a day in the country

When I went to the farm stand this morning to stock up on Jersey tomatoes, fresh corn, baby eggplants and New Jersey white peaches, I hardly expected to hear a Mmmmm0000000. But there it was - a little cow, standing under the Plant Sale Now On sign, contentedly mooing away. Shades of Elsie, Elmer, and what was their kid's name???

This afternoon, a wonderful absurdist performance of Ionesco's The Bald Soprano, followed by a discussion with the actors and the artistic director of the theatre. It was such a treat to be in a literate, intelligent audience and hear the ideas flying in a stimulating conversation. It's a play you can't think about while you are watching/listening to it -- you just have to BE and think about it afterward. Lots of layers there - and lots of interpretations, all of which had validity.

We left the theatre and headed to the mall to pick up a bag I had bought last week at Furla on a HUGE sale. It had a couple of stitches that needed fixing and today it was perfect. I can't wait to use it. Then, we turned the car around on a whim and headed out to Sammy's - a restaurant we hadn't been to in 20 years or more. On a country road, it has no sign to indicate what it is: an ex-speakeasy left over from prohibition, established in 1933 and still run by the family. If you don't know to look for it, you'll drive right by. Decades ago, there was no printed menu. You walked in and ordered either lobster or steak. Period. Then you went down to the basement bar, complete with pool table and a pinball machine and waited till they called you. Here we are downstairs in the bar. You can see the elegant surroundings; the bartender insisted on taking a picture of us, so - ok. With it came salad, fries to die for, corn on the cob, and dessert. Today, it is still a dump, the procedure is still the same, except that there is now a printed menu at the desk when you walk in and there are other choices. They still take no reservations and the lobsters are sweet and the fries are THE BEST in the world. My hands smell of the ocean. The place was always expensive and that has not changed. But it is a treat and now that we've rediscovered it, we will probably return at some point.
As usual, I forgot to take a before picture of the food - but they give each person two 1-1/2 lb lobsters. Well, not GIVE, but you know what I mean. Here is my second one, uneaten, along with two claws from the eaten one. Monday night, cold lobster for dinner. How is this post art related? It isn't, but I'll see what I can do for the next time.