A Pictoral Recap

My week in pictures:

It was a full week, lots to see. These first images are just the best pictures I found from the best website I've found in a long, long time, My Modern Met. Don't click that link unless you have an hour to spare, it's worse than pinterest for pulling you down the rabbit holes.

Baby girl had her wisdom teeth out, both kids are officially tonsil and wisdom teeth free now. Hope we're done with sedation and surgery for good. She was a trooper, and caught up on her rainbow snuggie crocheting. It's 99% complete, and it makes me happy to look at her wrapped in comfort she crafted herself.

It was Spring Break for the boy too, and he continues to date the most photogenic, lovely girl I've ever met. I hope their relationship can take the long distance until summer, because they are perfect for each other. I feel pretty lucky in the kid department.

I took a solo adventure this week, to the north shores of the Chicagoland area.

I went early to have time to eat, and see some drive by sights.

I picked a fish restaurant, and was beside myself to see old bay on the tables.

I got a kick out of the fish on the walls, and texted my husband and daughter who had their own date night. We cracked jokes and shared pictures of our food, so it wasn't even like eating alone.

I was going to see this: Post-classical/modern string quartet Ethel and Todd Rundgren.

Cheapest and most mind blowing concert I have ever attended, and I've attended a lot.

I knew nothing about post-classical music and it was like seeing and finally understanding abstract art for the first time. Mesmerizing. Then Todd came out and the real fun began, then back to some post-classical, then more Todd and Ethel. Two and a half hours of musical reminiscence through the 70's, in an acoustically exceptional setting, 7th row, clear view, and I paid $20 for the pleasure.

If you want to enjoy some of the classical and modern music online, this collection of radio and video recordings has changed my week, remarkably.

Davee Media Library, Bienen School of Music, Northwestern University

If you want to hear Ethel, click HERE and start with number 10 and 11, then explore some of the more abstract and less accessible numbers. The more I listen the more I hear and learn.

Daughter and I stopped by a remarkable pastry and coffee shop yesterday after getting her stitches out. The food is art, and each bite is a masterpiece. The chocolate art in the lemon tart is held in place by the best blueberry I've eaten in decades. It was a delicious treat.

We are now the proud owners of an old but reliable jeep, more toy than car, a hoot to drive and exactly what my daughter wanted for her first car. Very retro, who knew? It suits her and it's fun to  run around in, but I prefer mine for better mileage and creature comforts. How she got to be of driving age is still a mystery to me. And she's so tall that strangers will stop and ask us about her height, how tall is dad, does she play basketball or volleyball. She's shy and embarrassed, but I'm guessing secretly proud. I would be. I am, no secret about it, so proud, and even more amazed.

She took me for a spin around the neighborhood, during a sublime sunset. Not bad for a picture through the car windshield at 25mph :)

In the circle of life news, this poor guy scared the bejeezers out of me on the way outside to the composter last night. I screamed like a girly girl, ran inside, then went back out to see if it was playing possum or actually dying. I gave him a banana from the compost collection. He sniffed the banana, but he did not recuperate. Husband said why the heck did you do that? I didn't know except it was the only comfort I could offer, and I imagined maybe the smell of something he would love to eat would be nice in his last moments. My Friday will entail a respectful dealing with his earthly remains. It was heartbreaking, and I never do well with these things. Once it's in my yard, animal, vegetable, insect or otherwise,  I feel ownership or kinship or something. But there was nothing to be done but keep the dog from frightening him while he died. I still can't get over the fact that they live only 2 years if they are lucky. Good relativity thought path, I'm grateful for having a more reasonable life span than these poor guys. And the true blessing is he was making for the tunnel under the porch, and died not ten feet from it. Last year's momma possum death made me want to move or bulldoze the porch to get under there and clean up. At least I can get to this one. I hope he had a good little life. And they are frightful and beautiful at the same time. I desperately wanted to pet him, but the teeth petrified me.

Lastly, this picture is from the full moon on Dad's birthday, a strange, reflective night for me. There was so much light in the darkness that night that it didn't seem to make sense. The last bits of snow sparkled and the moon shone so bright and true and there was a peacefulness to it that comforted me a bit.

Tucker and I lingered outside longer than usual that night, to be sure we soaked it all in. 

Spring is coming, we can smell it, feel it in our bones. We're ready.

Happy Friday!