Looking Out My Back Door

Wassup?

Okay, it's been more than a month since my last sad entry, and that is just wrong. So far, 2008 has been a decent year, as predicted. Highlights thus far include a great Broadway show (Curtains, the last show written by Kander and Ebb, and very cleverly done), a fun trip to Vermont, then a magnificent three-day weekend due to a blessed snow storm early last Friday morning. A new flatscreen on which to watch the latest DVDs of "Entourage," a gorgeous leather Barcalounger, a lap filled with two purring cats and a stocked refrigerator (thanks, Trader Joe's!) and wine rack (thanks, Total Wine!). It doesn't get much better than that.

Vermont was great. Dianna and I made the 4-1/2 hour drive up without bloodshed, wisely choosing to alternate playing each other's iPods for a set amount of time, and we only had a couple of traffic snarls. We would have gotten there sooner, had it not been for a fresh and fast snowfall that hit Rutland just before we arrived, which made the last eight miles slightly treacherous. Dianna drove like a champ, though, helped by Jetta's Triptronic transmission (I have it in my Eclipse, and it works like a charm). We arrived at brother Don's, unloaded the car, and settled in for two days of fun and frolic.

Don and his girlfriend Patty are the ultimate hosts. Anything you wanted was right there, and if it wasn't, it soon appeared. Don cooked for us (the most amazing chicken cutlet parmigiana -- I'm still drooling!) and we had stocked enough wine and beer to keep a small army happy. One of the nicest thing was that the three smokers took pity on the odd person out (that would be me) and were very considerate, moving into another room, setting up air purifiers, handing me a bottle of Febreze, and so forth. I felt as if I'd known them forever. It's just a shame they live so far away. I even did laundry before leaving, which a lot of you know is one of my favorite things to do -- come back from a trip with clean clothes!

At one point during the weekend, my cell phone rang. It was my cousin, M, calling me from Hawaii to tell me that K had popped the question that morning as the sun rose. I was thrilled. I told her to tell him that I'm thrilled to finally be able to call him my cousin for real. The wedding will be in about a year and a half, so that gives me time to start forcing myself to the gym more than once a week. I'm hoping to have them over for champagne and nibbly things very soon.

Speaking of champagne and nibbly things, Sharon and I are throwing together a small get-together Friday night SUPPOSEDLY to mark Feb. 29, but we're actually going to try to sneak in a mini-celebration of Susan's birthday, which was yesterday. I ordered her a copy of "La Vie En Rose," but it won't get here for a couple of weeks, which is actually good, as I won't be handing her any presents to hit me with on Friday. I went to Trader Joe's and got all sorts of great dips/hummus, along with everyone's favorite Key Lime Pie, and Sharon's covering the rest. A nice way to end a work week!

Three other fun things in the not-so-distant future: Patti LuPone in Gypsy on Broadway (working on tickets), Joy Behar and Don Rickles at Westbury May 31 (tickets gotten), and friend Danny in South Pacific at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theater some time in between. I may go to previews or wait a little bit; it's sure to run for a while. I was also just informed that The Police and Elvis Costello are touring together this summer, appearing locally at Jones Beach (rather a small venue, so I hope to be able to score tickets) in early August. I was going to try to pop over to Europe to visit some friends in July, but our dates aren't meshing, so that may have to be put on hold until later in the year.

Right now, I'd be content with a couple more snow days. Time spent cuddling with the kitties, a gorgeous new entertainment system, and some fine red wine is golden. The only thing that could make it better? A fireplace and a nice guy to share in the cuddling. I'm thinking Matt Damon (if you haven't seen Sarah Silverman's hysterical video gift for BF Jimmy Kimmel, "I'm F*cking Matt Damon" -- costarring Matt Damon -- get over to You Tube PRONTO!). He's married, but, heck, if I can get him in the cuddle circle, I'm obviously a miracle worker, so I'm covered. (In lieu of MD, most of the guys on Entourage are single, so that would work.) As Billy Joel says, "Sometimes a fantasy is all you need."

posted by Hopster @ 11:37 AM