AND NOW FOR A POST OF UNSPEAKABLE BANALITY.

In a fit of post-divorce redecorating, I bought a new dining room table.

Why am I telling you this? Well, there are several reasons:

1. My brain—and in particular, that creative hunk of it with the Latin name—is barely running on fumes these days. Tossing-off an unspeakably banal post about an article of furniture seemed like an easy way to fulfill my semi-weekly publishing obligation.

2. This table spurred an interesting conversation with the woman who sold it to me. I bought it at a plant/tree nursery in town. They had no mosaic tables in stock, but agreed to place an order with the distributor. The saleswoman informed that they sell very, very few mosaic tables. I asked why? She said that Spaniards much prefer those hideous, molded-concrete table/bench combinations for their outdoor patios. But, I said, this table isn’t for my outdoor patio. It’s for my dining room. She looked at me as if I had offered to cook and eat her first-born child. Then she said, “Oh, no...nobody puts these tables indoors.” Go figure!

3. I have the same table—albeit, a smaller, round version—in my kitchen...and Angie has mentioned several times how much she loves it. So...there, Ang. This one’s for you.

4. And finally....that hairy little brown sphere in the middle of the table provides me with the perfect segway to say something of great importance: COCONUT!

OK! Now I can enter the weekend with a clear conscience.