…and so, August melts into September, and I do mean melts. It has rained 9 days in a row, except for today and that was a close one. Not all day, mind you, just parts of the day. Usually the parts when you want to go out and get something done, or just the parts when you’re leaving for work or coming home. Not the parts when you’re actually inside, don’t have any plans, and could give a rat’s ass.
The only good thing about raining 9 days in a row is that it does tend to bring down the heat a little – to maybe 83 instead of 89. But it didn’t rain today. When I got into my car at 11:00 this morning, the thermometer said that the outside temperature was 91. 91! So what are you gonna do? Dream about winter. Plan winter.
I live for Winter in Miami. Seventy degree days, 60 degree nights. What many people in other parts of the country dream about Spring, I dream about Winter. Chanukah, Christmas, New Year, gardening without melting into a ball of sweat inside 30 seconds. All the parties, all the events happen here in the winter-time. My favorite? The South Beach Wine & Food Festival at the end of February.
Forget the snobby wine tastings, the champagne bubblebaths, the exotic barbecues (Eewww! You can eat that?!?) No, the best part is the two-day Grand Tasting Village. Hundreds of exhibitors and vendors, free food, free booze, free goodies from 11:00 in the morning until 6:00 in the evening. Nothin’ but sand under your feet, no rugrats in strollers nipping at your ankles, and with luck, the Illi coffee booth will have electricity…. This year I’m smuggling in some ziploc bags… You can’t see and taste everything in one day, so we developed a plan. A civilized plan. Get a hotel nearby. Arrive Friday night, park the car in the garage on the corner for the weekend, have coffee on the veranda at the Cardozo Hotel across the street from the entrance on Saturday morning, and saunter over when the time comes. Rinse and repeat on Sunday. Very civilized. This time, kindred spirits Miz Shoes and her hubby the RLA, will be joining us. Yay! Co-conspirators!
This year, I think, we will have to attempt to be first in line. How can we take the chance of not getting a seat for the keynote presentation: the Original Diva of Home Style, Miss Martha Stewart? The boys are on their own.
