Some wine with my coffee

Um.... I think I've finally become a wino.

I love wine.  I'm not a complete wine snob like some people I know and love.  I don't go to a restaurant and spend fifteen minutes studying the wine list as if it were an instruction manual, then quiz the sommelier about the region, aroma, and palette of each wine.  I don't walk into my favorite wine store with a to do list, either.

There is a Wine Styles around the corner from my house, however.  Robert, the store owner, knows pretty much everything that has gone on in my life for the past couple of years.  If I have to dart in there during the day when running errands with Jr. to pick up wine for a last minute dinner, Jr. immediately calls out "Sucker!", because he knows that there may be a treat behind the counter for him.  I thought that this was the extent of the fallout from my affinity for wine.

Then came this morning.  We were leaving church and we stopped by Earth Fare to pick up a pie after determining that I would not have any time to prepare anything for the in-law's family reunion.  Mr. M came out with the pie, a cookie, and a large coffee for us to share, which made my morning.  We drove on towards East Stix towards the reunion, talking about the upcoming week, when suddenly a few drops of coffee mysteriously exited the cup and dolloped themselves onto the armrest.  

Mr. M shot me an incredulous look, "Did you just swirl your coffee?"

"What? No!  You must have hit a bump or something," I muttered.

"No, I saw you.  You were all 'blah blah la la la hee hee hee,' and you swirled your coffee!"

I wasn't about to verbally admit it, but he was right.  I couldn't believe it.  I had started to run my mouth like a water tap and got lost in the moment.  Somehow, subconciously, I thought I was sitting at my favorite restaurant with him on a date rather than in the car at 11:30am with Jr. in the back seat.  Somehow, my arm muscles mistook that the coffee cup for a glass of Pinot Noir that needed some oxygen swished into it to push some extra flavor out.

Would this be considered a new low?  Or did the wiring in my brain just suffer a misfire and the joy of the moment triggered the wrong muscle to move?  I'm not sure, but I may keep a lid on my coffee for the next few days just in case.

A little gift, a not so little festival

Hostess gift? If you ever wonder what kind of hostess gift I would like, this little trinket below will do just fine...

Okay, so it sold a little over a year ago according to artisticinterest.com

BUT, I'll take this opportunity to share something with you.  Charleston, South Carolina is my favorite place on Earth.  Better than the Caribbean.  Better than Europe.  Better than New York, San Diego, Los Angeles.  Am I making myself clear at all?  You can find a fabulous meal on every corner.  The air is so heavy that it lulls you into a state of zen as soon as it enters your lungs.  And then there is the art scene.  The Charleston art scene is where I was introduced the work of Jonathan Green (creator of the above trinket that you will be bringing to my next dinner party).  It is also the home of one of the finest events in the world, the Spoleto Festival, which begins May 22.  Lucky for me, the opening festivities always falls around my anniversary weekend, so I've had the pleasure of attending most of the times that Mr. Maurice and I have celebrated.  During past visits, I have joined an impromptu marching band, samba-ed down Meeting street, accosted secret service agents, discoed with governors, and attended some of the most fabulous and strange dinner parties one can imagine.  Seriously, spending time at the Spoleto Festival is an annual experiment in surrealism.  This year I hope to check out the return of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, which is always a treat.  Another interesting piece will be a performance by Hiroaki Umeda, a "multi-disciplinary solo Japanese artist" who combines ballet, hip-hop, and a form of Japanese dance called butoh.    Oddly, I'm having trouble finding out what's going on with the visual arts this year. The web page for Charleston City Gallery goes blank when you get to May, and there is no mention on the festival's page.  If you know of anything, please leave a comment!

Have fun!