PLANS AFOOT

Or at least am attempting to have plans afoot, Secret People, black and white Brit film circa God knows starring Audrey Hepburn looking twelve BLARING from the butcher block at ten in the morning, Peg and Dominick glued and I cannot think. Trying to do shopping lists and guest lists and so on and keep needing to run to the spice shelf or pantry or phone book so a waste of time heading upstairs with the laptop.

The decision has been made: we are going to hold a grand Salute to Odd Knut on the 31st of this month, here, at 11:00 AM. A Norwegian Coffee Morning (but Akvavit bottles already chilling in the freezer). All welcome, just let me know so I know how many vafler to make. Vafler being Norsk for little heart-shaped individual waffles that you serve room temperature with homemade (good luck here) raspberry jam and whipped cream. This is of course contingent on Wendy coming from Vermont and bringing her heart shaped vafler iron, since DK didn't want to schlep mine over from England for some reason. Will also do eplekake, which we all know to mean apple cake, about 3 kinds open-faced sandwiches, and some shrimp. Denis will play Odd's favorite songs on the piano and says a few words. Alex will be sending over a tribute of his own, I will come up with something to say, and Peg has in mind a story she keeps saying she wants to tell but it's all about her so am trying to talk her out of it and into another one in which he's at least mentioned.

Ashes will be scattered after speeches. Am slightly worried about this part. Have done a Border Terrier but not a Papa.
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PAPERWORK SUCCESSES:

- Odd's Prudential Life Insurance has coughed up, meaning we can afford the shrimp for the Salute.

- Peg got two more letters off to people she started to write to last year then lost interest or just plain lost.

- Copies of Peg and Odd's marriage certificate arrived from the City Clerk of NYC, which means I filled out a form correctly for once and sent the right amount of money ($25).

- I found my shopping list for Waitrose (Brit supermarket) which I'd really really wanted last May when I was shopping for a dinner do and could remember nothing on it except Q-Tips. Which in fact ended up being a little tough.

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Tag Sale tomorrow. Will be up bright and early with DK to be over at Outside Bob's in Hinsdale by 8 AM to set up. DK went with me to the Berkshire Bank (America's Most Exciting Bank) today in Allendale so I could get some cash--dollar bills and quarters for the "float". He asked the teller, a woman named Kitty, according to her tag, if she was excited to see him, if it was as exciting to work in Berkshire Bank as it was to walk in as a customer, and what did people do if the excitement became too much and they passed out. We then hit Bed Bath & Beyond and bought a giant thermos in which to keep Salute To Odd Knut coffee hot, got a cheeseburger at 5 Guys, dropped my watch at the jeweler's to get a new battery which they said would take awhile because it was a Timex (Peg's, in fact, that I pinched) and jewelers hate Timexes because they have notoriously difficult backs to remove. Next stop TJMAXx for sweet FA, then WalMart for two sweatshirts for DK and to look for pants for Peg (none) and finally Staples for about eighty million miles of bubble wrap. Am tired of making decisions about stuff and finding boxes for stuff and pleading with people to take stuff and having to sneak stuff past Peg who has been a bit low today and saying she "might as well just go and kill" herself because she's "just a nuisance" and--the thinking now is why not just wrap the entire house up, like those suitcases you see at airports that have been cocooned in cling-film. And see who might want it. And if I can poke some air holes for Peg.