• Of course. More flowers from Trader Joe’s, purchased on the way back to Hartford on Monday. I almost never have the amount of cut flowers in vases at the cottage that I have here. I would if Trader Joe’s was closer to our house. It’s an hour away from the cottage, but it happens to be just off the interstate that takes me to Hartford.

And there’s a Trader Joe’s just outside Hartford, as well.

Oh, and I count three Whole Foods within the greater Hartford area. Three. The nearest Whole Foods to the cottage? In Albany, the state capitol, which is over an hour away.

We really do live in the boonies. Whole Foods, I’m talking to you: Why not a Whole Foods in Poughkeepsie? It’s a college town. Just across the river is New Paltz – also a college town. There are a lot of people in my neck of the woods who eat healthily and would love to shop at a store such as yours. Please get on it.

• I took a picture of the chair that used to be my ‘blogging’ chair:

First time you’ve seen it without the ill-fitting slipcover.

Yes, duck tape, makeshift fabric covers intended to hide the stuffing that is escaping, a severely duck-taped cushion that cannot be shown without its cover. That’s why the slipcover (which I never really liked) was being used.

All that aside, look at the lines of this chair! The carved bun feet. I think it’s from the thirties or the forties. We bought it when we still lived in San Diego. It’s covered in a weird textured naugahyde-type fabric, but I love that mint green color. I know that getting it reupholstered would be very expensive, but you see, I don’t want to give it up! I really love it. It’s vintage. And wouldn’t this be the perfect chair for Don? He’s using the wood chair with the red-checked cushions right now, but really, it’s too small for him. This  is a Don chair. And it’s really comfortable. So, sometime this spring – most likely when Don is away in California, I think I’m going to get it reupholstered. They don’t make them like this anymore.

• Oh, President Obama. I watched your speech last night with tears in my eyes. And the stark difference between you and that man  could not have been clearer. One who is inclusive, who reaches out to others, whose focus in this speech, as in everything he has done while in office, is outward, is on us, not himself vs. a man who cannot get enough of the spotlight, who is a child and a petulant one at that, who lies, who continually brings the focus back to himself and how ‘great’ he is, who has never done anything to help others (and if he says he has, he’s lying), who is about as far from a man of substance, a statesman, as you can get.

You will be missed. With all my heart, I thank you for your eight years of service to your country. You have shown us dignity, compassion, humor, diligence, intelligence and brilliance. Not one speck of scandal in your career. Thank you. And a thank you to Michelle Obama, a role model for all of us, and to Joe Biden and Jill Biden. We shall not see your like again.

Happy Wednesday.