We risked staying over amidst the cat hair which Axel may later regret but for now it is wonderful to wake up in Sita’s office/guest room. It is painted bright yellow (cadmium yellow). Every room is painted a different bright color but ours is my favorite. It is even more spectacular with the sun rays reflecting the yellow on yellow.
Yesterday Axel picked me up at Logan where I landed exactly on time after a perfect score departure from Charleston (SC) first and Charlotte (NC) later. Some of my colleagues did not have such good luck. At least two missed their plane because of some screw up with the hotel that had something to do with time changes and clocks automatically resetting themselves and Congress changing the date last year. Someone tried to explain it but it was early Sunday morning and I had to leave to catch my plane. On a fluke I had relied on my cell phone’s alarm and so I did not miss my flight.
We drove out west from Logan along the turnpike, which is gorgeous this time of the year with its orange, brown, yellow and green trees on both sides; brilliant fall colors under bright blue skies. It was a perfect day for flying. I would have, but no one in our family is ready for us going up together yet.
We arrived before Sita did with the ingredients for the enormous meal she prepared. We were all enlisted in cutting vegetables and when all was done we had several dishes to choose from: a spicy poulet basquaise, ratatouiile, and minestrone soup. The birthday cake was a zucchini chocolate affair that tasted much better than the name suggests.
Sita had given herself an iPhone and demonstrated how she can play harmonia, guitar and piano on it. Why we call the thing a phone is beyond me. We gave her a breadmaking machine and now know what to expect for Christmas. if someone supplies the meat we will have a nice family sandwich with Sita’s bread and my mustard in our stockings.
After dinner Jim’s family left and we played games, first Rummykub (which I like a lot) and then Monopoly (which I never liked). I grew up calling it mo-no-PO-lie with the emphasis on the third syllable. The game (and the word) come with instant memories of arguments that got sharper as the game progressed and the stakes went up. My youngest brother always won as the rest of us overextended financially, just like real banks do nowadays.
I played along for a couple of hours while Sita amassed great riches by buying everything she could and exacting money from the rest of us. At 11:00 PM, stuck in prison, I gave up, handed my properties back to the bank and divided my money over the remaining players with most of it going to my husband since I have a weak spot for him. I fell asleep against the background noise of arguments and learned in the morning that Sita went broke after all.
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