Thursday. Up with the alarm at six, to breakfast and back before eight. Tea with breakfast this morning, we'll see what life without coffee is like.

Tea has caffeine.

I don't think it has as much, but we'll check. Switch to something really radical like orange juice if we must.

Later. An hour or so's nap, feel better, the day (a bright sunny day) ahead. We shall persevere. One way or another we shall take charge and stop this hibernating in the apartment business. After the UPS guy arrives.

Later still. Again, a really nice day outside, warm, clear, sunny. I suppose you could call it a pretty nice laid back day inside as well, realizing the excitement for the day may well be a walk down the hill to the sushi restaurant for dinner. I've been playing the new Jeff Beck album that arrived yesterday, Jeff Beck Live and Exclusive from the Grammy Museum, all the cuts but one instrumental, including his rendition of “Nessun Dorma” from Puccini's Turandot. He performed it at Eric Clapton's Crossroads 2010 and, since I was taken by it at the time, bought this album otherwise unheard when I saw it included the aria. I have some of Beck's earlier stuff on lp, nice to see he can still kick up some dust.

UPS did show up delivering a needed light stand, a DVD burner (how many of these do I now have?), a travel bag for what are now four small light stands and a pair of Freehand gloves. I probably didn't need the gloves. Cold weather gloves (we do have it here) with the right hand forefinger and thumb constructed in such a way that you can remove the finger/thumb tip portion from each in order to manage a camera. Last month they would have come in handy and, they tell us, winter is far from done. We'll see. What's obvious is what I'm calling a more sensible “budget” still needs more work.

Early evening. After a well mannered argument with myself I decided to skip sushi and sake down the way and have carrots, oatmeal and sake here. A recent trip to Beverages & More included a small bottle of sake that I've had sitting in the kitchen now for a while. My guess is the argument might well have gone the other way without it.

Fortunately or unfortunately it does take some of the discomfort off the sinus-upper palate thing. Not a medication you want to depend on, but now it's early evening and I've lit the votive candles (old hippie stuff) - haven't done that in a while - and relaxing, watching the news. Maybe watch the rest of the movie I started earlier this week. We'll get on with productive stuff tomorrow, for the moment we're on hiatus. The weekend has arrived.

Productive stuff?

Now, now.

Later again. There was still an urge, my friends, after finishing the sake, to head down the way to the sushi restaurant and, well, participate. I managed to derail this thought and headed over to the local grocery store for cheese, crackers, cereal and sake. Much less expensive, let me tell you. And now? Well, we're thinking of that movie again, the sake that I bought at the supermarket is about halfway in the tank, I'm feeling pretty good still far from being in the tank and the day is ending in a most politic manner.

What does that mean?

We've managed another day on the planet and all is going well.