“Happy Mother’s Day”
As you can tell, I’m way behind on the blog again – worst ever. Given that, this will be a short and concise post.
I tried to have an MRI early on Monday morning and they didn’t have the right kind of anesthesia. Will have to be rescheduled at a different location.
Diana had pickleball on Tuesday and Saturday.
We had a couple of maintenance appointments on Tuesday – I had my hearing aids checked and Diana had a checkup at the orthodontist – no issues with either visit.
I had a haircut on Friday, followed by a visit to Juan’s Flying Burrito next door for a Luau (shrimp, pineapple etc) quesadilla. Diana enjoyed some leftovers. My barber is going to be out for a few weeks and so I got an extra short trim.
Kenny and Kara joined us for dinner and a movie on Saturday evening. Both Diana and Kara had read “Remarkably Bright Creatures” and were looking forward to the movie version. This is a book/movie about Marcellus the octopus in captivity in the Seattle area and the work he does to try and help the humans who take care of him every day.
Sally Field is the star and the scene that I remember most is her going on a date with a guy who wears his prized Grateful Dead t-shirt. She thinks he was dressed like a slob, not realizing that he took the shirt, worth several thousand dollars, out of a frame to wear it on the date.
Diana, with a little help from me, made a chopped chickpea Mediterranean salad and sablefish. Kara brought dessert that we enjoyed with carajillos (espresso and Liquor 43.)
Alicia had some beautiful flowers delivered for Mother’s Day:
We enjoyed Sunday Mother’s Day brunch at Cafe Degas – perhaps Diana’s favourite New Orleans restaurant – it’s what The Grape used to be for her in Dallas.
We ordered way too much food and had yummy leftovers for several days.
My book this week was the wonderful “The Things We Never Say” by Elizabeth Strout. While not my very favourite of her books, it is still a remarkable accomplishment. Highly recommended. I read it in just over a day and look forward to revisiting parts of it. Here’s an accurate online review:
“Artie Dam is living a double life. He spends his days teaching history to eleventh graders, expanding their young minds, correcting their casual cruelties, and lending a kind word to those who need it most. He goes to holiday parties with his wife of three decades, makes small talk with neighbors, and, on weekends, takes his sailboat out on the beautiful Massachusetts Bay. He is, by all appearances, present and alive. But inside, Artie is plagued by feelings of isolation. He looks out at a world gone mad—at himself and the people around him—and turns a question over and over in his mind: How is it that we know so little about one another, even those closest to us?
And then, one day, Artie learns that life has been keeping a secret from him, one that threatens to upend his entire world. Once he learns it, he is forced to chart a new course, to reconsider the relationships he holds most dear—and to make peace with the mysteries at the heart of our existence.
Elizabeth Strout, as we have come to expect, delivers a moving exploration of the human condition—one that brims with compassion for each and every one of her indelible characters. With exquisite prose and profound insight, The Things We Never Say takes one man’s fears and loneliness and makes them universal. And in the same breath, captures the abiding love that sustains and holds us all.”
Here’s something from the trumpeter with the super high register and the funky band, Maynard Ferguson:
A track from my favourite band at jazzfest, the understated and laid back Deslondes: