Personal

I haven't been writing much about what I have been doing, but I wanted to record here just how wonderful last night was. We had a party at home, and it was a most awesome one. There were seven of us, and we started only around 11. There was pizza and drinks and cheese and chips and music and candles. And drinks.

We started out by drinking and eating and playing music: I assured everyone that they need not be afraid of disturbing the neighbours. After some time, a couple of us moved out to the balcony for a smoke, and it was so wonderfully quiet and cool that soon everyone joined us there (except for one person who fell into our bed and didn't get up for a few hours.)

I got most deliciously drunk and ended up having four of the five kinds of alcohol on offer. We talked in our uninhibited way: the assurance of being with difficult-to-shock people loosens the tongue much more effectively than alcohol could ever do.

After some time the balcony began to feel cramped and we came back in. At around four in the morning, we had a very serious discussion about Friends of Children that put two more women to sleep, and we realised it was probably time for the party to end.

But it only changed direction. The Guy and I were keen to go out on one of our late-night drives, and we first dropped off one of the friends, while two others drove off home. Then the three of us in our car went for tea. It drizzled for a few minutes, and the sky had begun to grow light. We went off for a drive and then stopped for breakfast: bread laden with butter and an omelette that had more cheese than egg, and more tea.

When we came out of the cafe it was so sunny it hurt my eyes. We then dropped our friend home and went home ourselves. The last guest was just sitting up on our bed and rubbing her eyes when we got in.

The Guy and I cleaned up a bit of the mess our house was in. It was around the time most people start their day, and all three of us tried to get a little (more) sleep. The Guy and I settled into the guest bedroom, for that was the only one that had curtains on the windows, us having taken down all the other curtains to launder them. But I woke up in an hour, craving my own familiar bed, and went in there to lie down beside our friend. But sleep eluded me, so I went out and read the paper and waited for the daily help to come so I could open the door to her.

It was a quarter to 11 and the Guy was back up by the time she came. I needed to get to some work with Friends of Children at 1, so we started to prepare lunch.

At around 12, the friend and I left, the Guy and I having had lunch: the night's festivities had not left the friend in the best of health, and the very mention of lunch seemed to make her queasy.

We walked out and found an auto, and I dropped her at the station so that she could catch a train home.

I reached the Friends of Children library just a few minutes late. We worked for a few hours, and my friend was most impressed at how steady I was in spite of all the alcohol and one hour's sleep. After working for over four hours, we went to her house for a cup of tea and more conversation.

I got home to the Guy sometime before sunset.

Well, the day is nearly ended and I should get some sleep. Hope you all are having a great weekend!