mojosmom

I accidentally typed "Sumer", which is vaguely appropriate since the folks a few blocks over at the Oriental Institute are spending their summer making beer from an old Sumerian recipe.

I, however, have entered the 21st-century. I've bought an iPhone, nudged to it by the fact that my previous provider, U.S. Cellular, sold its local market to Sprint, which means my old phone would stop working in a couple of months.

After handling that transaction, I got to the Pritzker Pavilion for about the last half of the Grant Park Orchestra's open rehearsal for their "Let's Dance" program. Great fun! Tap and tango and jitterbug. During their break, I wandered over to a concession stand for a hot dog and lemonade, not my usual fare, but I tend to indulge once or twice over the summer.

Yesterday, I lunched outside at a local restaurant near Robie House, prior to giving a tour there. Perfect weather. In the evening, I fought the "Waste of Chicago" crowds and went to a special event at the Art Institute. The curator of the "Impressionism, Fashion,and Modernity" show gave a lecture, the exhibit was open, and there was a reception in the Modern Wing with French wines and food. Crème brulée! Yum! Also a cabaret act. The show, which includes some paintings that have never been lent in the U.S. before, is fabulous.

There's a memorial service next weekend for a dear friend who died a couple of months ago at the age of 90. Her daughter emailed me to ask if I'd say a few words "if you feel inclined". You better believe I do! Eila was a real treasure and inspiration in my life. I am honored and delighted to have been asked.

Honestly, I am going to try to do better at posting regularly. If nothing else, it will be easier for me to remember what I want to say!

Gosh, I last posted on Election Day!

Since then, I've been busy.

SOME CULTURAL STUFF:

I see I've spent a fair bit of time at the Art Institute. Their new galleries for Greek, Roman and Byzantine art opened in November, and I went to a couple of events around that. And they had a fun holiday event for donors, with a talk in the photography study room on photographs of snow scenes, and another talk about art from the collection of winter scenes. All very appropriate and accompanied by drinks and cookies.

In the olden days, before radio and television and computers, people used to provide their own entertainment, often in the form of musical evenings. I went to one! A guy I know who is on the musical staff at Lyric Opera, along with a cellist from their orchestra, did a live radio broadcast on our local classical music station. They wanted to rehearse first in front of a live audience, so some friends opened their apartment, and invited about a dozen or so people over to listen to Bach, Debussy, Stravinsky - it was all so lovely and old-fashioned!

Also various operas.

SEMINARY CO-OP:

One of my favorite bookstores moved right before Thanksgiving. Seminary Co-op Books, often called the world's best academic bookstore, was so named because for aeons it's been housed in the basement of the Chicago Theological Seminary. But CTS has a new building, and an economic research institute has moved into the old place, so the University provided a new facility for the store. It's just a block away, next to Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House, and it's gorgeous. A lot of folks were sad about the move; Seminary's quirky spaces were much beloved, despite the drawbacks (like lousy handicapped access, no natural light, and low hanging pipes), and there was concern that the atmosphere would be lost. But they made the right move in hiring architect Stanley Tigerman, who has been a Co-op member for thirty years. He has designed a large, light-filled space that still has those beloved nooks and crannies. One of my favorite things are the bookshelf "windows":



Two days before the actual opening, they had a "book parade". The store has always what was known as the Front Table (though it wasn't actually in the front), on which were displayed recent books, generally by University faculty, an honor described by one person as "The Pinnacle of Academic Achievement". So they invited the authors to come and move their books from the old Front Table to the new one. The parade came complete with bagpiper:



Afterwards, everyone enjoyed cookies and tea/coffee/cider/hot chocolate, as well as a sneak preview of the new space.

More on the move, the store, and how much people love it at the The Seminary Co-op Documentary Project.


FAMILY/FRIENDS:

My maternal great-aunt was married for a time to William E. Rodriguez, the first Hispanic alderman in the City of Chicago (and one of two aldermen elected on the Socialist Party ticket). He was also, back in 1912, the first Hispanic graduate of the law school that I attended, so the school had a reception in his honor, at which it was announced that a scholarship was being established in his name. I have been asked to serve on the committee that will establish the criteria by which it will be awarded. Should be an interesting experience; I've never done anything like that before.

An old friend of mine passed away in October. She had been living in Maine since her retirement about 10 years ago, but still had ties to the area. There was a memorial service for her earlier this month at the Friends Meeting in Lake Forest, of which she was a member. One of her daughters, also a friend, was unable to come in for it, but she and her husband and utterly adorable daughter came through town a couple of days ago and some of us got together with them for lunch. It was so good to see her, and it looks as though they will move back to the area (well, Wisconsin, anyway), which will be nice.

I hope everyone has had good holidays. Mine were excellent. I went to scads of parties.

Also, both my sisters came out for Christmas, and we indulged in art exhibits, bookstores, and seeing friends, including a dear friend of my parents' generation who is now in hospice care.

I had said that I did not want to get a Christmas tree, as hauling it up three flights of stairs (and back down) and finding errant needles well into July had gotten old. But Stacey turned up with a tree! It's a tabletop tree, only about 2 1/2 feet tall, and it smells marvelous.

OTHER STUFF:

I have been feeding my addiction to outerwear. Honestly, I have boring black skirts and trousers, and scads of jackets and coats. There's a great store in my neighborhood called What The Traveler Saw, that has items both for traveling, and which the owner has found on her travels. Lately, she has also been taking some items of clothing and jewelry on consignment, and recently brought in a guy who sells vintage clothing. Well, you know I was doomed! For a couple of weeks, I was salivating over a coat in the window of the store, so one day I went in and tried it on:


Then a couple of weeks later, while my sisters were with me (and urging me onward rather than the opposite), I found this on the vintage rack:


The label says "Donald Brooks", so I looked him up. Quite the guy! I was in the store today, and told the vintage guy what I'd found, which he hadn't known. I bet he's going to Google all his labels from now on. (Maybe I shouldn't have told him!)

That's probably more than enough from me right now.

Besides, it's close to time for champagne Prosecco.

I have just come in from clearing a few inches of snow off the car. It's supposed to snow all night, and since I have a class in the morning, I wanted to get a head start. A friend of mine is supposed to be flying in from New York tonight to see her mom and her two kids (I say "kids", but they are college grads); I hope she makes it.

Hard to believe it was 50º(F) yesterday! (Well, maybe not. This is Chicago, and it is January.

It's been a fairly quiet week. I ushered at a concert on Saturday - very nice early music, featuring a pair of cellists. Went to hear The Magic Flute last night, which is always a treat. Also went to an event at the Art Institute - a conversation between a curator and a collector, followed by drinks, noshes and a viewing of an exhibit of drawings from said collector's collection. There was one piece in particular that I coveted, "Second Roebling", by Christopher Wilmarth. I won't post the image of it that I found on the web, though; it just doesn't do the piece any justice.

Did a bit of shopping. I lost my good black gloves on the bus on Friday, so had to replace them. I was really annoyed because I'd only bought them a few weeks ago. Also did some boring but necessary bra/undies/socks shopping.

I went to the library yesterday to return one book, and pick up another that was on hold. I actually returned home with four books; it's so nice to have the time to sit back and read.

I finally worked out exactly when I'm going to head off to the BC convention. I'm going to go to Glasgow first, and then Dublin. I bought my airline tickets today and booked a hotel in Glasgow, and am waiting to hear from someone who might share a room in Dublin before I book that (though I'm not going to wait too long). I had to change a couple of theatre tickets here, but that was no big deal.

I made it to this morning's farmers market and back just in time. I don't know whether it's going to keep up, but it has delayed the Air & Water Show. I have to keep an eye on that, as I am headed up to the north side later today, and need to decide how I'm going to get there (car, bus and el, train and el), which, in turn, depends on what I think A&WS traffic will be like when I have to leave.

This is the closing weekend for the Grant Park Music Festival, and they're doing Verdi's Requien. I went last night, due to the forecasts for rain today, and it was marvelous! I was a bit disappointed that I'd have to miss last night's Summerdance, because it was Cajun music, which I enjoy a lot. However, the Requiem ended at 8:00, Summerdance goes until 9:30 and it was a 5-minute bus ride away, so I went to that, too.

In other music, Tammy McCann did an outdoor concert at the DuSable Museum on Friday, the weather co-operated, the Museum was selling food and wine, so that was very nice, too.

Lecture on Thursday at the Art Institute about the golden orb spider-silk textile that's on exhibit there now. Fascinating stuff.

Three recent deaths:

Jean Dinning, who wrote Teen Angel:


Bob Marcucci, who discovered Frankie Avalon:


and Fabian:


and Owsley Stanley:



Seems like just yesterday . . .

First opera of the season Friday night! The first trick was figuring out how to get to the garage where I normally park, as there is major construction on Lower Wacker Drive, and I can't get to it from my usual route. I called the building, and they were very helpful, even emailing me a map with all the various closures and alternate routes. But, in the end, I found a simpler way, though any route involves going north and east to then go west and south! We had decided to have dinner at the Corner Bakery at Michigan and Wacker, and then take the water taxi to Madison where the Opera House is. Since I parked near the Opera House, I took the taxi both ways. The Madison St. stop is by one of the major commuter train stations, so a lot of people use it for commuting, but it's also a great way to get a view of downtown that you wouldn't ordinarily see.

The opera was Verdi's Macbeth, and was directed by Barbara Gaines, who is the artistic director of the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. It's her first opera production, and was quite successful. Of course, it didn't hurt that Lady Macbeth was sung by Nadja Michael, who is gorgeous, physically and vocally, and was, as one of my companions described her, "a force of nature". Thomas Hampson was Macbeth.

Today, I went to the Chicago Symphony. It was supposed to be Riccardo Muti conducting Cherubini's Requiem, but he has cancelled his fall appearances due to illness, so the concert had morphed into Pierre Boulez conducting Mahler's Symphony No. 7. Though Cherubini is definitely more my speed, I did love the Mahler! It's hard to believe that when it was first performed people found the music "incomprehensible", as to the modern ear it is quite melodic. One hundred years certainly changes things!

So I bought this sweater yesterday (ignore the price, I never pay retail!), in the gray/black. The picture doesn't do it justice. From even a short distance, the collar looks like crushed velvet, and it reminds me of architect Jeanne Gang's Aqua tower.

Okay, there's a kid somewhere in the 'hood learning to play the trumpet. I can hear him when I'm in my study. He's not very good. I sure hope he improves! ;-)

I went to hear Tony Kushner last night at the University of Chicago's Artspeaks program. He was interviewed by Charlie Newell, the artistic director at Court Theatre, which is currently mounting a production of Kushner's adaptation of Corneille's The Illusion. I could listen to him talk forever. "The only obligation an artist has is to tell the truth." And he certainly does his best to live up to that. He talked about playwriting and directing, why colleges should not have undergraduate theatre programs, family, psychoanalysis, and a variety of other things.

Tonight, I went to the local library for a panel discussion on Octavia Butler and Afro-Futurism. It was one of several programs going on to lead up to the premiere of jazz flutist Nicole Mitchell's Xenogenesis II: Intergalactic Beings , inspired by Butler's trilogy. In addition to Mitchell were John Corbett, music writer and co-founder of Corbett vs. Dempsey Gallery, who is an expert on Sun Ra, who was connected with Chicago's Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, and also Madhu Dubey, a professor of feminist theory and African-American literature at the University of Illinois-Chicago. It was a wide-ranging discussion of literature and music. When I got home, the president of the Friends of the Library called and asked if I would do a post on their blog about it. I said yes, but I wish she'd asked me before the program so I would have known to take notes!

I've been going through my books looking for thin paperbacks to take to Amsterdam to release at the BC convention. If I were going straight there, it wouldn't be as difficult, but whatever I take, I'll have to haul to Florence and then to Amsterdam, so I'm trying to be circumspect. I'm taking a couple to read on the plane and then release. And I have to factor in the guidebooks and such. I'm also debating about which edition of The Inferno to take with me. I'm leaning toward my Dorothy L. Sayers translation, because it's a small Penguin paperback. The Pinsky is a dual-language edition, which I like, but it's significantly bigger, not as easily carried about. I suppose I'll make up my mind at the last minute, as usual!

and ignored the weather report and the skies. I had thought about going downtown to the Turkish Festival today, but, when I finished my early morning farmers' market/yard sale/dry cleaning errands, it was gray and cloudy and sprinkly, and the forecast was for rain. So I didn't. Naturally, it didn't rain and the sun came out, but too late for me to change my mind. Ah, well. Instead, I planted some herbs that I bought at the local farmers' market this morning, and then sat outside and read. Always a pleasure! Did laundry, too.

I also hung up my latest present to myself:

I'm in the habit of browsing Kimono Flea Market Ichiroya, but never really thought about ordering anything from them, considering shipping costs and a bit of hesitation about ordering from abroad. Then I fell in love with this wedding kimono. I did a bit of sleuthing (mainly checking their feedback on eBay, but also found some other, favorable mentions), so decided to risk it. I ordered it Thursday of last week and it arrived on Tuesday! I now have a lovely garment hanging on the wall and the cats have a new box to sit in.

While I was at the farmers' market, I bought the first strawberries of the season, just picked this morning, and are they ever good! The guy threw in some asparagus as a "bonus", which I will have for dinner tonight. I also got a green tomato, for frying. (Speaking of fried green tomatoes, my favorite restaurant for them, Dixie Kitchen and Bait Shop (also a fave of Barack Obama's) is closing their Hyde Park location, due to machinations of the University of Chicago. The owner has another restaurant in the area and will add some of the favorite dishes of Dixie Kitchen to that menu, but it won't be the same. She's looking for another space, but isn't having a lot of luck.)

There's a community garden near the farmers' market, and I had the urge to wander about and take a bunch of pictures. In the course of so doing, I discovered a new use for old books:

(This garden likely won't be here next year, also due to machinations of the U of C.)

It is yard sale season, and I went to a couple this morning. Got some books, and a spiffy knee-length sleeveless black linen dress with white stitching at the hem and waist and a black ribbon tie that had never been worn. The tags were still on it!

Despite the above grumpiness about the University, there is a free concert at Mandel Hall this evening, Behold, the Sea!. The University Chorus and Motet Choir, along with the University Symphony Orchestra, are doing Ralph Vaughan Williams' Symphony No. 1, A Sea Symphony, and Benjamin Britten's Four Sea Interludes from his opera, Peter Grimes.

Sunday afternoon, I went to a marvelous concert! Countertenor David Daniels with the English Concert under the direction of Harry Bicket. The first half was Bach, the second half Handel. I have heard Daniels in performance at Lyric Opera on more than one occasion, but this was the first time I had heard him in recital.

Oddly enough, my sister saw him a couple of days earlier in San Francisco. Someone had given her a ticket, which turned out to be a front row seat. She told me two of the violinists were flirting with each other. I couldn't see that from Row P. Not that I'm complaining about Row P, mind! Particularly as mine was a half-price ticket. (Should your city be on Goldstar, I highly recommend signing up.)

I picked up Daniels' CD, Sento Amor, music by Mozart, Gluck and Handel, and, as a result, "Che farò senza Euridice?" from Orfeo ed Euridice has been running through my head all day. But if you are going to have an earworm, it's not a bad one to have!

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I am headed to Cleveland tomorrow to visit my sister. She has planned an action-packed few days! The impetus for the visit (other than to see her) is the exhibit, Kimono As Art: The Landscapes of Itchiku Kubota, at the Canton Museum of Art, but there's a lot of other stuff to do. I'll drive back on Monday, so I may be too tired to go to my Italian class, but I'm taking my homework with me!

The Newberry Consort, with Piffaro, did a fabulous concert last night, called "What a Difference a Day Makes: Venetian Music for Fat Tuesday and Ash Wednesday". It was the first in what they hope will be annual concerts in memory of Howard Mayer Brown, the University of Chicago musicologist who is known as the godfather of the Chicago early music community, and who died of a heart attack in Venice, at carnival, just after buying his mask. The sacred music was especially good, because the concert was held at Rockefeller Chapel, which, naturally, has great acoustics for that sort of thing. The music for Fat Tuesday was, of course, written to be played outside, and they couldn't exactly do that last night, in the cold and snow!

After the concert, there was a reception for the musicians at Jim & Kevin's apartment (which happens to be the same one where Howard and his partner lived). I wore the mask I bought in Venice when I was there for Carnevale: