bought was wine or beer, and the rest of it was just food that goes well with alcohol), and sat and talked, talked, talked through most of the night. There was a lovely spa day, too, at Indian Springs in Calistoga. I took a mud bath and stayed in too long, got myself overheated I guess. When I looked down at the mud, I could see my heart beating through my chest, outlined in the mud. It totally fucking freaked me out. The rest of the treatments were great, and there was an Olympic-sized mineral water pool to finish off the day. Swimming! Outside! In February! I was very happy. And one day we picked up Isa from school and drove to Sonoma, to the foie gras restaurant which employs Paige these days. Before dinner Bernie and I took a walk around the main square with Isa so she could work off some energy. After over an hour in the car we were content to let her chase after the ducks near the pond, even though we knew it wasn't terribly nice. We were just happy she wasn't chasing us. As we chatted, I noticed Isa had disappeared for a minute. I whipped around and saw her walking out of bushes, the right side of her body covered with a perfect line of mud. I gasped and pointed. Bernie turned, and then we burst into laughter. "Oh I felllll," she moaned. We tried to stop laughing. It was hard. We finally found out the location of a children's clothing store on the square, and as we walked over, I told her that ducks often set traps for little girls who chase them, so that they'll fall in the mud. She suggested we kill all of the ducks. We saw a beautiful rainbow (is there really any other kind?), and that quickly brightened the conversation. I didn't want Isa turning into a duck-killing psycho because I was trying to be funny. (Note to self: be less funny with children.) Outside the clothing store, I waited with Isa while Bernie negotiated a purchase of clothing as well as an entrance for her muddy child. I tried taking a few snaps of muddy Isa but she started to get mad at me. "I don't like it when everyone is laughing at me." "It is kind of funny Isa," I said. "You're covered in mud! It's silly!" "I don't ever want you to laugh at me." "You're sweating the small stuff Isabella. You can't go through life doing it." As with any new concept, Isa translated it into her language. "I don't care. I will step on the small stuff if I want to!" Later we stuffed our faces with dead duck and even later than that Isa told us that all we do is, "Drink and eat and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk all day long." I second that.
View Napa on a Rainy Day. |