Saturday, June 17, 2000

11:59 a.m. Today was a girlie day. Uh-huh. A girlie day. I got to do whatever I wanted. A day to make the little lady happy. Uh-huh. And I am happy, indeed, as I type this -- and so I will tell you all about it.

I don't remember exactly what favor I was cashing in at the Marital Favor Bank, but it was some combination of jobs above-and-beyond this past week that caused Igor to declare that today we would "go shopping." For a few little things I've been wanting for a very long time. Wine glasses. Towels. Sheets. Fireman?

Not really. I just like firemen and we were out having lunch the other day and this big rig was parked alongside the curb when the alarm went off and the men came running from the restaurant and I got to watch them hop into their rubber pants and clamber aboard the biggest truck in existence.

Two of them. They pulled on very hot hoods and jackets and waved and they were off! With sirens blaring, leaving their triangular black tire chock behind in the rush. Igor went out into traffic and brought it to the curb. Just another hero helping my heroes, the firemen. Love love love the firemen.

(Ok. So the firemen have nothing to do with my day of fun, except to provide fabulous page decoration.)

When Igor got back from some meetings this morning we packed up and headed off for: antique places! Furniture stores! Restaurant supply place! I was hoping to find some regular tulip-shaped wine glasses, and after wandering (because it was a day to make me happy, we wandered ... I like to wander and Igor is incapable of wandering ... I have to give him a mini goal in the store to keep him out of trouble: Go find -- a lampshade with Lucy Ricardo's face embroidered on it in sequins -- and off he goes, on the hunt, circling the store in a flash and I am able to wander an aisle or two or three ... until he comes right back, dammit, with the exact perfect lampshade, and then I have to whine ... but it should be in mint greeeeen, not silver .... and off he goes again ...

In this fashion, we managed several furniture stores until he caught on.

Then, we headed off to the Santa Monica Mall and the Pottery Barn and got the perfect wine glasses at $3.87 each. Next, I dragged him into a trendy place with throbbing music and pierced and permed Sprocket people where I found the most perfect thing: a plastic cactus lamp that lights when you touch the pot -- it's really quite fetching and it was under $30 in a store that was charging thousands of dollars for furniture you have inflate with an air pump.

And then off to dinner -- again, my choice. You be the judge: did I pick Hindi, Chinese, Thai, Korean, Vietnamese, or California trendy with white tablecloths and -- yes -- the perfect wine glasses? If you picked any one but the last one, you've never been married.

Which brings me to now. Igor is on one of the couches, sleeping the sleep of the just. I've had pumpkin ravioli and berries in champagne and a good red wine from a perfect glass. My cactus lamp is glowing on the windowsill and I've just re-upped my registration on eBay. They have the nicest things, you know.

Who says shopping has to stop when the stores close?

Why can't every day be a make-wifey-happy day?

And now, another brave fireman, flexing and straining in the hot sun:

Happy wifey day!