“Everything in moderation, including moderation.” Oscar Wilde
It’s been a drinking month. I target the breaks, the red dot days, but May has turned into a drinking month. And, honestly, I’m fine with it. A glass of wine each evening during the fall of civilization — what’s the harm? Where’s the trespass? I’m old-ish, the world is burning, I’m having a drink. Not much, just a glass — the scolds with their health panic and worry beads can just fuck right off (that’s me, I’m the scold). I’m not sorry.
Quatari plane? Glass of wine. Library of congress? Spritzy cocktail. Rule of law? French rosé. Memecoin? Genocide? Habeas corpus? Measles? Signal chats? Tariffs? Maga face? Elder care? Arthritis? Drink, drink, drink.
The acupuncturist suggested a casual cleanse to help with my sleep issues, joint pain, and general malaise — cutting out sugar, processed foods, and alcohol for one week. Also, not much dairy (don’t touch the cream in my coffee) and probably no gluten (which is my usual status these days).
I did it. I cleaned up my act for more than a week. Nothing is different. I’m still me.
So May is a wine month this year, I give up. I sat in a good chair gazing at a big, gorgeous lake on a chill May day. Wrapped in blankets, we appreciated the lovely local Reisling and the view, and damn it was a lovely distraction. I’m entering my unapologetic era. The unapologetic, orthopedic shoe era of my life. It has potential.
We went protesting again yesterday, stood on a roadside in the rain under a vault of gray sky, wondering if any of it matters. Some people honk and wave, some shout and flip us off. I really just want to be alone, but here we are. Driving an hour to interface with angry white men (all the mean, mad ones are white men, it’s just true). We finally made signs. (Mine says, I’M SO ANGRY I MADE A SIGN.) The end times are surprisingly crafty.
When it was over, we ate good food with better wine in a charming enough bistro. Wet from the rain, wounded from the mean men, but pretty sure we’ve done the right thing. For whatever it’s worth.
Leave me with my Portuguese bubbles and hopefully something will be sorted by June. Perhaps June is a month of relative sobriety. Perhaps there will be a sliver of good news. Perhaps, too, pigs will fly and sweet putti will appear in my backyard to sing me into the next season. One can dream.
Cheers! 🥂🐷🪽
Things to share:
Master of Claude de France’s Book of Flower Studies is a gorgeous distraction. Each specimen from the manuscript has been planted in the Cloisters’ gardens and I’m hoping to actually see it this year.
Teju Cole on Vermeer. A brilliant profile that has changed the way I view these masterpieces.
Let’s just have a little drink. “… looking out, sober, at a culture that is now coming to associate alcohol exclusively with pain, I feel as if we are at risk of forgetting what a truly lovely thing a bit of booze can be.”
Really enjoyed the heady escape of Crush, Ada Calhoun’s novel about relationships and connection.
Thoroughly enjoyed this. SO much. I recently stopped drinking for an entire three months (from January on, gah!) because there was some nonsense going on with liver-bloodwork and they wanted to see what the figures would be like without my "daily, sustained alcohol usage." I felt like an addict but yes, it's true that I have been having 2 glasses of wine whilst making dinner for many years (all my adult life, really) and I do cherish that time. The promises of temperance (better glowy skin, more vitality etc) were all hollow with the exception of better sleeping which I must admit to. The predominant feeling though was a lingering sadness that at the end of a hard, often anxious day there was nothing to look forward to at 3:30 to 4 but fizzy water or a really good cup of tea. Sigh. Now that my three months are finished I am trying to keep my wine-time to the weekend so it is a SUPER big treat now. We will see how long this lasts lol. I love your honesty and your indignation - it is awesome xo PS Also "orthopaedic shoe era" is classic, so good and relatable.
Love this. Love Love Love this. Same. Add some greenery to the mix and we got a party! 💗