Oh god. The tree is down. The huge pine tree that provided so much green and shade and a welcoming canopy when walking up the steps to our house is gone. I can’t believe how sad I am that it’s not there anymore, which might be why I justified spending over $100 on booze today. Mostly wine since I need to replenish the cellar rack spot on the buffet where I put the wine. I already have several bottles there, but I gave one to Nick as a thanks for fixing our A/C a couple of weekends ago, because even though he doesn’t drink it, his wife does and she’d been pregnant for like a year and was due for some alcohol once that kid came out. One bottle missing does not an empty collection make, but some of my favorites (Côtes du Rhône, Pouilly-Fuisse, Gruner Veltliner, as well as The Prisoner and Chateau Smith Cabernet) were on sale and I am grieving here, okay?

I don’t drink wine as often as I drink beer, though, so for myself, I picked up a bottle of Matilda because it’s my favorite, and a 12-pack of Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy, which is my most favorite beer this summer and one of the only beers I’ll gladly drink from a can. For Graham, I got a Boulevard Double Wide IPA and a 2nd Shift Brewing Company bottle called Unicorn Killer. All I know is that it’s a Saison, but when your beer is called Unicorn Killer, does style really matter?

Maybe tonight Graham and I can hang out in the backyard, which is thankfully still shady, but only because Larry doesn’t have any trees in his backyard to massacre. We can drink some beers and eat dinner, and if we’re not too drunk on Unicorn Killer and tree-related misery, we might be able to catch the midnight screening of The Shining at the Tivoli, because even though Graham falls asleep every single time I make him watch it, I’ve never seen it on a big screen and it’s one of my favorite movies of all time.

Gone Hunting Unicorns

Mardy Bum, Arctic Monkeys
Girls and Boys in Love, The Rumble Strips
Shakedown on 9^th St, Ryan Adams
Dear Doctor, The Rolling Stones
Torch Song, The Walkmen
In Your Room, Depeche Mode
Artificial Light, Rainer Maria
Sing Me Spanish Techno, The New Pornographers
Itchin’ on a Photograph, Grouplove
Young Bucks, Dinosaur Feathers
Too Young to Kill, Brite Futures
St. Francis, Delta Spirit
I Only Want a Buddy Not a Sweetheart, The Shivers
Miss Magnolia, Matt Costa
Did Me Good, The Elected
Sometimes I Don’t Get You, Yo La Tengo
Future Starts Slow, The Kills
The Pendulum, The Ettes
The Happiest Place on Earth, Desaparecidos
Calling and Not Calling My Ex, Okkervil River
The Sailor, Bright Moments
Anenome, The Brian Jonestown Massacre
Ignite, The Raveonettes
Who Do You Love, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists