life during wartime

two more free days in front of me. this will no doubt pass very quickly. i have things to do, but am not sure if i will get them all completed. but no matter i am in need of taking some time.

 i went to see "Life During Wartime" last night. what a strange buffet it was. without a doubt, i am  completely unqualified to relay the accurate intentions of this film. but i will state that i left with more questions than answers, and i love my life more when there are questions.  it was full of tears and ghosts, misdirection and missteps, and much of this was presented in such an exaggerated and retro-vivid style. it felt colorized and sanitized and sun bleached.  i found myself laughing because some of the scenes were so uncomfortable that i had to ease my own queasiness. Charlotte Rampling chewed the scenery with her very small scene at the Deauville Hotel on Miami Beach.

i made pear crisp yesterday and ate way too much of it. the pears are so superb right now and i used a box mix called "whistlestop cafe" from fannie flagg. for all you young folks, fannie flagg was a hoot of a celebrity who used to appear on "The Match Game" with Charles Nelson Reilly. She also wrote the screenplay "Fried Green Tomatoes At The Whistlestop Cafe" which later became one of my favorite films "Fried Green Tomatoes". I am adding a link to the cooking items, as they fall in line with the current home cooking trend.

a friend has lost both his grandmothers this august. i am driving him to the airport to attend the second service. i think we are having lunch at park burger. a new one just opened in our neighborhood where the old "bump and grind". but, we may end up going to d-bar as they have added a full menu to their once dessert only offerings.  i am giving him a copy of "when things fall apart" by pema chodron. this book still helps me find my way when the fan spews shit. "To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest."... Pema Chodron


my building relandscaped along one street last weekend. there are 3 levels and it took 5 people 18-20 hours to get it done. there were lots of new plantings that were installed. we planted hydrangeas, dwarf korean lilacs, daphne, and 3 types of grasses. it will be months before we really see the results. who says i am not learning patience?

i bought the most amazing balsamic reduction at Marczyk's last week. it is combined with truffles and has an undeniable earthy flavor. i used it on an heirloom tomato salad with fresh basil, but took it later that day to a party i was working and the the chef used it for the tenderloin and the salmon  she served. it is bottled by Cucina Viva and is imported from Italy.

as i consider a title for this post, and read the pastiche that makes up this post, i am reminded of a line in the film alluding to the truth that as a nation we are still involved in a war. a war that has been going on for so long that i have numbed myself to this fact. i put blinders on and try to forget that my country's (and my own) addiction to fossil fuel has been at the core of nations tumbling and citizens dying. maybe this would account for the consistent crying jags, the visits from ghosts, the tortured memories, and the tattered relationships that filled each frame of that film..