Procrastinating

Work has been keeping me busy in a good way. Also, work is air conditioned, so my incentive to spend more time there is greater.

Last weekend I did not do any work-work. I made pizza and banana bread, and tuned my cello. I hadn't really picked it up in eight years, so that shows you the extent to which I was trying to avoid doing work-work. I popped two strings. I had a replacement on hand for the A, but not for the D. A three-stringed cello will just not do, and I meant to get a new D on Monday, but things got busy and now it's almost Wednesday and I've moved on to fixing my curtains and cat sitting.

I might have some friends coming into town on Thursday and I feel wildly unprepared. But it's okay – these things have a way of working out and then before you know it another weekend will be here and perhaps I will crochet, or alphabetize my books, or make crumpets.

Uncle George 1907-2009

My great-uncle George passed away last night. He was 102.

Even though we knew it was coming, we were still surprised to get the news. If only we could all live such good, long lives. There was a wonderful article written about George and all the changes he has lived through in his local paper when he turned 100; I will be pulling it out tonight to read it again. Amazingly, even at 102, George was still funny and told jokes: back in March, my family took him out to lunch for his birthday at Legal Seafoods and he leaned over and said, "What's Irish and sits on your porch?" "Paddy O'Furniture".

George was also featured in a couple of local murder mysteries as "Judge Murphy" (when making reservations, he used his north-shore accent to his advantage and said his name was "Gahdge Murphy" hoping they would hear "judge" not "George" and he would get a better table).

He will be truly missed.

Cello daydreams

This morning I was daydreaming about picking up my cello again, though some difficulties occured to me:

1. I would need to budget for lessons/ensemble group
2. I live in a city, and can't drive. All I have is my trusty bicycle, Celery, to get me around. "Oh," I wondered. "Is there some magical way I could transport my cello by bicycle? Would I look absurdly cool or absurdly absurd?" This prompted a quick google search which uncovered this gem:

a Tall Bike a Trailer and a Cello

Would I do it on a tall bicycle? No. Would I do it at all? Likely not. But a girl can dream, right?

My New Love

I have, after a long exhaustive (and at times a little emotional) search, found the perfect bicycle. I love it. I have ridden it more in the past 5 days than I ever rode my old bike, Old Red. My new bike is a celery Jamis Coda Femme – a steel framed hybrid bicycle with 700 x 28c tires that are good for whizzing around the city.

I am now in the process of accessorizing.
Things I currently covet:
• In lieu of a basket, I think I want a Detours bag like this one.
• fenders, so I don't get mucky when it rains
• Tifosi prescription sunglasses (the most expensive accessory!)

I have ridden to work everyday this week. I feel fitter already!!

Newsflash!

I just went running. Because I wanted to, not because I was being forced. I only did a mile and a half or so, but everyone has to start somewhere. I hope it becomes a habit. :)

Chicago

This weekend we went to Chicago to see the U.S.A. vs Honduras soccer game in Chicago. We had never been, so we did some exploring before the game (include, yes, of course, a stop for some deep dish pizza). Unfortunately, Honduras lost 2-1 but we had a fantastic time regardless! See a selection of photos above.

Pizza Adventure

Last week I read an article in GQ magazine profiling the Top 25 Pizzas in America. I live between two of them: Sally's (#6) and Pepe's (#12) (last night Carlos and I went to Sally's and had the pie featured in the article: paper thin sliced potatoes and rosemary on a white pie. YUM.) Last weekend, though, we were in Boston for a wedding and literally ended up accidentally driving past #23, Santarpio's in East Boston. We had their sausage pie and some table wine, and though we really enjoyed it, we both agreed that it wasn't quite Wooster Street pizza. (How can one avoid pizza snobbery living where we do?) Note: next time we'll try some food from their barbecue which seems to be their hidden strength.


Our sausage pie.



Santarpio's, East Boston