mojosmom

but it's nice all the same.

A few days ago, my tickets arrived for one of my theatre subscriptions. Also included was a letter informing me that I had won second prize in their contest: I'm getting the subscription free!

Getting those tickets (as well as one of my symphony tickets) is a sign that autumn is fast approaching. Saturday night was the last of the Grant Park Symphony concerts, another such sign. It was a marvelous performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, only infinitesimally marred by the jerks sitting nearby who thought their conversation more interesting than the concert. There are few things better than sitting outside on a warm summer evening listening to beautiful music.

I did a ton of walking on Saturday, not really planned. But I headed out the door to go check out a yard sale or two, wandered down to the farmers' market and then over to Carifete (a celebration of Caribbean island cultures - with really good food), then a sale at a local bookstore and the next thing you know, my feet hurt!

So I didn't do much on Sunday except hang out at home, go grocery shopping and, in the evening, watch the season première of Mad Men (another sign summer's almost done). Poor Sal - he's finally getting what he wants and there's a fire alarm. Thursday, thank goodness, Project Runway starts up again!

In other news, Selected Works Used Books and Sheet Music has a new bookstore cat. Meet Hodge:

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Frank's Place. I dearly loved that show. Tim Reid played a New England college professor turned New Orleans restaurateur, and the entire show was deeply evocative of that city and its people. (The theme music was Louis Armstrong's rendition of "Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans?) It was also one of the few television shows to portray the lives of blue-collar African-Americans and to depict African-American entrpreneurs, to show respect for vodou, to deal with issues such as light-skin bias. It was unusual, too, in that it mixed comedic and serious elements, and often left situations unresolved. The acting was uniformly excellent, and you could sure picture yourself sitting down to a plate of crawfish étoufée some evening at Frank's Place.

Adding a link to more info about the show

I was intending to go downtown today. I wanted to go to a jeweler's to get an estimate on replacing the stone in my ring (good news from my insurance company - no deductible applies, and it's not chargeable - meaning my homeowner's rates won't go up). I thought I'd go to the post office (I desperately need stamps) and early vote. I actually spent a good bit of time last night on various bar association websites to check out their judicial recommendations. However, the temperature is in negative single digits, without taking wind chill into account, and I really don't feel like standing at a bus stop! I'm off work Monday, and it's supposed to be warmer (20ºF), so I'll go then. The post office will be closed for the holiday, but the Board of Elections will be open. Maybe I'll go look at the new Spertus building, too.

These people are probably glad they didn't pull this stunt this weekend!

Cold weather does, however, inspire me to do stuff in the kitchen. I've taken the leftover lamb bones from Christmas dinner out of of the freezer to thaw, and will make lamb stock tomorrow.

A friend of mine is on the front page of the Chicago Tribune this morning. Curiously, there was a story about a similar case in the New York Times today. And, no, I have no idea what I'd do in such a situation. Fortunately, I've never been in that position.

My client visit on Tuesday didn't take as long as I thought, so I got to Springfield in time to have a decently early dinner with my friend, Sue. We ate at Maldaner's, and I would highly recommend it if you are ever in Springfield. Sue recently resigned from her job, is doing some consulting and considering her options. She is luckily in a position to take her time. She hadn't been happy there for a while, having been lured in basically under false pretenses. There had been rumors the business would be sold, she was assured that wasn't the case, and, lo and behold! it was, and she had to be the hatchet woman and lay off a lot of people.

My CLE presentation went well, especially considering that I was the last speaker of the day and was talking about case law. As near as I could tell, no one fell asleep. After I spoke in Chicago, I asked some folks from my office who were there what they had thought. They were uniformly positive, but of course they work with me! But after I spoke in Springfield, people I didn't know complimented me, so it must have been good. And someone I do know from professional boards, but who didn't have to say this, asked me if I taught and called my speaking style "engaging". Isn't that nice?

The CLE people put me up at the Crowne Plaza where the seminar was held. Now that's a nice hotel! The room was immense, big enough for a king-sized bed, desk, full-size sofa and coffee table. There was a ton of closet space, and I could only think that it was a waste to be there for just one night. There was a pretty little gauze bag on the bed containing a sleep mask, ear plugs, and lavender linen spray, along with a CD of relaxation techniques and music. They call this the Quiet Zone floor.

The seminar finished shortly before 5:00. I hit the road right away, and made very good time - no traffic issues at all. So I got home in plenty of time to see this season's absolutely best Project Runway episode.

Thursday night, the judge to whose courtroom I am assigned, and his wife, hosted a gathering at a local watering hole for courtroom staff, and other lawyers and probation officers who appear before him frequently. His wife told me that it was their "holiday" party, but that they had decided to wait to have it until after the state ban on smoking in bars went into effect. Guess that's one bit of business not hurt by the law! It was a nice time, nothing fancy, just casual, very enjoyable.

Yesterday after work I met up with a woman who is considering opening a law office in our area, so she was looking for advice and information (two things I'm pretty good at handing out, sometimes to a fault!). She presently practices in another state, but her husband got transferred up here. I think she'll do well if she does decide to practice up here, because it's evident she has put a lot of thought into how to come into a new jurisdiction (always delicate!) as well as marketing strategies. I gave her some names of other lawyers to talk to (a couple of the "big dogs"), and touted the local and state-wide criminal defense organizations.

It was nearly a disaster, because I had suggested we meet at a steakhouse near the courthouse that has a nice bar and is a lawyers' hangout, but when I got there, there were no cars in the parking lot. And then I saw the sign, "closed for remodeling"! I waited for her in the lot (I'd left her cell # in the office, how dumb was that!), but after a bit she called, having gotten lost, and we arranged to meet somewhere else. So it worked out. It worked out quite well, in fact, because the weather was quite nasty and by the time we were done, it was better and traffic was much improved. I did a bit of grocery shopping on the way home, which is also nice to do when no one is in the store!

I think I will be watching more TV today than I usually do in a month. I just watched Barack Obama being his usual calm, rational and thoughtful self on Meet the Press, Eve's Bayou is on this afternoon, and Bleak House begins this evening on Masterpiece Theatre.

It's also a 19th-century English lit day: in addition to watching Bleak House, I'm curling up with Vanity Fair (which I am loving).

Important birthdays next week: Virginia Woolf on the 25th and Mozart on the 27th (his 250th - the big birthday bash has begun!).