i KNEW it was too good to be true.
i was told i could close on my loft 11/5
i was excited.
i was about to order my floors
but just before i made the call, i thought...
i'd better check with the management company
and lo and behold....
the certificate of occupancy inspection revealed
there is too much water pressure in the valves throughout the building
so they have until next friday to fix it
at which time the building will be re-inspected.

i wonder if it's unseemly to cry?

thought for the day...

one should never confuse fashion
with style

oh, and another thing i stand corrected on.....
CHARBAY Whiskey - Double Barrel Release One
is the correct name for my bottles of charbay.
i realize i've been calling it a bourbon
even when we ALL know that bourbon is merely a LOCATION
(think bordeaux) and not a product.

it's a whiskey, for the love of pete.
not a bourbon.
i knew that.
and i called it a bourbon anyway.

mea culpa

now stop emailing me, ya damn purists

sorrow like a ceaseless rain
beats upon my heart.


oh, and before anyone gets out the
phonebook for the samaritan hotline
i'm only quoting Edna for the ceaseless rain comment
not the sorrow part of it.

i thought about using Joyce's last paragraph from "The Dead"
that includes, "Yes, the newspapers were right,
snow was general all over Ireland"
but then, it wasn't really snowing, now was it.

but man-alive, it sure was raining
ceaseless-ly

WHAT is the deal with boston university?
crikey.
if you have a moment, do read monty's blog

i, on the other hand, am going to discuss the mezcal i tried last night.
Del Maguey Minero, Single Village Mezcal, Oaxaca, Mexico
to be exact.

holy rising hemlines!

Santa Catarina Minas
Minero has a nose full of flower essence, vanilla and figs.
With a burnt honey flavor and a bit of lemon,
Minero is deep and warm,
sweet all the way to the finish.
Minero has a special fruity and smooth taste.

that sassy little description was from their website
what they forgot to mention was that it could be used as
a nail polish remover, or paint thinner

i think i need to re-evaluate this produce in the heart of summer
when it's sweltering outside
and i have some chili's blistering on the grill.
THEN, my friends, it will be time to bring out the mezcal
and not really until then

unless somebody needs paint thinner, that is

3 hour commute
holy mother of god.

grump. grump. grump.

i dislike sunday nights.
i think we all do.
sometime around dark or dark-thirty
i start thinking about all the stuff i need to do on monday
and the rest of the week
and i get all sad about having to wake up early monday morning
and well, it all just sucks.

but not at much as the yankees...just so we know

oh, and who had the bright idea to keep daylight savings time?
honestly. it's about as clever as not being able to buy alcohol on sunday
i don't care if i drive TO work in the dark
but i hate when it feels like it's midnight and it's really only 5:17pm

i've just eaten half a bag of snapea crisps...good christ
where will the madness end?!

my kingdom for a krispy kreme vanilla creme frosting donut.

god, i LOVE pms.

this weekend is a halloween dance
a quilting show
a tag sale
a bu women's soccer game
a bu women's field hockey game
and puppy duty
so how does my uterus find time to wreck havoc?

discuss.

Just so we all know the sort of day that i'm having....

all my winter clothes are in storage
(thank you court square press for the continued delays on my loft)
i had to borrow a turtleneck yesterday
because it's snowing today
and i don't have my winter coat.
and frankly, it's too hot in my office to be wearing
a cashmere turtleneck

SO I'M CRANKY

but on a positive note....
had a wonderful rye before dinner last night.
a Classic Cask Single Barrel Rye
bottle 500 of 600 (although, I only had a wee dram)
a lovely, lovely whisky
i believe it's nicer than the Sazerac
smoother, without so much bite
yum.
all honey and caramel.
very much like a cognac

last night was the whiskyfest in NYC
interestingly enough, i was not in NYC
i was in Meredith, NH
(that's a place, you dawg...not a girl)
honestly.
it helps if you sigh when you say *honestly,* by the way

new hampshire is awfully dark.
reminds me of arkansas.
only without the albino playing the banjo

in a strange turn of events, drove down to Rumford, RI last night
needed to catch Elliott before he headed off to WhiskyFest in NYC
carried an Ardbeg Lord of the Isles in my lap
and we opened it in the store
my goodness. tasty. tasty.

i found one or two things i simply could not live without.
including an unfiltered Brosh, which hasn't been available in years.
years, i tell you.
Elliott let us sample about 12 new scotches that the store would be getting in
over the next few weeks.
from a 11 yr old to a 36 yr old mixed bottlings
it was quite an undertaking
i employed the fine art of spitting
lest any of you think i condone or even consider driving after such a tasting

the whisky has arrived from england
nary a crack, nor dink, nor spilt drop
let the people say amen.

amen.

spent the weekend with the pups
wonder if they need sassy knit outfits?
probably not
but then again, who among us does?

there was just no way i could blog on friday
damn yankees.

but now saturday is another day
i decided i need to knit some socks.
nothing perks a girl up like knitting.
well, good sex is quite a little pick me up too
but that's for a whole 'nother blog, eh?

steady.

ok. back to knitting.
went to 2 very cool yarn shops on the north shore
and managed to go by Woodman's for a clam plate.

everybody polka!

and now...for game 7.....

i really must find the right meal for this evening's game

i believe we'll start with a *heaven and hell* pizza from K2 cafe in kendall square
buffalo chicken breast, blu cheese sauce, mozz & cheddar cheese and jalapenos

and perhaps the #4 pizza from Emma's pizza:
dried cranberry, yukon potatos, cilantro and bacon.

and i would hope there would be chocolate covered raisins
just for giggles

we opened the bruichladdich xvii
(pronounced brook-laddy 17)
which my friend barry, in atlanta, said would be wonderful
and by golly, it was.

nose:
vanilla wafers, cedar and wild mint with just a hint of spice.
the fruits evolve, nuances of green apples, fresh pear ripe gooseberry and green grapes.
oak chips and toasted malt extract hold it all together and retain the balance of fruit and cereal.

palate:
crisp the oak in it's prime is not overpowering
maple syrup sweetness.

finish:
generous and pure, and as barry promised,
it's the smoothest scotch i've tasted
and it's an islay (who knew?)

i keep thinking about patti finding a 6 ft snake on her back deck.
i am not fond of bugs, or anything that really creeps, crawls or slithers
but at least the things i've discovered on my own porch are smaller than me.
i cannot imagine running into an animal that is my size (or larger)

i'd still be on sedatives.

crikey!

oops. gotta go watch the sox.
back in a bit.

so i spent the weekend in atlanta.
what a lovely place.
i'd forgotten how much i love hot biscuits & honey.
yowza.
the secret to a fabulous biscuit is lard.
but then, you probably did not want to know that.

so, I finally broke down and bought
a couple of bottles of whisky from The Whisky Exchange in England.

http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/index.html

They have possibly the best selection I've ever seen.

Evan Williams 23 yr old
Sam Clay
Ardbeg Lord of the Isles
Ardbeg Committee Reserve
Lagavulin 1986
Maker's Mark Black - export only for japan

atlanta is a fantastic city
must remember to move there.

my friend patti sent me her story of the weekend...
it's actually better than my tale of the new south.

"SO! Some holiday weekend!
Steve (ed. note: patti's boyfriend) noticed that there was a 5-foot adult
BOA CONSTRICTOR on the back deck. (ed. note...how does one just discover that?)
From about 11:30- 3pm, we were under house arrest by
this evil sign of the devil. Apparently, Animal Control doesn't handle snakes.
We spent a couple of hours leaving messages at all the snake removal, pest
control companies in the phone book. At 2pm a guy finally called to say he
was on his way! So what, if he is only the house inspector...

And, of course, as our luck would have it, after 3 hours of this BOA "basking" in
the sun (i did my research) on the deck to raise its body temperature, it decided to
slither(!!) under the deck.

About 30 seconds later, and I'm not exaggerating, the Pest Control guy pulls up.
It was nuts.
We couldn't see it under the deck, b/c the snake found a little cubbie to hide in.
Steve and I had to run the hose over the deck for about 30 minutes to soak it and force mr. snake out
from the deck. It was DISGUSTING!!!!
We gave the pest control guy a rope, a garden hoe, and a duck print sheet and pillow case.
He pulled mr. snake out from under the deck,
threw the sheet over it,
held it down with the hoe
and asked me to hold the pillow case open for him to put the snake in.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEK.
After that we paid the man $150.
What kind of episode of Fear Factor is it when the contestants have to PAY??!?!?

I still have the memories, but the pictures are good help.
This did get me to thinking:
first the flood in the basement,
then the bees swarming the front door,
then a boa constrictor on the back deck.
I'm not superstitious or anything, (how many signs of the apocolypse do I need?)
but, I think when really freaky things occur at each of your entrances to your home,
it's time to call Century 21. The craziest part was that we had an architect
come over that morning to discuss remodeling the house...Now I'm wondering if I
really want to wait around for a pregnant Demi Moore to arrive on our
Doorstep. (That's a seventh sign reference for those of you who missed that
movie from 1988.)"

i have not written anything about the red sox.
i have not cowboy'd up.
pity that i suck.

there appears to be many developments regarding
the sacred lofts of the court square press building.
apparently, none of the floors are level.
hmmm.
my floor drops over 3 inches from the front door to the back wall.
i suppose that will preclude me from getting anything with wheels
unless i want everything to rest along the back wall.
an interesting design challenge, to be sure.

someone at work said i could pour this conrcrete type stuff
and let gravity take it's course.
anyone ever heard of that?

otherwise, i'm painting the concrete (www.Kemiko.com)
and calling it a day.

you don't think this will cause the bourbon collection to lean?
egads. i hadn't really thought about that.
liquid tilt.
sounds like the name of a band from the 80's.

just had a moment of self-realization, nay, discovery
it occurred to me
that i'm the sort of person
who says *excuse me* after i sneeze.
even if i'm alone.
which i just did in the car
not 10 minutes ago.

i guess mama wasn't kidding when she said
i was *raised right*

dear me.
i've had some readers express concern
over what appears to be the copious amount of bourbon
i consume. (or at least write about)

rest assured, gentle reader
i am but a simple bourbon collector and taster
i do not slurp down willy-nilly my collection
(or anyone else's)
that simply wouldn't DO.

for me, it is the joy in finding a wonderful whisky
to share with friends
and ingurgitate in moderation

i'm hungry
and i don't seem to be getting any mail.
i had my mail forwarded from belmont to work
one wouldn't think it would not be that difficult to go from belmont to cambridge
but alas, i seem to have overtaxed the postal system.

what we have here is a failure to communicate.

sigh.....
and so it goes.
my 10/15 closing date on the Court Square Press loft has been moved back to 11/15.
did i mention the contractor that came by in august told me i would be lucky to get in by christmas?
didn't think so.

HOLY BAT GUTS.

i'm living off the generosity of friends.
and wondering if it's too late to buy a VW bug camper
because come thanksgiving i may be living in it.

do you think it's illegal to squat in your own residence?
i wonder what the laws are?

tomorrow's discussion:
40 year old scotch - instead of rent.

i have returned from the land of the mid-west.
st. louis was better than i remembered.
but then again, it would have to be.

ate sushi in st. louis.
i know, i know..but really now
one must live on the edge
and i would think the sake would kill anything trying to harm me.

and to be fair.
it was fabulous sushi

after sushi we ventured over to the ritz
for their cigar bar, naturally
interesting to see the call girls don't just hang out anywhere in st. louis.
nothing says classy like 40+ yr old women
trying to look 25
with doughy white men pawing at them.

thank god the ritz still had a #2 montecristo
otherwise the evening would have been a complete bust.
tried the hancock reserve bourbon
not bad. some caramel. some bitter fruit notes
went very well with the cigar, the steward assured me