In case you were wondering how my arbitrary reading goals are going, I finished Hood this morning before sunrise and I'm just over halfway through Everyone Knows Your Mother Is A Witch and fully expect to finish it by this afternoon. (I also finished the last two sections of my re-read of Seutonnius' Twelve Caesars, the sections on Titus and Domitian, but that's less impressive than it sounds when you realize that the section on Titus is the shortest at only 5pgs since he wasn't as scandalous murderous as many other emperors and he also only reigned for 2.5 years; but that was just an ongoing intermittent palette cleanser read between novels and no part of my stated arbitrary goal with finishing the two novels.) So I will definitely be finished both of them before the new moon (which is just before midnight tonight in Central time zone -- 11:37 or something like that) of my arbitrary goal.  Because what's the point of an outlandish ridiculous arbitrary goal you set yourself if you're not going to hit it out of the park easily achieve it? The only other thing to do with an arbitrary goal is ignore it completely. 

Last night, both Crissy and I decided we did not desire to deal with meeting at 6am or the hordes of humans for the big Dane County Farmer's Market on the square so opted to go to one of the smaller Saturday Farmer's markets, the one in Research Park right near my work. It was fine, and worth it to be able to pick up specific things but not a replacement for the real deal downtown which is the 8 blocks surrounding the state capitol standard I expect of all Farmer's Markets because it's what I grew up with as my normal baseline expectation. But, it was nice to not meet until 8ish and then not have to deal with not moving crowded sea of humanity slowly shuffling around the sidewalk blocking view of all produce if you're not done by 8:30am.

I'm currently in holding pattern to head back home from work after finishing up my cup of coffee I made here to go with my chocolate croissant form Madison Sourdough and waiting til I can pause the Billy Joel playlist I had put on for Waffles while we were gone. Turning off Billy Joel playlist is very difficult and time consuming for me unless you get (un)lucky and a not so great song comes on, like Zanzibar, because you have to wait until just the perfect pause after one song finished before you hear the opening bar of the next one you love and then get excited for and have to listen to just the one more before you can go.  (This is from the girl who will literally put in the car a mix she has made of her favorite Billy Joel songs/albums and then feel the emotions so overwhelmingly at the start of each song to need to exclaim in all different variety of reactions, "O I love this song!!" to EVERY song, including when a particularly well loved one is put on repeat one by me, lol.) Honestly, it's been nearly an hour since Crissy left to go back home and Waffles gave up on me has already fallen back asleep in her kennel with the door open waiting for me to reach a good pausing place in the all Billy Joel playlist so we can head home. It's bad when your dog gives up on you as hopeless..... I'd say I'm sorry, but honestly when it comes to my love of Billy Joel songs, I regret nothing! I will be the first to admit that I am absolutely and utterly incorrigible and of all the things I've ever learned in all my lives, falling out of love with what delights me is a skill I've never yet mastered. And so, I have no regrets for any time I get to hear a Billy Joel song! Even if it ends up taking me hours to finally reach a good stopping point on my own dang playlist of Billy Joel songs. Because Billy Joel is and always has been a forever favorite of mine since I first stole my parents copy of Piano Man, lol. John Coltrane's Giant Steps was my first album I fell in love with could listen to ad nauseum start to finish on loop (it was always in my grandpa's car when he gave me a ride or picked me up after preschool because it's what i always picked so he stopped asking what I wanted and just always had Giant Steps playing in his car for me) but Billy Joel's Piano Man was my second.

Oooh! Dang it, I missed my chance after Only the Good Die Young ended because I checked a text dinging about making brunch plans with a Chi area friend coming up for Farmer's Market on July 1 -- and now it's a live version of Vienna. But also, it's Vienna! And I love this song!! I'll make it back home and make me a real breakfast (well, brunch) eventually. Eventually. I have eggs now from market and I did promise the cat we'd be back for most of the day until I need to come back to water everything in the evening.

. Also. If I ever do get married, that man is going to have to be either incredibly forgiving understanding or have as unhealthy an obsessive listening habit for Billy Joel and George Winston songs as me and my fur babies for things to work long term.....