Opera And Dine-Around

                                     Cottage cheese and orange juice
                                     And double-sided tape.
That's what I needed at the store and isn't it poetic?  Went and got the first two, but didn't find the second.  (That has a nice rhythm to it, also, doesn't it?)
Went to opera at 1:00 and saw Pavarotti and Kathleen Battle in Elisir D'Amore ("The Elixir of Love").  It was superb. Of course, I had never heard of it before, but it immediately became my favorite.  Very inventive sets, lovely costumes, and a hard-warming story line, which was even funny at times.  The singing was good, too.
Got home about 4:00 and putzed around until it was time to prepare for the monthly Dine-Around.  I had asked Anna P. to pick me up and she did, along with Mary Ann Van O. and Doris H.  The affair was at the Stafford Restaurant in the Holiday Inn in Manahawkin.  I hadn't been there for years and I recalled the place as pretty tacky. 
Hasn't changed a bit.  I found the decor uninspired, the service indifferent, and the food mediocre.  Aside from that, it was okay.
I did, however, enjoy the company.  There were only about twenty people there (it's been dwindling, likely due to some differences between the attendees), and there were some "outsiders" there, but no prob by me.
Called Ellen by phone--for some reason, Skype didn't work--and just chatted for five minutes, as she was about to go outside to view the eclipse.