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There's a bunch, so here's the link!
A dog for the Obamas - but what kind?
Jul. 14th, 2008 09:46 pmWin or lose, the Obamas are getting a dog after the election. The AKC has come up with a list of purebreds, suggesting the Obamas buy one from a breeder or pet store. But some of us think that the Obamas should visit a shelter, and adopt a homeless dog. (Okay, some of us think it should be a cat, but oh well.) If you think so, too, please sign the petition sponsored by the Best Friends Network here.
While I'm not ordinarily a fan of Internet petitions, two shelter kitties are looking at me with big eyes and suggesting that if I ever want any more snuggles, I'd better not only sign the thing but pass it on. So I am. ;-)
Cat in a shelter cage:
Shelter cat with new home:
Any questions?
While I'm not ordinarily a fan of Internet petitions, two shelter kitties are looking at me with big eyes and suggesting that if I ever want any more snuggles, I'd better not only sign the thing but pass it on. So I am. ;-)
Cat in a shelter cage:
Shelter cat with new home:
Any questions?
A dog for the Obamas - but what kind?
Jul. 14th, 2008 09:46 pmWin or lose, the Obamas are getting a dog after the election. The AKC has come up with a list of purebreds, suggesting the Obamas buy one from a breeder or pet store. But some of us think that the Obamas should visit a shelter, and adopt a homeless dog. (Okay, some of us think it should be a cat, but oh well.) If you think so, too, please sign the petition sponsored by the Best Friends Network here.
While I'm not ordinarily a fan of Internet petitions, two shelter kitties are looking at me with big eyes and suggesting that if I ever want any more snuggles, I'd better not only sign the thing but pass it on. So I am. ;-)
Cat in a shelter cage:
Shelter cat with new home:
Any questions?
While I'm not ordinarily a fan of Internet petitions, two shelter kitties are looking at me with big eyes and suggesting that if I ever want any more snuggles, I'd better not only sign the thing but pass it on. So I am. ;-)
Cat in a shelter cage:
Shelter cat with new home:
Any questions?
The latest
Jun. 14th, 2008 11:04 amMy plan for Wednesday was to come home, dump my stuff, and then go to a "style" event at the home décor shop across the street. I would then return home, have dinner and watch the Top Chef finale. I did some of that, but when I came home from work, my downstairs neighbor and friends were sitting around outside, and Marva said, "Do you want a hamburger?" Naturally, I said "sure!", and she fixed me a plate with not just a burger, but a wheat roll, potato salad and baked beans. Yummy.
Then I did go to the event, which was all about finding what colors suit you in terms of your home. I normally find these sorts of analyses fairly uncompelling, but some of the the tools she used did actually make some sense in terms of making one think not only about the use of the room, but the feeling you want to convey, and I think it helped me focus on, and maybe even make a decision about, the color I want in my dining room.
I was so pleased with the outcome of Top Chef! I'm don't make a habit of checking out the latest "in" restaurants, so I wasn't familiar with Stephanie Izard's Scylla, but I am always happy when a Chicagoan gets recognition, and she surely deserved to win. Her cooking has been so consistent throughout the show, and she is so focused and (for the most part) incredibly calm in the kitchen, and works well with others. (I must say that I'm constantly amazed at how many of these contestants don't work well with others.) She is, apparently, looking for space for a new restaurant in or near downtown, and I'm sure she'll do well.
I mentioned a while back that some folks are trying to reconstitute the Chicago Barnard Alumnae Club, and so on Thursday a small group of us went to an author reading by Lily Koppel, who wrote The Red Leather Diary, and is also a Barnard alum. For those who haven't heard about this - Lily was a writer for the New York Times and was living in a prewar apartment building on the Upper West Side. One day, as she was on her way to work (late), she saw a dumpster outside her building, filled with old steamer trunks. The building was clearing out storage space in the basement. She climbed into the dumpster! And rescued a bunch of stuff, including a red leather diary written in the late twenties and early thirties by a young woman named Florence Wolfson. A while later, she met a private detective and decided to try to find Florence -- and she did. That meeting led to her decision to write a book about the Florence who wrote the diary.
After the reading, we Barnard women sat around and chatted. Lily is a charming young woman, and I can see a lot of similarities between her and Florence. I can see why they are so simpatici, even with nearly 70 years difference in their ages, both so curious about life.
Poor Marissa got her claw stuck in my computer this morning! Right on the underside, there are little holes (vents, I imagine), and she was lying on the desk in front of the computer and started rolling about and stretching. Suddenly, there was a howl and I realized she'd gotten a claw in one of the holes and couldn't get it out. Of course, when I tried to help, she just squirmed a lot, which made it worse, but eventually I got her free and she went dashing off to sulk. However, no harm was done and she is back lying on the desk. I have tried to explain to her that if she would just let me cut her claws instead of fighting me when I do so, these things wouldn't happen, but she doesn't listen.
Then I did go to the event, which was all about finding what colors suit you in terms of your home. I normally find these sorts of analyses fairly uncompelling, but some of the the tools she used did actually make some sense in terms of making one think not only about the use of the room, but the feeling you want to convey, and I think it helped me focus on, and maybe even make a decision about, the color I want in my dining room.
I was so pleased with the outcome of Top Chef! I'm don't make a habit of checking out the latest "in" restaurants, so I wasn't familiar with Stephanie Izard's Scylla, but I am always happy when a Chicagoan gets recognition, and she surely deserved to win. Her cooking has been so consistent throughout the show, and she is so focused and (for the most part) incredibly calm in the kitchen, and works well with others. (I must say that I'm constantly amazed at how many of these contestants don't work well with others.) She is, apparently, looking for space for a new restaurant in or near downtown, and I'm sure she'll do well.
I mentioned a while back that some folks are trying to reconstitute the Chicago Barnard Alumnae Club, and so on Thursday a small group of us went to an author reading by Lily Koppel, who wrote The Red Leather Diary, and is also a Barnard alum. For those who haven't heard about this - Lily was a writer for the New York Times and was living in a prewar apartment building on the Upper West Side. One day, as she was on her way to work (late), she saw a dumpster outside her building, filled with old steamer trunks. The building was clearing out storage space in the basement. She climbed into the dumpster! And rescued a bunch of stuff, including a red leather diary written in the late twenties and early thirties by a young woman named Florence Wolfson. A while later, she met a private detective and decided to try to find Florence -- and she did. That meeting led to her decision to write a book about the Florence who wrote the diary.
After the reading, we Barnard women sat around and chatted. Lily is a charming young woman, and I can see a lot of similarities between her and Florence. I can see why they are so simpatici, even with nearly 70 years difference in their ages, both so curious about life.
Poor Marissa got her claw stuck in my computer this morning! Right on the underside, there are little holes (vents, I imagine), and she was lying on the desk in front of the computer and started rolling about and stretching. Suddenly, there was a howl and I realized she'd gotten a claw in one of the holes and couldn't get it out. Of course, when I tried to help, she just squirmed a lot, which made it worse, but eventually I got her free and she went dashing off to sulk. However, no harm was done and she is back lying on the desk. I have tried to explain to her that if she would just let me cut her claws instead of fighting me when I do so, these things wouldn't happen, but she doesn't listen.
I did not go to Blues Fest tonight
Jun. 7th, 2008 09:34 pmI had considered doing so, because Buckwheat Zydeco were playing tonight. However, it seems that I am not as young as I used to be, and so I was way to tired. To find out why, read on.
Having dropped the car off to be serviced this morning, I hopped a bus to the Printers Row Book Fair (stopping briefly at a Panera Breads to have a cheese pastry for strength). Much time was spent browsing the many booksellers' booths, and, to what I am sure is no one's surprise, I bought a few books. Not a lot, but big and heavy. And it was hot today! Ghirardelli was handing out chocolate samples, which melted almost at once. However, I threw them in the freezer when I got home, and will nosh later. I stopped by the Poetry Tent to hear Achy Obejas, and caught the beginning of a reading by Nancy Horan (author of Loving Frank).
After a few hours there, I picked up the car and went home, where I immediately jumped into a cold shower. I was sticky! Then I hopped another bus and went to Rockefeller Chapel, where there was a concert to celebrate the restoration of both the organ and the carillon. The place holds (according to Wikipedia) 1700 people, but, believe me, there were a lot more crammed in. All the pews were filled, there were chairs set up in the side aisles, and people sitting on the floor and standing around. I've never seen the place that packed! The concert was great - the instruments are awesome - they'd commissioned a couple of new works for the organ (by William Bolcom, one of my favorite contemporary composers, and by Marta Ptaszynska, with whom I was not previously familiar). I ran into someone I worked with years ago; she is now enjoying retirement and living in the neighborhood. Also saw, and chatted with, Jim and Kevin.
The organ part of the concert was inside, and then we were all supposed to troop outside for the carillon portion, followed by "light refreshments on the lawn". However, it started pouring rain during the first half, and though by the time we were to hear the carillon it had eased up quite a bit, many stayed inside for that part, and the "refreshments on the lawn" turned into "punch bowls under the porte-cochère". Some were undaunted:
I decided to walk home via the produce and liquor stores (exercise being always a good thing).
For no reason other than I think it's adorable, here's a picture of Marissa catching a mouse:
Having dropped the car off to be serviced this morning, I hopped a bus to the Printers Row Book Fair (stopping briefly at a Panera Breads to have a cheese pastry for strength). Much time was spent browsing the many booksellers' booths, and, to what I am sure is no one's surprise, I bought a few books. Not a lot, but big and heavy. And it was hot today! Ghirardelli was handing out chocolate samples, which melted almost at once. However, I threw them in the freezer when I got home, and will nosh later. I stopped by the Poetry Tent to hear Achy Obejas, and caught the beginning of a reading by Nancy Horan (author of Loving Frank).
After a few hours there, I picked up the car and went home, where I immediately jumped into a cold shower. I was sticky! Then I hopped another bus and went to Rockefeller Chapel, where there was a concert to celebrate the restoration of both the organ and the carillon. The place holds (according to Wikipedia) 1700 people, but, believe me, there were a lot more crammed in. All the pews were filled, there were chairs set up in the side aisles, and people sitting on the floor and standing around. I've never seen the place that packed! The concert was great - the instruments are awesome - they'd commissioned a couple of new works for the organ (by William Bolcom, one of my favorite contemporary composers, and by Marta Ptaszynska, with whom I was not previously familiar). I ran into someone I worked with years ago; she is now enjoying retirement and living in the neighborhood. Also saw, and chatted with, Jim and Kevin.
The organ part of the concert was inside, and then we were all supposed to troop outside for the carillon portion, followed by "light refreshments on the lawn". However, it started pouring rain during the first half, and though by the time we were to hear the carillon it had eased up quite a bit, many stayed inside for that part, and the "refreshments on the lawn" turned into "punch bowls under the porte-cochère". Some were undaunted:
I decided to walk home via the produce and liquor stores (exercise being always a good thing).
For no reason other than I think it's adorable, here's a picture of Marissa catching a mouse:
I did not go to Blues Fest tonight
Jun. 7th, 2008 09:34 pmI had considered doing so, because Buckwheat Zydeco were playing tonight. However, it seems that I am not as young as I used to be, and so I was way to tired. To find out why, read on.
Having dropped the car off to be serviced this morning, I hopped a bus to the Printers Row Book Fair (stopping briefly at a Panera Breads to have a cheese pastry for strength). Much time was spent browsing the many booksellers' booths, and, to what I am sure is no one's surprise, I bought a few books. Not a lot, but big and heavy. And it was hot today! Ghirardelli was handing out chocolate samples, which melted almost at once. However, I threw them in the freezer when I got home, and will nosh later. I stopped by the Poetry Tent to hear Achy Obejas, and caught the beginning of a reading by Nancy Horan (author of Loving Frank).
After a few hours there, I picked up the car and went home, where I immediately jumped into a cold shower. I was sticky! Then I hopped another bus and went to Rockefeller Chapel, where there was a concert to celebrate the restoration of both the organ and the carillon. The place holds (according to Wikipedia) 1700 people, but, believe me, there were a lot more crammed in. All the pews were filled, there were chairs set up in the side aisles, and people sitting on the floor and standing around. I've never seen the place that packed! The concert was great - the instruments are awesome - they'd commissioned a couple of new works for the organ (by William Bolcom, one of my favorite contemporary composers, and by Marta Ptaszynska, with whom I was not previously familiar). I ran into someone I worked with years ago; she is now enjoying retirement and living in the neighborhood. Also saw, and chatted with, Jim and Kevin.
The organ part of the concert was inside, and then we were all supposed to troop outside for the carillon portion, followed by "light refreshments on the lawn". However, it started pouring rain during the first half, and though by the time we were to hear the carillon it had eased up quite a bit, many stayed inside for that part, and the "refreshments on the lawn" turned into "punch bowls under the porte-cochère". Some were undaunted:
I decided to walk home via the produce and liquor stores (exercise being always a good thing).
For no reason other than I think it's adorable, here's a picture of Marissa catching a mouse:
Having dropped the car off to be serviced this morning, I hopped a bus to the Printers Row Book Fair (stopping briefly at a Panera Breads to have a cheese pastry for strength). Much time was spent browsing the many booksellers' booths, and, to what I am sure is no one's surprise, I bought a few books. Not a lot, but big and heavy. And it was hot today! Ghirardelli was handing out chocolate samples, which melted almost at once. However, I threw them in the freezer when I got home, and will nosh later. I stopped by the Poetry Tent to hear Achy Obejas, and caught the beginning of a reading by Nancy Horan (author of Loving Frank).
After a few hours there, I picked up the car and went home, where I immediately jumped into a cold shower. I was sticky! Then I hopped another bus and went to Rockefeller Chapel, where there was a concert to celebrate the restoration of both the organ and the carillon. The place holds (according to Wikipedia) 1700 people, but, believe me, there were a lot more crammed in. All the pews were filled, there were chairs set up in the side aisles, and people sitting on the floor and standing around. I've never seen the place that packed! The concert was great - the instruments are awesome - they'd commissioned a couple of new works for the organ (by William Bolcom, one of my favorite contemporary composers, and by Marta Ptaszynska, with whom I was not previously familiar). I ran into someone I worked with years ago; she is now enjoying retirement and living in the neighborhood. Also saw, and chatted with, Jim and Kevin.
The organ part of the concert was inside, and then we were all supposed to troop outside for the carillon portion, followed by "light refreshments on the lawn". However, it started pouring rain during the first half, and though by the time we were to hear the carillon it had eased up quite a bit, many stayed inside for that part, and the "refreshments on the lawn" turned into "punch bowls under the porte-cochère". Some were undaunted:
I decided to walk home via the produce and liquor stores (exercise being always a good thing).
For no reason other than I think it's adorable, here's a picture of Marissa catching a mouse:
Cute, but annoying
Jan. 20th, 2008 03:44 pmI was scanning a bunch of book covers to upload to my LibraryThing catalogue, when Marissa decided it was time to curl up on the scanner, like this (old photo, she does this a lot):
So I gave up, and went to do my Italian homework. I sat down at the dining room table and opened my book, only to have Lilith decide to spread her not insubstantial self on top of it.
Honestly, some people's pussy cats!
;-)
So I gave up, and went to do my Italian homework. I sat down at the dining room table and opened my book, only to have Lilith decide to spread her not insubstantial self on top of it.
Honestly, some people's pussy cats!
;-)
Cute, but annoying
Jan. 20th, 2008 03:44 pmI was scanning a bunch of book covers to upload to my LibraryThing catalogue, when Marissa decided it was time to curl up on the scanner, like this (old photo, she does this a lot):
So I gave up, and went to do my Italian homework. I sat down at the dining room table and opened my book, only to have Lilith decide to spread her not insubstantial self on top of it.
Honestly, some people's pussy cats!
;-)
So I gave up, and went to do my Italian homework. I sat down at the dining room table and opened my book, only to have Lilith decide to spread her not insubstantial self on top of it.
Honestly, some people's pussy cats!
;-)
Lazy, boring weekend
Sep. 16th, 2007 10:14 pmI spent most of last week coaching a trial advocacy seminary. Friday night, there was a pizza party for participants and faculty, and three of us killed a couple of bottles of wine and debated the problems of the world, country, state, county and city. Unfortunately, we solved none of them!
The weekend has been very lazy. I've basically run errands and done stuff around the house and read. I slept until 9:30 this morning! I never do that! Reading Donna Leon's A Sea of Troubles, I came across this passage: "He found Paola at the kitchen table, head bent over a copy of either Panorama or Espresso, the two weekly magazines to which she subscribed. Her custom was to let back issues pile up for at least six months before reading them, for she insisted that this was sufficient time to put things into proper perspective . . ." So I went and threw out any New Yorker or Opera News dated before January, 2007 (and there were too many).
I shampooed one of the few carpets in my house, which is in a small sunroom off the living room. Of course, it takes a while to dry, and Lilith was quite startled when she went in and discovered the carpet was damp. It was quite amusing to see her tip-toeing around the perimeter! After all was dry and vacuumed and the furniture back in place, she was content once more:
And just so Marissa doesn't feel left out, here's a cute photo of her, too:
She is "helping" me get the box of light bulbs down off a shelf.
The weekend has been very lazy. I've basically run errands and done stuff around the house and read. I slept until 9:30 this morning! I never do that! Reading Donna Leon's A Sea of Troubles, I came across this passage: "He found Paola at the kitchen table, head bent over a copy of either Panorama or Espresso, the two weekly magazines to which she subscribed. Her custom was to let back issues pile up for at least six months before reading them, for she insisted that this was sufficient time to put things into proper perspective . . ." So I went and threw out any New Yorker or Opera News dated before January, 2007 (and there were too many).
I shampooed one of the few carpets in my house, which is in a small sunroom off the living room. Of course, it takes a while to dry, and Lilith was quite startled when she went in and discovered the carpet was damp. It was quite amusing to see her tip-toeing around the perimeter! After all was dry and vacuumed and the furniture back in place, she was content once more:
And just so Marissa doesn't feel left out, here's a cute photo of her, too:
She is "helping" me get the box of light bulbs down off a shelf.
Cute cat photo
Aug. 25th, 2007 06:00 pmI did a bit of cleaning in the guest bathroom, and left a pail with some rags in it. You can guess the rest!
Cute cat photo
Aug. 25th, 2007 06:00 pmI did a bit of cleaning in the guest bathroom, and left a pail with some rags in it. You can guess the rest!
Cats & a weekend
Aug. 5th, 2007 05:44 pmMuch as I like my iMac, with its light weight, and its flat screen that adjusts easily, those advantages turn into a drawback if you have a cat who thinks that the desk space in front of your computer is her natural napping place. "Oh, did I tilt your screen down when I stretched out? Well, whose space is this, anyway? I am the cat!"
Ah, but she's far too cute for me to get too annoyed with her!
Yesterday, I sat around waiting for the cable guy. About twenty minutes after the latest time he was supposed to get here, I called the cable company and said, "what gives?" After checking around, the customer "service" guy informed me that my service call had been cancelled, as there had been an outage and they assumed that my service was restored. Hello? How about checking with me? So now I'm without cable for another week, and will have to sit around all next Saturday afternoon. NOT the way I like to spend a summer Saturday.
In the afternoon, I wandered over to the Hyde Park Art Center. They were having an outdoor, "open to all", non-juried sculpture show and barbecue. They didn't have a whole lot of entries, probably because the call for entries was fairly off-putting. ( Read it for yourself: )
Today started out to be the kind of day that makes me think about having my Sunday paper delivered. I intentionally do not, as having to go down the street to get it makes me get up and dressed and moving. However, when it is pouring rain (or freezing cold), I think this is not such a good idea. The rain did let up around nine o'clock, though, and that's when I went out.
This afternoon was quite Germanic. I'd seen an announcement of a free concert by a string quartet at the Smart Museum, and decided that that would be a pleasant way to spend an hour on a Sunday afternoon. I got there early so that I could see the shows that were up. They have three separate shows that together cover "The Print in Germany". One was The World Writ Small: Early Northern European Prints, 15th-17th century woodcuts and engravings, Dürer and the like, in one of the small galleries. The second was Majestic Nature/Golden History, nineteenth-century German Romantic art, primarily lithographs and etchings. The third is their major show, Living Modern: German and Austrian Art and Design, 1890-1933. This was huge: Dix, Kokoschka, Kollewitz and many other printmakers, as well as decorative arts by members of the Wiener Werkstätte and others.
The concert, therefore, was also Germanic: Mendelssohn and Brahms. The small gallery where the quartet played was a bit too small for the louder movements of the Brahms, but I nevertheless enjoyed it. I ran into some old friends while I was there, a couple I've known since I was a kid (friends of my parents). I'm always running into them, particularly at Hyde Park events. It's almost a joke between us.
Ah, but she's far too cute for me to get too annoyed with her!
Yesterday, I sat around waiting for the cable guy. About twenty minutes after the latest time he was supposed to get here, I called the cable company and said, "what gives?" After checking around, the customer "service" guy informed me that my service call had been cancelled, as there had been an outage and they assumed that my service was restored. Hello? How about checking with me? So now I'm without cable for another week, and will have to sit around all next Saturday afternoon. NOT the way I like to spend a summer Saturday.
In the afternoon, I wandered over to the Hyde Park Art Center. They were having an outdoor, "open to all", non-juried sculpture show and barbecue. They didn't have a whole lot of entries, probably because the call for entries was fairly off-putting. ( Read it for yourself: )
Today started out to be the kind of day that makes me think about having my Sunday paper delivered. I intentionally do not, as having to go down the street to get it makes me get up and dressed and moving. However, when it is pouring rain (or freezing cold), I think this is not such a good idea. The rain did let up around nine o'clock, though, and that's when I went out.
This afternoon was quite Germanic. I'd seen an announcement of a free concert by a string quartet at the Smart Museum, and decided that that would be a pleasant way to spend an hour on a Sunday afternoon. I got there early so that I could see the shows that were up. They have three separate shows that together cover "The Print in Germany". One was The World Writ Small: Early Northern European Prints, 15th-17th century woodcuts and engravings, Dürer and the like, in one of the small galleries. The second was Majestic Nature/Golden History, nineteenth-century German Romantic art, primarily lithographs and etchings. The third is their major show, Living Modern: German and Austrian Art and Design, 1890-1933. This was huge: Dix, Kokoschka, Kollewitz and many other printmakers, as well as decorative arts by members of the Wiener Werkstätte and others.
The concert, therefore, was also Germanic: Mendelssohn and Brahms. The small gallery where the quartet played was a bit too small for the louder movements of the Brahms, but I nevertheless enjoyed it. I ran into some old friends while I was there, a couple I've known since I was a kid (friends of my parents). I'm always running into them, particularly at Hyde Park events. It's almost a joke between us.
Houdini cat
Feb. 10th, 2007 06:51 pmI took Marissa to the vet today for her annual check-up. It's very cold here, so I draped a shawl over her carrier. After we were through, I put her carrier on the back seat of the car, then got in the driver's seat and started the car. Suddenly, there was a racket in the back seat and the carrier tipped over onto the floor. I got out, opened the back door to see what was going on, and discovered that Marissa had managed to get out of the carrier and was now perched with her paws on the door looking out the window. The odd part of this is that the carrier doors were still latched shut! She's a sneaky one.
Earlier today, I braved the cold and went down to the Art Institute for a lecture on Arabic calligraphy by Fayeq Oweis. He talked about its history, the various styles, and showed some of his work. While I was there, I checked out the current exhibit of Japanese prints, which features representations of foreigners, primarily Chinese and Korean, but also westerners. Very interesting stuff.
Earlier today, I braved the cold and went down to the Art Institute for a lecture on Arabic calligraphy by Fayeq Oweis. He talked about its history, the various styles, and showed some of his work. While I was there, I checked out the current exhibit of Japanese prints, which features representations of foreigners, primarily Chinese and Korean, but also westerners. Very interesting stuff.
Resisting temptation
Sep. 8th, 2006 02:31 amI stopped by the Petsmart on my way home from work to pick up some litter. They are smart! They keep it right by the cages where the cats are that are up for adoption. Just trying to lure those suckers in. There were two 12-week-old kittens, one a grey tabby and the other black with a little white on his chest, all snuggled up together. They were so cute! Of course, I had to stop and coo, and the tabby, sensing admiration, woke up and came over and practically climbed up the glass. Then one of the people who worked there came by and said, "would you like to see him? I can take him out." I had to get out of there, fast! The two I have are about all that I can handle.
When I got home, I came in the front to get the mail. Marva's sunroom window looks out over the entrance, and she said, "hi" and we got to chatting. And who came by but my former across-the-hall neighbor, out for a walk with her baby (who will be one in October, gosh, time flies!). Such a cutie! And surprisingly blond - Jennifer and her husband are both brunettes. It was really nice to see her again. She looks great - just as skinny as she was before the baby.
I'm off work tomorrow. Well, I'm not going into the office. I'm going downtown to a seminar on DNA. Here's hoping some of it will sink in. The program is right across from the Civic Opera House, so I can go exchange my Iphigénie in Tauride ticket during lunch. (I'll be at a Public Defender Association seminar that Friday/Saturday.) And I can stop at Dick Blick's on the way home and see if they have any mending tissue. The one in Wheaton didn't, but they are a lot smaller than the one downtown. If they don't, well, good excuse to go to Pearl.
I got a call from IICLE (Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education). A few years back, I co-authored a chapter in their practice handbook, Defending Ilinois Criminal Cases. They are now doing a supplement, and I have agreed to update that chapter. Three years worth of U.S. Supreme Court cases on criminal and habeas law. The things I say "yes" to! Actually, it's good for me to do it for a variety of reasons, even if it is due in early January.
When I got home, I came in the front to get the mail. Marva's sunroom window looks out over the entrance, and she said, "hi" and we got to chatting. And who came by but my former across-the-hall neighbor, out for a walk with her baby (who will be one in October, gosh, time flies!). Such a cutie! And surprisingly blond - Jennifer and her husband are both brunettes. It was really nice to see her again. She looks great - just as skinny as she was before the baby.
I'm off work tomorrow. Well, I'm not going into the office. I'm going downtown to a seminar on DNA. Here's hoping some of it will sink in. The program is right across from the Civic Opera House, so I can go exchange my Iphigénie in Tauride ticket during lunch. (I'll be at a Public Defender Association seminar that Friday/Saturday.) And I can stop at Dick Blick's on the way home and see if they have any mending tissue. The one in Wheaton didn't, but they are a lot smaller than the one downtown. If they don't, well, good excuse to go to Pearl.
I got a call from IICLE (Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education). A few years back, I co-authored a chapter in their practice handbook, Defending Ilinois Criminal Cases. They are now doing a supplement, and I have agreed to update that chapter. Three years worth of U.S. Supreme Court cases on criminal and habeas law. The things I say "yes" to! Actually, it's good for me to do it for a variety of reasons, even if it is due in early January.
I really should journal more often, because I forget things!
For instance, I really should have told you about this play I went to, Las mila y una noches, produced by Els Comediants, as part of the Latino Theatre Festival at the Goodman Theatre. A group of refugees take shelter in a ruined library in Baghdad, where they encounter a young woman called Salima who has rescued a copy of The Thousand and One Nights. She begins to read them stories from the book, and the actors then portray the stories. Of course, since that book is about someone telling stories, and in those stories more are told, at one point I think I counted FOUR stories within stories! The troupe has a real commedia dell'arte flavor, and there's lots of color and music, but all the time world of war and death is hovering outside. The play was entirely in Spanish, with a few (very few) English supertitles, but anyone who got to the theatre in time to read the very detailed synopsis in the program should have had no problem understanding what was going on (although missing some of the detail).
Thursday I went to a retirement party for one of the judges. When I first started work at the office where I am now, he was in charge and he hired me. I've always liked him, so of course I made it a point to go. It was held at a Mexican restaurant, copious food and drink, and there were sombreros and castanets and only one speech! It was "old home week", too, because a lot of folks who used to work with Ken (and me) showed up, people I hadn't seen in quite a while, and we did a lot of catching up.
I was scheduled to do bond court this weekend, and did go in yesterday, but last night my boss called and said he was going to the office anyway, so he'd do it today. (One of things I really like about him is that he'll do stuff like that.) Bond court starts at 8:00, and the weekends usually take longer than weekdays (because it's just the morning, rather than morning and evening, and failure-to-appear cases come in, rather than going directly to the court that issued the warrant), but I was home before 10 a.m. yesterday, so it wasn't that bad.
I was expecting a tough drive home, thinking there would be a lot of people headed into the city for the Air and Water Show, but there was pretty much no traffic. Probably most people had gone in already, or would put off by the overcast skies. Things cleared up later, though. So I did a few errands, went to Border's to pick up Patricia Barber's new CD, Mythologies (yes, I also bought a book, a nice Kees Moerbeck pop-up from the bargain book section), and stopped at the liquor store to pick up a little something for someone. I spent the rest of the day puttering around the house and doing a lot of reading. I finished both Ursula K. Le Guin's the Language of Night and Ellen Kushner's Swordspoint, and I started Jason Fforde's The Big Over Easy.
I had the urge to bake, too. I like to bake, but I don't do it much because it's hard to make a few cookies or one slice of cake! But I had a taste for cornbread, so I made some. Had it hot right out of the oven (oh, yummy!) and more for breakfast today, with strawberries, on the back porch with the Sunday paper, parts of which Marissa has now shredded. (I don't know what it is with her and newsprint, but she will attack it whenever she's given the chance!)
For instance, I really should have told you about this play I went to, Las mila y una noches, produced by Els Comediants, as part of the Latino Theatre Festival at the Goodman Theatre. A group of refugees take shelter in a ruined library in Baghdad, where they encounter a young woman called Salima who has rescued a copy of The Thousand and One Nights. She begins to read them stories from the book, and the actors then portray the stories. Of course, since that book is about someone telling stories, and in those stories more are told, at one point I think I counted FOUR stories within stories! The troupe has a real commedia dell'arte flavor, and there's lots of color and music, but all the time world of war and death is hovering outside. The play was entirely in Spanish, with a few (very few) English supertitles, but anyone who got to the theatre in time to read the very detailed synopsis in the program should have had no problem understanding what was going on (although missing some of the detail).
Thursday I went to a retirement party for one of the judges. When I first started work at the office where I am now, he was in charge and he hired me. I've always liked him, so of course I made it a point to go. It was held at a Mexican restaurant, copious food and drink, and there were sombreros and castanets and only one speech! It was "old home week", too, because a lot of folks who used to work with Ken (and me) showed up, people I hadn't seen in quite a while, and we did a lot of catching up.
I was scheduled to do bond court this weekend, and did go in yesterday, but last night my boss called and said he was going to the office anyway, so he'd do it today. (One of things I really like about him is that he'll do stuff like that.) Bond court starts at 8:00, and the weekends usually take longer than weekdays (because it's just the morning, rather than morning and evening, and failure-to-appear cases come in, rather than going directly to the court that issued the warrant), but I was home before 10 a.m. yesterday, so it wasn't that bad.
I was expecting a tough drive home, thinking there would be a lot of people headed into the city for the Air and Water Show, but there was pretty much no traffic. Probably most people had gone in already, or would put off by the overcast skies. Things cleared up later, though. So I did a few errands, went to Border's to pick up Patricia Barber's new CD, Mythologies (yes, I also bought a book, a nice Kees Moerbeck pop-up from the bargain book section), and stopped at the liquor store to pick up a little something for someone. I spent the rest of the day puttering around the house and doing a lot of reading. I finished both Ursula K. Le Guin's the Language of Night and Ellen Kushner's Swordspoint, and I started Jason Fforde's The Big Over Easy.
I had the urge to bake, too. I like to bake, but I don't do it much because it's hard to make a few cookies or one slice of cake! But I had a taste for cornbread, so I made some. Had it hot right out of the oven (oh, yummy!) and more for breakfast today, with strawberries, on the back porch with the Sunday paper, parts of which Marissa has now shredded. (I don't know what it is with her and newsprint, but she will attack it whenever she's given the chance!)
Feeling accomplished
Jul. 10th, 2006 02:35 am( Here's why )
Yesterday, I took Lilith to the vet for her triennial rabies shot and annual check-up. As expected, she needs dental work. So on Friday she will have a couple of teeth pulled. She's on antibiotics preparatory to the surgery, and they aren't agreeing with her. She's a bit off her feed (not necessarily a bad thing, though, as she has put on a pound since last year!). Poor sweetie. Not fun. Mom doesn't like dental work, either.
Last night, I went to see Sergei Eisentein's film, The Battleship Potemkin, at MIllennium Park's Pritzker Pavilion. The Grant Park Symphony played Shostakovich's film score, with the movie projected on a large screen above the stage. I'd love to see them do the same with Alexander Nevsky! Just as the film reached its dramatic ending, the Navy Pier fireworks started going off.
After having finished my book, read the Sunday papers (in which a letter to the editor penned by me was published), and done my Italian homework, I decided to take a run up to Women and Children First Books for a reading by Alison Bechdel (author of the comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For) of her new book, Fun Home. The place was packed with Bechdel's core constituency, and she not only "read" from the book (it's a graphic novel, so she "showed" it, too), but also showed, on her computer, how she wrote/drew it. Very enjoyable. I didn't buy the book, though I might later.
Then I came home and had butternut squash ravioli for dinner and watched Anna Christie.
Yesterday, I took Lilith to the vet for her triennial rabies shot and annual check-up. As expected, she needs dental work. So on Friday she will have a couple of teeth pulled. She's on antibiotics preparatory to the surgery, and they aren't agreeing with her. She's a bit off her feed (not necessarily a bad thing, though, as she has put on a pound since last year!). Poor sweetie. Not fun. Mom doesn't like dental work, either.
Last night, I went to see Sergei Eisentein's film, The Battleship Potemkin, at MIllennium Park's Pritzker Pavilion. The Grant Park Symphony played Shostakovich's film score, with the movie projected on a large screen above the stage. I'd love to see them do the same with Alexander Nevsky! Just as the film reached its dramatic ending, the Navy Pier fireworks started going off.
After having finished my book, read the Sunday papers (in which a letter to the editor penned by me was published), and done my Italian homework, I decided to take a run up to Women and Children First Books for a reading by Alison Bechdel (author of the comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For) of her new book, Fun Home. The place was packed with Bechdel's core constituency, and she not only "read" from the book (it's a graphic novel, so she "showed" it, too), but also showed, on her computer, how she wrote/drew it. Very enjoyable. I didn't buy the book, though I might later.
Then I came home and had butternut squash ravioli for dinner and watched Anna Christie.
