I almost put this off until tomorrow. That’s kind of the world I’m living in these days. My only real deadlines are bill payments, and I’m working hard to make all of those automatic!
To begin, we had another book club gathering last night. The book was Sarah’s Key by Tatiana De Rosnay. Read this one before you see the movie. The movie is supposed to be good, but the book was good, too. It’s quick, only five or six hours (I read it in transit.) and well-written in a number of ways. Yes, I have one or two complaints, but this time I think I’ll keep them to myself online. (I think I remember book club heard them last night.)
I saw The Help, the movie, a couple of weeks ago. It was so good. No, it’s not meant to be a documentary, so don’t treat it that way. It’s a movie of strong women, and that’s to be celebrated. I particularly liked that the cast was mostly unknown. There are no stereotypical acting parts to break through. For those of you who might enjoy the tidbit, the part of Hilly (the pie eater) is played by Ron Howard’s daughter. I’ll bet the end finds you cheering, too.
The Help was part of a trip to the Texas Hill Country to see the in-laws. We brought them rain. I joked the chamber of commerce should’ve fed us for free that weekend in exchange. After a few days home we set off for the East Coast.
A couple of days in Boston were followed by a train trip (the Acela) to NYC to see the youngest. I split off after that to further spend three days in Washington, D.C., where I visited with friends, both human and canvas.
In Boston I felt the need to recharge, so I took it very slowly. I ate a lot of seafood. (Woe are the scales this week.) I had a massage. (I never do that.) I bought really amazing finials for the soon-to-be-updated family room at the Pierre Deux closeout. ($15 for a pair that were $75. That Pierre Deux is bankrupt is the saddest thing I’ve heard in months. One time, a long time ago, I vowed I’d buy something from them when I could afford it. Well? I could afford that!)
In New York City I happened upon a stressed out daughter. She had a cold; she had girl stuff going on; she had a boyfriend calling it quits (good thing she never reads); and she had parents staring at her.
Poor kid.
We survived. Friday night was actually fun as we went to the free Target night at MOMA (where I was able to waive at Starry Night – it’s my cell phone background) and see a bunch of photos.
We finished with dinner at Cacio e Pepe on the Lower East Side. Cacio e Pepe is a Roman pasta dish served in a hollowed wheel of Pecorino cheese. Pecorino is the most amazing Italian sheep-milk cheese on the planet. That and a decent glass of wine made for a very good dinner.
Saturday is hard to explain, but I’m going to try. You see, Saturday had the single goal of watching the Oklahoma State vs. Texas A&M football game in a sports bar. The spouse, to his credit, did a bit of research and found that the OSU alumni meet in a Lower East Side bar on 4th Street called Stillwater. I bought this great tshirt!
We weren’t able to stay past halftime. Things weren’t going so well when we left, but we had theater tickets, and tossing boatloads of money at a stage won over a fun crowd for the game. OSU did eventually win that one, which made for a much more pleasant evening than if OSU had lost. 
Here’s the part that’s kind of interesting…before we went to watch the game, we sought out a performer at the FAB! street fair on – wait for it – 4th Street. You see, my mother didn’t remember we’d be in the city last weekend. She’d emailed the youngest suggesting she attend the performance of a former piano student. While Meg wasn’t able to make it because she was sleeping off her cold, I did. I introduced myself to Ana Lola Romano as, “Cindy, Janice’s daughter” and I watched that beautiful young lady tear up on the spot. She had no idea I’d be there.
Ana had composed the techno-pop music to which three young (and unbelievably talented) men were dancing for the event. It was great. She was great. Well, here. See some of it for yourself:
Then, and this is the part I can not even begin to explain, we walked the twenty steps to the bar for the game. For you see, in all of Manhattan, the event that showcased my mother’s student’s work was on the same barricaded city block as the bar we were planning to spend the afternoon.
You should have goosebumps. I did for most of the day.
It was hard to top that, but we did. The three of us watched a once-in-a-lifetime viewing of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying starring Daniel Radcliffe and John Larroquette. Folks it just doesn’t get much better than that. Not only were these two of the family’s favorite actors, but the set and choreography were superb. The best I’d seen in years.
We’re only at Saturday night. (Yep. It’s been a great week.)
Sunday morning we had brunch at Jane (Highly recommended. Braised short ribs benedict. Oh yes, you read that correctly.) and then went our separate ways. The youngest went that evening to see The Shins (the child suffers not, do not despair), the spouse headed home for a night, and I took the train to Washington, D.C.
The train was a great choice for this trip. We were two blocks from the station at our hotel in Boston, about four blocks to our hotel in NYC on 35th and Sixth Avenue, and about three blocks from Washington’s Union Station in D.C.
There was a little added excitement, for as I arrived in D.C., Union station was catching fire and being evacuated. It made me walk a couple of blocks out of the way to get to my next hotel, but I lived.
The hotel was decent. I’d purchased my first ever Priceline.com hotel, and had three nights at a reasonable rate. They stuck me in a corner which I’m sure they thought was awful, but actually, was great, because it was super quiet. Sure I had an interior view of the lobby roof, but I kept the room darkened as I slept until around 10 a.m every morning. Three mornings in a row. Like a queen. A very happy queen.
The next three days were spent dining with friends and visiting museums. I hunted down my favorite artist without fear of offending anyone, because there was no one else in my travel party. The only bummer to that portion of the trip was that I demagnetized a $20 Metro card. I also demagnetized not one but two separate keys to the lobby bathroom downstairs, but that’s a whole different story. (The strange thing is – and I promise – there were no cell phones involved. I swear it’s just me.)
Home Wednesday evening; laundry Thursday; a concert by MSO today. I’m off again next week. I’ll fill you in later.
There is one very big emotional thing going on right now, and that’s the fact that there’s an auction tomorrow to sell off the majority of my father’s toys in Oklahoma. Dad had great taste in equipment and kept it all very well. Several someones will be happy at the assortment of woodworking and Snap On tools. It’s kind of breaking my heart, though, to make such a final parting. Mom says neither of us kids need to be there as she has plenty of support. I’m thinking that’s a good thing because I don’t know that I’d be very graceful about it all.
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You are caught up. I’ll try not to let so much time pass before the next post. Oh, and next month’s book is The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. I’m told I’m in for another reading treat.
UPDATE! Whoops. Breaking news. Confirmed: One kid to Buenos Aires January 2012.
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