Quick Hitters

I.
I just finished reading Arthur Miller's Broken Glass. It was gripping once I was into the main story, and I polished it all off in one day. It made me think again that we just actually try to go out to a real play.

I haven't been to Geva Theatre in over ten years. I was on a date (before J) and saw Death of a Salesman. Every once in a while I hear about something interesting playing there, like Wait Until Dark or Midsummer Night's Dream. But I somehow haven't gotten around to getting back there. J has actually been (twice?) quite recently. She conducted her flute choir there but passed on the free ticket to the show that was playing that night. (Little Shop of Horrors.)

It makes sense that we would enjoy it if we went. A lot of my favorite movies are adapted plays (Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar, etc) and I know the Shakespeare corpus pretty well. I bet we'd have a great time. And then I think to myself, "if we're going to go out and see a play, why not try to go out and see an opera? But if we're going out to an opera, what would be the point of attending the opera if I wasn't hired to play in the opera? And if I wasn't going to get paid for playing in the orchestra pit, what would be the point of changing out of my pajama pants and going outside at all?"

It's a vicious cycle. But if anyone has a recommendation for something to see at Geva, wants to give us free tickets, or wants to watch our children so that we can get dressed up and go out for some theatre, just let us know. The other thing that we feel like we're missing out on in Rochester is going to an Amerks game. But we could take the kids with us for that.

II.
We're down in Pennsylvania for part of this week with J's parents. They look extraordinarily happy, because they just got back from a Caribbean cruise.  Yes, that Caribbean. The one that's warm. They both look suspiciously happy and healthy in their own home. When we drove down on Sunday it was 17 below just south of Rochester. Our own driveway had mounds of snow as tall as we were outside, enormous rows of icicles hanging were off the roof, and it's been weeks since we've had a sunny day. I would be resentful of their good fortune, but hanging around them is actually liking picking up a bit of the sunshine and clear blue waters yourself...they're both still glowing from the cruise.

III.
Both boys are having a grand time in PA. James is building all day long with mega-blocks and all the other good construction-style toys in the Davis house. Yesterday he built several carwashes, a tall-tall tower, a tower especially for Grandma, a tower (much smaller) especially for Daddy, a bed for George, a box for George, a boat, a car for George, a bed for Clifford (his big dog has been rechristened), and Larry the Cucumber. Larry slept in his bed last night. He tinkers in his room upstairs for about 15-20 minutes at a time, then either appears downstairs holding his latest creation or insists that someone (usually Grandma) come upstairs and look at it with him.

Owen is enjoying being held nearly all day long by various parents and grandparents. With both J and I around and unoccupied with the normal course of our cooking/cleaning/working we have a lot more time to tote him around in arms, and of course both grandparents are thrilled to pick him up as well, should he happen to be found on a blanket or in a seat. The poor boy was always doomed to be held less than his big brother, but weeks like this make me feel better about how much people are loving him and pouring into him. For his own part, Owen has been making what appears to be a conscious effort to defy his mother ever since she uttered the statement "I think that maybe he's done spitting up so much." We're already almost out of laundry.

IV.
Recently listening to and very much enjoying the following podcasts:
English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs (Librivox, about 10 min. each. Dark, but entertaining)
Selected Short Stories of P.G. Wodehouse (Librivox, and has anyone else ever read any Wodehouse? I'm finding these stories to be charming and perfect for commuting. About 1/2 hr each.)
Critique of Pure Reason, Immanuel Kant (Librivox, incredibly and painfully boring technical treatise on logic and metaphysics. I have to repeat each line as it's read aloud to make myself pay attention. For use only on long car trips alone to Buffalo and Syracuse. Each about an hour)
Beowulf (Librivox, just finished listening to it while running. Hadn't read it in a few years, and now I can't wait to read some Tolkein again.)
Freakonomics (Put out by WNYC, some are better than others, are are slickly presented and interesting. Most about 30-40 min)
Emperors of Rome (Mike Smith and Dr. Rihannon Evans, 15 min histories of each of the major Roman emperors. Dr. Evans in particular is super knowledgeable and an interesting speaker.)