liveblog from Cafe Bene

Our DSL is getting re-done at the Ponderosa, mostly because we have decided we do not need two phone lines anymore, and the DSL runs through the now-defuncto phone line. This process of changing over will probably take up to a week.

So, I will be liveblogging a lot, as well writing in advance (don't worry, faithful readers--I go to cafes nearly every day). There's not much happening here today at Cafe Bene in Santa Cruz--this is a charming little place with an actual old-fashioned copper espresso machine, a glass display case full of old dial phones for sale (they actually work), and many green-topped tables. In fact, for such a small cafe, they are writer-friendly and have a lot of places to sit and work.

I used to dislike Cafe Bene and didn't come here to work until all the places on the Pacific Garden Mall started to fill up and I was elbow-to-elbow with other writers, madly scribbling away like inmates of some strange literary prison camp. The only annoying thing about Bene right now is the constant, constant whine of the coffee grinder--but, heck, this is a tiny place, and the proprietor apparently grinds all of his coffee fresh for the Bene folks.

There are a few old cronies who hang out here every morning, right in front, watching the world go by. I dislike the fact that smokers hang out right in front, too, the smoke wafting right in the door. I guess it is my punishment for being a former smoker, inhaling all the secondhand crap.

I am just back from acupuncture, the irony of having acupuncture on Good Friday not being lost on me. I'm relaxed and so the constant whine of the grinder doesn't bother me (it's still going--jeez, what are they grinding up in there? It's like something out of Fargo). And the radio has begun to blast some weird, circusy music, appropriate for Santa Cruz.

Looking out towards the Town Clock, I see a bank of very gray clouds, remember that rain is forecast for Easter. I remind Mr. Strega that I need two more bags of potting soil, as I have veggies I need to get into the ground this week. I sure don't want tardy veggies.

So, my plans for tonight: get Easter candy (yes, my kids still get baskets, even though they are adults; they just get abbreviated baskets), get Easter dinner planned (I know for sure we're having an artichoke tart, one special thing I like to make, but we are divided between ham and lamb). And soon Mr. Strega and I will return to our Internet-less house and I'll probably get a heck of a lot more writing done!

And oohhh, yess...Bene often has the best tunes in town, 'cause they just started playing "Cinnamon Girl" and I start singing it for Mr. Strega, 'cause I am a dreamer of pictures, dontcha know, and sometimes we really do chase the moonlight...