Taxes

What better two things to align the stars than taxes and German beer?? Tonight marks the writing of two huge checks to the State of New York for Craig and me. I am combatting the problem with Slow Cooker Chicken Paprikash and Orange Banana Nut Bread (the two aromas are fighting one another for attention, I can attest to that). Allow me to begin from the beginning of the weekend, so that any of this makes chronological sense. By every Friday nowadays, I feel like stabbing myself in the eye with a felt tip pen. I'm not sure what good that would do, considering it would be a felt tip, but that's my favorite kind of pen, or one of, so that's my choice. Anyway, riding the train home, I listened to my Nano, and I closed my eyes and "Little Babies" by Sleater-Kinney came on and I visualized myself with much better and longer hair dancing in rhythmic pretty circles to the song, simple and genuine, paying proper props to the beat. This slight image while I closed my eyes on the subway helped me look more forward to life, even though I won't likely ever have better hair or dance in obnoxious circles to "Little Babies". I got off the subway, happy to embrace a Friday, and walked more of 3rd Ave than I usually do (I give preferential treatment to 2nd). The song "Rise" from Into the Wild's soundtrack started on my Nano, and I bet people that passed me on the street wondered if my head might explode with mandolin, because I had turned the song just that loud. I couldn't get enough of it so I replayed it, and then the Andrew Bird song "Lull" followed, as if my Nano knew just what I needed to salvage the pieces of my week and make things right. I entered the biggest wine store in my neighborhood on 3rd listening to "Lull", and it felt like I had walked into a romantic dark episode of my own life, where I was browsing bottles of wine to the tune of some amazing lyrics backed by brilliant sound, and down about things, to boot. But my spirits shifted dramatically when I stopped at the grocery and picked up ingredients for Thai Chicken Tacos and Coconut Curry Rice, which both turned out tremendous and delighted us. Craig attempted to watch a movie and I hung around in the computer room a bit and we wound up in bed pretty early for a Friday, which is always fine by me.*Saturday, I woke up and felt overwhelmed with motivation. I leapt from bed, made mental lists, wrote physical to-do lists, made great decisions to do great things, and then Craig woke up and discovered how amazing the weather had turned out to be and thus wiped out all of my amazing plans to do amazing things: Craig wanted to go have fun! I'm always on board for fun, of course. So, instead of staying home and accomplishing, we headed right down to Alphabet City and bar-hopped. We found a curiously strange venue called Porch, where there must have been a party of people dressing strangely or maybe it's just the way the neighborhood unfolds - we couldn't figure it out. Adults were dressed in Girl Scout vests, silver pants, bath robes, feathered boas, gym shorts, short skirts, and really a lot of stuff we don't see every day. But the place was offering 2 for 1 beers, which we happily enjoyed. Then we were off to right next door, another German haunt called Zum Schneider. We were so starving - had not eaten since bagels earlier that morning. But our wait for a table would be like hours, the German-American hostess informed us! Or maybe she said, "A long time." Whatever, we were geared for that - the crowd was huge. So we bellied up to the German taps and just drank! We were both completely in shock at the coolness of Zum Schneider - it feels, and boasts itself to be, a very authentic beer garden (and I say this having not yet been to Germany and to an authentic beer garden!) I liked this place far better than Lederhosen. It felt more fun, somehow. We were finally seated outside in their sidewalk outside area, and we ordered so much sausage and more beer and there we were, practically in Germany. Fun!! After a terrific lunch and more delicious beer, we finished the afternoon at the Grape and Grain, which we just love. Then we came home and it was an early night - by nine, we were ready to collapse.*Today has been nice, too. I did get a lot done - the Chicken Paprikash is almost done, and the bread is cooling on a wire rack. Craig went to an eye doctor appointment early in the day, and I am geared up to cook Indian Butter Chicken tomorrow hopefully in time to watch all the new sitcoms. And our week is short. OUR WEEK IS SHORT. I'm so relieved. I haven't spent one of my birthdays since we moved here traveling to Flushing. And if possible, I won't ever. We're off Thursday (my birthday) and Friday. Thankfully.