Sweet spot
Aug. 30th, 2010 08:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
randy_byersI seem to have hit a sweet spot in life in recent weeks. Nothing special going on, but the day-to-day is just very nice and very peaceful. If my 50s are going to be like this, I can definitely deal with it.
This weekend was highlighted by two excursions with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
intelligentrix, who was in town as part of a big West Coast trip she's been on for the past few weeks. (Not sure how she always manages to be in Seattle for the anniversary of Katrina. Maybe because this is where she came after the disaster?) On Saturday I saw Get Low with her and Andy and Carrie at the Guild 45th. The movie was better than I expected it to be from the trailer, with more of a bite to it and less sentimentality. We had dinner at Cedars afterward, where I learned that one of intelligentrix's grandparents was from Odessa, which impressed me no end. There's just something about the Black Sea that has always seemed incredibly exotic to me. She also told stories about a grandfather who fled pogroms in the Ukraine -- a reminder of how unpeaceful a life can be. Then on Sunday there was a big dim sum expedition at the new place in Wallingford, Bamboo Garden. holyoutlaw, juliebata, and hank were there, along with Denys, Andy, Carrie, Marci, and a friend of intelligentrix's whose name I can't remember, although I'm pretty sure I had met him before. The food was good, and the conversation was excellent. Unfortunately the pictures I took came out too dark again. Not sure if I can figure out how to use that camera for inside shots.
Other than the socializing, the weekend was focused on rehabilitating the front porch. Hazel came over on Saturday and helped me move her bench onto the lawn. Then I washed the porch, which was a foul process. Yesterday I got one coat of paint down, but it will need another. Then I can work on the back porch! Meanwhile, this project has made me realize that the whole house needs to be painted. Maybe I'll start with the south side next summer, because it needs it the worst.
I also finally finished reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I can see why people hate the ending. It really is a huge letdown after the greatness of what comes before. Tomfoolery of the worst sort. (Wow, I'm impressed that LJ's spellchucker recognizes "tomfoolery".) Also watched Underworld again, followed by one of the movies it inspired, Scarface. Yesterday I watched the first two acts (of three) of a filmed version of Benjamin Britten's opera adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream. I'll probably write more about it once I've finished the movie, but I'll say now that I love the music. I've been listening to the original cast recording (conducted by Britten himself) for the past few weeks, and watching the film I realized that the music is already very familiar to me now. It was wonderful to see how things are staged to go with the songs, and of course it all connects to the film versions of the play that I've watched recently. I've been swimming in A Midsummer Night's Dream lately.
This weekend was highlighted by two excursions with
intelligentrix, who was in town as part of a big West Coast trip she's been on for the past few weeks. (Not sure how she always manages to be in Seattle for the anniversary of Katrina. Maybe because this is where she came after the disaster?) On Saturday I saw Get Low with her and Andy and Carrie at the Guild 45th. The movie was better than I expected it to be from the trailer, with more of a bite to it and less sentimentality. We had dinner at Cedars afterward, where I learned that one of intelligentrix's grandparents was from Odessa, which impressed me no end. There's just something about the Black Sea that has always seemed incredibly exotic to me. She also told stories about a grandfather who fled pogroms in the Ukraine -- a reminder of how unpeaceful a life can be. Then on Sunday there was a big dim sum expedition at the new place in Wallingford, Bamboo Garden. holyoutlaw, juliebata, and hank were there, along with Denys, Andy, Carrie, Marci, and a friend of intelligentrix's whose name I can't remember, although I'm pretty sure I had met him before. The food was good, and the conversation was excellent. Unfortunately the pictures I took came out too dark again. Not sure if I can figure out how to use that camera for inside shots.Other than the socializing, the weekend was focused on rehabilitating the front porch. Hazel came over on Saturday and helped me move her bench onto the lawn. Then I washed the porch, which was a foul process. Yesterday I got one coat of paint down, but it will need another. Then I can work on the back porch! Meanwhile, this project has made me realize that the whole house needs to be painted. Maybe I'll start with the south side next summer, because it needs it the worst.
I also finally finished reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I can see why people hate the ending. It really is a huge letdown after the greatness of what comes before. Tomfoolery of the worst sort. (Wow, I'm impressed that LJ's spellchucker recognizes "tomfoolery".) Also watched Underworld again, followed by one of the movies it inspired, Scarface. Yesterday I watched the first two acts (of three) of a filmed version of Benjamin Britten's opera adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream. I'll probably write more about it once I've finished the movie, but I'll say now that I love the music. I've been listening to the original cast recording (conducted by Britten himself) for the past few weeks, and watching the film I realized that the music is already very familiar to me now. It was wonderful to see how things are staged to go with the songs, and of course it all connects to the film versions of the play that I've watched recently. I've been swimming in A Midsummer Night's Dream lately.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-08-30 05:28 pm (UTC)The ending of Huckleberry Finn is indeed a great disappointment. Just skim, and remember the raft.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-30 05:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-01 06:05 am (UTC)Oddly, my being in Seattle for the anniversary hasn't ever been a planned thing, but has (at least for the past two occasions) been because of my art roadie job, which has brought me to Portland for the Art in the Pearl show on Labor Day weekend. It feels strange to be absent from home while everyone else is commemorating the event, but it also seems strangely appropriate, given that being away from home was a powerful component of the event itself. I don't know if I'll be able to make a post about it. I tend to keep myself too busy to think too hard about the past. Otherwise I find myself with feelings I don't know what to do with, and no-one to
fire-bombchoke.no subject
Date: 2010-09-01 02:54 pm (UTC)(I love your fear and loathing userpic!)