Joie de Vivre
"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" ~Mary OliverArchive for Books
211. Highlights of another PDX weekend.
Following a couple days of open enrollment meetings in Portland last Thursday and Friday, Concert Boy & I decided to stay for the weekend and attend the Wordstock Festival. It’s my absolute favorite book & literary festival and Portland is the perfect host! It is held each Fall at the Convention Center (admission is only $5/day or $8 for 2 days) and features 8 author stages, a bookfair with over 150 exhibitors, a series of workshops for writers & teachers, and several special events. This year’s festival featured 170 writers and highlighted food writing, memoir and young adult.
Between literary events, we relaxed in our room at Hotel deLuxe, savored Stumptown coffee, perused Powell’s City of Books, and enjoyed several AMAZING meals (see highlights below)! We wrapped up our weekend with a train ride home, departing Portland just as the sun was setting.
My Wordstock Highlights
- The beautiful walk from the hotel to the festival on Saturday morning across the sunlit Broadway bridge.
- Dean Olsher’s spoken-word performance, “From Square One,” about crossword puzzles and the war between thinking & feeling. I loved the format, incorporating sound design and Olsher’s original music. There is an excerpt of the reading here.
- Seeing the CRAZY, yet compelling James Ellroy (“L.A. Confidential”). Here’s a short interview with Ellroy that was featured in WW.
- Collecting foraging tips from Seattle-ite Langdon Cook (“Fat of the Land: Adventures of a 21st Century Forager”) & heirloom gardening tips from Bill Thorness.
- Listening to Julia Glass (“Three Junes”), a National Book Award winner, talk about her family & the families she writes about, her day-to-day connection with her characters, and her haphazard writing schedule (which she blames on not being a morning person — Boy, do I get that!). Here’s a short interview with Glass that was featured in WW.
- The “Willamette Week at 35″ panel discussion with 5 past & present journalists.
- Ronault (Polo) Catalani’s (“Counter Culture: Immigrant Stories from Portland Cafe Counters”) intimate conversation about the need to understand & celebrate our cultural differences.
My Food Highlights
Urban Farmer
Thursday night w/friends — Cocktails & Brandon’s cheese cart at Urban Farmer (located in the historical Meier + Frank building, now the Nines Hotel).
Park Kitchen
Friday night w/friends — Cocktails at Teardrop Lounge. Wine & small plate tasting menu at Park Kitchen.
- Fried green beans & bacon w/tarragon aioli.
- St. Germain salad, smoked cod, fennel, beans & pickled elderberries.
- Roasted beets, chilies, chicory & walnuts.
- Marinated smelt & eggplant, saffron onions.
- Little octopus w/padron peppers & bottarga.
- Gnocchi w/grilled corn, lobster & mushroom sauce.
- Lime curd cake w/caramel popcorn & sweet corn sauce.
- Plum & tomato crisp w/basil ice cream.
- Double chocolate tart w/Earl Grey anglaise & chantilly cream.
Beast
Saturday night w/Concert Boy — Six-course tasting menu with wine pairings at Beast. AMAZING!!!!!
- Delicata squash soup w/Tails & Trotters pork crackling & tarragon salsa verde. Wine: Brundlmayer Gruner Vetliner Kamtaler Terrassen 2007.
- Charcuterie plate: foie-gras bon-bon w/sauternes geleé, steak tartare & quail egg toast, chicken liver mousse w/pickled shallot, pork liver & sour cherry pate. Wine: Prieler Sauvignon Blanc Seebert 2006.
- Braised Sonoma Farms duck leg w/cream of cabbage with truffle & crab-apple confiture. Wine: Clos Roche Blanche Cabernet Touraine 2007.
- Beet & marinated celery root salad w/fried capers & Homboldt Fog goat cheese. Wine: County Line Rose 2008.
- Selection of Steve’s Cheese: Anise & fleur de sel shortbread, Bittersweet Farms honey, Mars-Venus grapes & hazelnuts. Wine: Merkelbach Riesling Spatlese Urziger.
- Olive oil cake w/port poached Seckle peers & spiced Marcona Almonds. Wine: Montellori Vin Santo Bianco Dell Empolese 2001.
199. Happy Bastille Day! (aka Kim is missing Paris!)
Claude Monet, Rue Montorgueil
I hope you all had a wonderful Bastille Day! I spent mine in the company of the Literary Divas (aka The Royal We) drinking wine, eating wonderful food & partaking in fabulous conversation. I’m really missing Paris today because of everyone’s blog posts and Twitter updates, but if I can’t be in Paris, an evening with my lovely girlfriends is a pretty even exchange.
This month’s book selection was The Delinquent Virgin by Laura Kalpakian. It’s a book of short stories and it is the first time I have read anything written by her. My favorite stories were “Lavee, Lagair, Lamore, Lamaird,” “The Delinquent Virgin,” and “Change at Empoli.” I love her writing style and I can’t wait to read more of her works. (I think I’ll start with American Cookery. I’ve heard good things!)
Here’s a short synopsis of the book from Publishers Weekly:
Subtitled “Wayward Pieces,” this generally beguiling collection of nine varied short stories veers from lightweight entertainment to some solid explorations of the human condition. Kalpakian is most impressive in two stories in which she features characters who scorn mediocrity and determine to live on a higher plane. The supercilious, bitter professor in “Change at Empoli,” who has fled America and her bourgeois family to direct a program for exchange students in Italy, realizes belatedly, and to her regret, that her life has been organized around high-flown principles that are in reality heartless, cold and empty. Carefully orchestrated and developed, this is the collection’s best work. The cleverly titled “Lavee, Lagair, Lamore, Lamaird” is imbued with humor, but the message is similar: another heroine determined to rise above bourgeois values discovers to her humiliation that the French words drilled by her tutor, the aptly named “Miss Savage,” are almost as deadly as the WWI battlefields where she has volunteered as an interpreter. Kalpakian proves herself a social critic with a satirical eye, and Miss Savage (“Miss Brodie” writ large and antic) is a triumph of characterization. In “Right Hand Man,” Kalpakian gets male vernacular just right, as her down-and-out narrator discovers that he has more honor than a leading citizen of the community. On the other hand, the title story, a contemporary Christmas fable, seems best suited to a ladies’ magazine, as does “Little Women,” an implausible tale in which four members of a typing pool, all of whom disdain reading, easily recognize characters from literary classics. Two literary parodies, “How Max Perkins Learned to Edit” and “Moby-Jack,” are clever but slight. Most of the stories are located in familiar Kalpakian territory, either the fictional California community of St. Elmo (Graced Land) or Isadora Island in Puget Sound (Steps and Exes), and she conveys atmospheric details with assurance.
We also started our new poetry pick this month. The person in charge of bringing dessert is also in charge of bringing a poem for the next month’s discussion. Sarah chose two poems for us this month: To His Coy Mistress by Andrew Marvell and Somewhere I Have Never Travelled, Gladly Beyond by E.E. Cummings. I can’t wait to read them in more depth and discuss them next month!
Bonne nuit! Bisous!
180. Life’s little treasures.
I’m warning you all ahead of time that this is an EPIC EPIC post… one post to basically cover the ENTIRE month of March! I’m settled into my favorite corner table at Top Pot with an Americano and 30 minutes to summarize the last 30 days. And I have SO MANY things I want to tell you about, I don’t know where to start!! There are restaurants, books, movies, music, lectures, sporting events and other various inspirations to talk about, so start where it best suits you.
Crush
Cantinetta
Tilikum Place Café
Restaurants | Of course, I start with food…
As part of the Dine Around Seattle event, Dana and I met at Crush early one Thursday evening and secured two seats at the chef’s counter. Jason Wilson’s restaurant has been on my “must try” list forever and while the host was a little snarky (words of warning: Crush favors reservations and we didn’t have one), the rest of the evening was a true delight! We each selected the 3 courses for $30 option, along with the $18 wine pairing. (For those of you who have dined at Crush, you know that this is a bargain!) For starters, I chose the Braised & Grilled Berkshire Pork Belly with Pinata Apples, Parsnips and Bourbon Glaze. Followed by the Alaskan King Cod with Preserved Lemon Sabayon (AMAZING!), Chorizo Broth, Controne Beans and Gremolatta. Followed by the Buttermilk Beignets with Jam, Chocolate Sauce and Cream for dessert. EVERYTHING was ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS, including the bread that had a hint of rosemary and the perfect dusting of sea salt. Crush is located in a little house turned restaurant on E Madison St. and its all-cream modern interior is lovely. I highly highly recommend this restaurant for your next special occasion…or the next Dine Around Seattle event.
I also tried a new Italian restaurant with Tanja, Cantinetta. It just opened recently in an old dental office on Wallingford Ave. N and it’s wonderful what they have done with the space. It’s welcoming…simple, rustic and convivial. I arrived early and the staff immediately made me feel at home while I relaxed with my book and a glass of wine until Tanja arrived. There were so many wonderful things listed on the menu, we had a hard time choosing, so we selected several items to share. Beets with Fresh Mozzarella and Pistachio Pesto. Kale with Preserved Tomatoes and Cranberry Beans. Mussels with a Puttanesca Broth. Gnocchini with Oxtail and Jerusalem Artichokes. Chocolate Torta. Bombolini with Citrus Confit. Yum, yum, yum! Highly recommend!
Oh, and there was also Tilikum Place Café where Heather and I enjoyed brunch one rainy Saturday morning. It opened last November and has a great atmosphere, very “neighborhood bistro.” We each ordered a Dutch Baby — Heather had the sweet version (with pan-roasted apples) and I had the savory version (with duck confit and cranberries). It was the perfect place to spend several hours catching up over a wonderful breakfast and pot of French press Lighthouse Roasters.
Thank you again my friends! Words never adequately express how blessed I feel to have you in my life! The way you each savor the world and share your hearts and enthusiasm with me inspires my every moment! xoxo
I still have several restaurants on my “must try” list, including:
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Joule in Wallingford
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Sitka & Spruce in Eastlake
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Poppy, Olivar, and Oddfellows Café & Bar on Capitol Hill
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The Corson Building in Georgetown
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Branzino in Belltown
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Tamarind Tree in the International District
Hopefully I’ll check off one or two more in April!
A Novella, Poetry, Letters | I didn’t have much reading time this month, but I did discover a couple of small treasures… Along with poetry by Yusef Komunyakaa & Donald Hall, I also savored a wonderful little read, The Uncommon Reader: A Novella by Alan Bennett. I discovered Bennett because I had previously read (and adored) another one of his novellas, The Clothes They Stood Up In. Here’s a little more info:
From Publishers Weekly
Briskly original and subversively funny, this novella from popular British writer Bennett (Untold Stories; Tony-winning play The History Boys) sends Queen Elizabeth II into a mobile library van in pursuit of her runaway corgis and into the reflective, observant life of an avid reader. Guided by Norman, a former kitchen boy and enthusiast of gay authors, the queen gradually loses interest in her endless succession of official duties and learns the pleasure of such a common activity. With the dawn of her sensibility… mistaken for the onset of senility, plots are hatched by the prime minister and the queen’s staff to dispatch Norman and discourage the queen’s preoccupation with books. Ultimately, it is her own growing self-awareness that leads her away from reading and toward writing, with astonishing results. Bennett has fun with the proper behavior and protocol at the palace, and the few instances of mild coarseness seem almost scandalous. There are lessons packed in here, but Bennett doesn’t wallop readers with them. It’s a fun little book. (Sept.)
84, Charing Cross Road was another wonderful little find this month, which I discovered in a used bookstore…
Amazon.com Review
84, Charing Cross Road is a charming record of bibliophilia, cultural difference, and imaginative sympathy. For 20 years, an outspoken New York writer and a rather more restrained London bookseller carried on an increasingly touching correspondence. In her first letter to Marks & Co., Helene Hanff encloses a wish list, but warns, “The phrase ‘antiquarian booksellers’ scares me somewhat, as I equate ‘antique’ with expensive.” Twenty days later, on October 25, 1949, a correspondent identified only as FPD let Hanff know that works by Hazlitt and Robert Louis Stevenson would be coming under separate cover. When they arrive, Hanff is ecstatic–but unsure she’ll ever conquer “bilingual arithmetic.” By early December 1949, Hanff is suddenly worried that the six-pound ham she’s sent off to augment British rations will arrive in a kosher office. But only when FPD turns out to have an actual name, Frank Doel, does the real fun begin.
Movies | Dustin and I saw Two Lovers at the Seven Gables starring Joaquin Phoenix (superb performance even though he has morphed into one strange dude!), Gwynneth Paltrow, Vinessa Shaw and Isabella Rossellini (lovely as always!). Mom & I saw the charming (yet also a little creepy) animation in Coraline at the Metro. And on DVD, Little Children and Happy-Go-Lucky. I recommend them all!
Music | Last night, Bruce & I had a bite to eat at Union (oysters with horseradish & lemon; ricotta dumplings with rabbit ragout; excellent!) and then went to see the Portland Cello Project at The Triple Door. PCP is a group of 18 (8 were in Seattle) classically trained cellists who do more than just the normal repertoire. A couple songs were performed by PCP only and on others they collaborated with Weinland*, Anais Mitchell and Seattle’s Throw Me A Statue. Weinland’s Adam Shearer MC’d the show. It was like our own little one-night SXSW festival! EVERYONE was fabulous!!! 5 Stars!
Also in music, I downloaded the new Neko Case CD this month — Middle Cyclone – and I am loving it!
*Weinland is also going to be at the Sunset Tavern this Thursday, April 2nd starting at 9pm. Cover charge is $6.Television | G3 and I finished watching Season 4 of The Wire. It was just as fabulous as the other seasons! We only have one more season to go and then we’re going to have to decide on a new series to occupy our Netflix television time. Suggestions?
Soccer, March Madness & Hockey Playoffs | I completely heart Fredy Montero, the Columbian forward for our new Seattle Sounders FC team. OMG, he’s adorable! Okay yes, he’s a little young for me — 21 — but the kid can kick! He scored two goals in the first game, along with one assist, and then another goal in the second game. Speaking of the first game — the INAUGURAL game! — I was there and it was one of my favorite Seattle sports moments. (Thank you Bruce for our amazing seats!) I’ve actually attended most of the inaugural Seattle games over the last several years, including the Mariners at Safeco, the Seahawks at Qwest, the T-Birds at their new arena, and the Silvertips. I’ll always be loyal to our local teams and a sports fan in general, but I feel the Sounders pulling on the strings to my heart. :)
March was the ultimate sports month! There was hockey (the T-Birds were in the playoffs & I attended game 3, thanks Mitch!), March Madness and two Sounders matches. And even though the T-Birds (shush Brendan), the Huskies AND the Zags lost, it was an exciting month and I spent more time than I’d like to admit hanging out in pubs.
Lectures | On the 18th, Heather, Mom & I met for an early dinner at Matt’s in the Market and then attended Scott Simon’s special SAL event at Benaroya. Simon has published a few books and is best known as the host of NPR’s “Weekend Edition Saturday.” He was very sweet and engaging. He read from a couple of his books and talked about his upcoming memoir about adopting two babies from China with his wife, French documentary filmmaker Caroline Richard. Here’s a little sampling of Simon’s work: “Reflections on Welcoming a New Family Member.” You can also follow him on Twitter @nprscottsimon.
I also attended Yusef Komunyakaa’s poetry reading on the 26th. Komunyakaa was born in 1947, grew up in Louisiana, and uses his childhood experiences to inform many of his works: growing up in the rural South before civil rights, his familial relationships, jazz & blues, and his later experience of serving as a combat reporter in the Vietnam War. He was awarded the Bronze Star for his work with the military newspaper, The Southern Cross, and won the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Currently, he is a professor in the Creative Writing Program at NYU. He was fabulous! Here is a sample of his poetry, if only he could read it in his rich voice for you…
My Father’s Love Letters
On Fridays he’d open a can of Jax
After coming home from the mill,
and ask me to write a letter to my mother
Who sent postcards of desert flowers
Taller than men. He would beg,
Promising to never beat her
Again. Somehow I was happy
She had gone, and sometimes wanted
To slip in a reminder, how Mary Lou
Williams’ “Polka Dots & Moonbeams”
Never made the swelling go down.
His carpenter’s apron always bulged
With old nails, a claw hammer
Looped at his side and extension cords
Coiled around his feet.
Words rolled from under the pressure
Of my ballpoint: Love,
Baby, Honey, Please.
We sat in the quiet brutality
Of voltage meters and pipe threaders,
Lost between sentences…
The gleam of a five-pound wedge
On the concrete floor
Pulled a sunset
Through the doorway of his toolshed.
I wondered if she laughed
And held them over a gas burner.
My father could only sign
His name, but he’d look at blueprints
And say how many bricks
Formed each wall. This man,
Who stole roses and hyacinth
For his yard, would stand there
With eyes closed and fists balled,
Laboring over a simple word, almost
Redeemed by what he tried to say.
Also, I think I’ve been remiss in mentioning the Junot Diaz SAL lecture at Benaroya in late February. It was fabulous! I loved how he kept it real and there were so many quotable moments. A group of us (Tanja, Heather, Kate, Mary, Mom, G3 & Bruce) attended and we all met for dinner beforehand and conversation afterwards at Union. Another fun & inspiring evening spent in the company of friends!
Other Inspirations | Thanks to Ms. Boyd, I discovered a website full of fun wallpapers and icons to “redecorate” my Mac with – pixelgirlpresents.com. This also inspired me to finally clean out all my old electronic files and back everything up to my new external hard drive. While doing this, I realized that I have 2879 songs stored on my computer and according to iTunes could listen to my iPod for 8.8 days without hearing the same song twice.
Thanks to little notes from all of you, I also discovered a couple new blogs that I am very much enjoying:
Other inspirations included joining a volunteer group, some heavy Spring cleaning in my condo, a sunny walk across the UW campus to admire the cherry blossoms, reconnecting with more old friends thru Facebook, and trying to stay current with technology by joining Twitter (@joiedevivre9).
Tonight, I’m meeting Tanja & Amy for dinner at Café Presse and tomorrow, April Fools’ Day. Happy Spring!!!!!
179. Weekend Wrap-Up: Hungarian Opera, Traveling with a French Poodle, Patti Smith, the Italian Mafia & Tasty Food!
Opera | Friday night I attended Seattle Opera’s double bill of Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle (1911) and Schoenberg’s Erwartung (1909, translation: Expectation) at McCaw Hall with Marcy. Originally conceived by Canadian theatrical artist Robert Lapage, whose innovative stagecraft has also been showcased in Cirque du Soleiel’s KÀ, the staging and lighting for both productions were fabulous! A huge gilt frame outlined the proscenium; the stage’s walls, floor and ceiling sloped up, down and in; and a visually stunning, silvery moat hung at the front edge of the stage. Two of my favorite scenes in Bluebeard’s Castle – the “placid lake of tears” and the silent emergence of Bluebeard’s former wives – spotlighted this moat. I also loved a few of the effects in Erwartung, such as the psychoanalyst hanging in a chair on the wall, the floating bed and the scarlet moon. And also deserving a mention is Arthur Woodley’s WONDERFUL delivery of the spoken prologue. The two productions were separated by a 25-minute intermission, which allowed Marcy and I to catch up and enjoy a glass of wine with the rest of the Bravo crowd.
This was definitely not your typical opera — actually, I think the older woman sitting next to me was horrified, and based on her gasp, especially by the naked man in Erwartung – but visually and musically it was dramatic and beautiful.
In this unique production, Lepage pairs Bluebeard’s Castle-a mysterious fairy tale about the brooding Duke Bluebeard and his curious new wife, Judith-with Erwartung, which takes audiences on an eerie journey through the human subconscious as a woman searches for her elusive lover. Through the use of stunning special effects, gravity-defying acrobatics, and masterful storytelling, Bluebeard’s Castle and Erwartung will show audiences an edgy, contemporary, and thrilling side of opera.
Reading | I finally found some time to finish Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley and I loved it! In 1960, at the age of 58, Steinbeck decided to “reacquaint himself with America” and he set out on a 3-month journey with his French poodle Charley and his camper Rocinante to do just that. He began in New York, drove up through Maine, across the Midwest, through Montana and Washington, down the Pacific Coast, through Texas and finally through the American southeast. This book is full of Steinbeck’s wonderful observations and opinions about our country and people “on everything from antiques, the virtues of small towns, the value of manual labor, the homogenizing of American language of cuisine due to the influence of radio and television, the beginnings of the interstate system and its influence on everything along its routes, hunters, trash, etc.” I found myself continually rereading passages and highlighting sentences that still resonate with me today.
This is a book to be read slowly for its savor, and one which, like Thoreau, will be quoted and measured by our own experience. It holds such happy passages as his love for Montana, his rediscovery of San Francisco, and his surprising new impressions of the Middle West; it holds such horror as he witnessed in the rancid race demonstrations in New Orleans.
Film | Sunday afternoon, while the weather oscillated between sunshine and snow, G3 and I grabbed an Americano at the Chocolati Café and then swathed ourselves in the comfort of the Guild 45 to see the Italian film, Gomorra (directed by Matteo Garrone). The film is violent, but I loved its pacing and the fact that it reveals the bleak, claustrophobic, terrifying reality of the crime world, without any of the typical silver screen glamour. It was shot entirely on location, predominately starring actors with a theatrical background, and it features such a strong Neapolitan dialect that it actually had to be subtitled in most parts of Italy. Onorato’s cinematography is fabulous. He uses a documentary style with hand-held camera shots and I like how he lingers on the faces of those left behind by the action. The film’s score is unnerving and I love how it jumps between story lines, showing just how entrenched the mafia has remained in parts of Italy. It closes with captions saying that cancer rates are up 20% in areas where the Camorra controls the waste management and that in the last 30 years they’ve killed an average of one person every three days. Yikes, I’m glad I don’t live there! Gomorra won the Grand Prix at last year’s Cannes Film Festival.
A Recipe | On Saturday night, we had a small dinner party at Mitch’s house. I made Jerry Traunfeld’s Tarragon Chicken Breasts with Buttery Leeks (out of my most recent favorite cookbook) and Sharon made a Parmesan risotto. After dinner, we played Rubikub and I made homemade Brown Sugar Ice Cream. It was a wonderfully relaxing fun evening. Here’s the recipe for the chicken; I’ll publish the ice cream recipe later.
Jerry Traunfeld’s Tarragon Chicken Breasts with Buttery Leeks
Serves 4 - from The Splendid Table’s How to Eat Supper
2 cups thin-sliced leeks, white and light green parts only (1 large or 2 small)
2 cups chicken broth
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1½ pounds; organic if possible)
Kosher salt and fresh-ground black pepper
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons coarse-chopped fresh tarragon leaves
- Place the leeks in a large skillet with the chicken broth and 2 tablespoons of the butter. Cook at a gentle boil over medium heat until they are tender and the broth has boiled down far enough that the leeks are no longer completely submerged. This should take about 8 minutes.
- Sprinkle both sides of the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Place them on top of the simmering leeks, spoon some of the leeks over the chicken, and cover the pan tightly. Reduce the heat to low. After 10 minutes, test the chicken for doneness: it should feel firm when you press it. If the breast pieces are large, it could take as much as 15 minutes, but don’t overcook them.
- When the chicken is done, transfer it to a warm platter & cover with foil. Increase the heat under the leeks to high, and stir in the lemon juice, the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, and the tarragon. When the butter melts, season to taste, pour the leek sauce over the chicken, and serve.
175. The Charm of John Updike
What art offers is space — a certain breathing room for the spirit.” –John Updike
Such sad news today…John Updike passed away at the age of 76 from lung cancer. I had seen Updike at Benaroya Hall in November as part of the Seattle Arts & Lectures’ literary season. He was extremely charming, eloquent and witty and I could have listened to him speak for days. Listening to him in person was like reading one of his poems, short stories or art & literary critiques. He spoke as effortlessly as he seemed to write and he had a way of capturing words that I found striking.
He was interviewed by author David Guterson and Seattle Art Museum’s Curator of American Art, Patti Junker. Guterson asked him questions relating to his career and writing and Junker asked questions relating to his passion for art, particularly for Edward Hopper, whose work was on exhibit at SAM in Edward Hopper’s Women. Junker projected three of Hopper’s paintings and asked Updike to offer his impressions. His knowledge of all things artistic (art, music, literature, etc.) was extraordinary.
A little background on Updike: He was born in 1932 in Shillington, Pennsylvania. He received a full scholarship to Harvard College, where he served as President of the Harvard Lampoon before graduating summa cum laude in 1954. He then spent a year in Oxford, England at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art before accepting a position at The New Yorker, which has published his work ever since. He was the author of more than 60 books, including collections of poems, plays, essays, criticism and short stories, and he won the Pulitzer Prize twice, as well as many other awards and honors. He had four children and until his death, lived in Massachusetts with his second wife, Martha.
The timing of Updike’s death is even more affecting because I’m currently reading one of his books, The Witches of Eastwick, which I’m enjoying immensely. His use of language and descriptions are wonderful!
Click here for the article that ran in the Books section of the NYT today.
162. SAL
I realized today that I had not yet ordered my tickets for the Seattle Arts & Lectures (SAL) ‘08/09 season. These are some of my favorite events to attend and I actually thought I had placed my order some time back in May…oops! A balcony season ticket is $105 & the special event season ticket is $60. I love that we live in such a literary city and I think you should all get tickets & join me for a drink beforehand! :)
Here’s this year’s lineup:
Richard Russo – Wed, September 17, 2008
Terry Tempest Williams – Tues, October 7, 2008
John Updike – Wed, November 12, 2008
Michael Pollan – Mon, January 12, 2009
Junot Diaz – Tues, February 24, 2009
Mira Nair – Tues, April 28, 2009
And here are this season’s special events:
Annie Leibovitz – Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Scott Simon - Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Shirin Ebadi – Tuesday, May 19, 2009
154. A Friday Five
- Last night, Mom, Cheri and I had dinner at a new restaurant in Kirkland, Bin Vivant at Carillon Point. (I think it opened just a couple weeks ago.) The setting & decor are beautiful, the wine list is impressive (80 by the glass, 300 bottles, 1, 3 & 6 ounce pours available), the service was attentive, and the food sounded amazing. Unfortunately, I don’t think it tasted quite as amazing as it sounded. We shared the Vanilla Cognac Scallops w/apricot and spinach puree ($19), the Bibb Lettuce Salad w/pear vinaigrette and rosemary bacon crumble ($8), and the Wild Alaskan Halibut roasted w/butter, thyme, saffron and ginger ($24). Everything just lacked a little flavor. My glass of wine was wonderful however — 2004 Sant’ Antonio Valpolicella Ripassa ($10 for 6oz. pour) — and I’m looking forward to returning for another glass of wine and maybe another try at the food.
- I have purchased two items in the last couple weeks which I am thoroughly enjoying! One is my folding Reisenthel market bag from Sur La Table and the other is this really cool Fit & Fresh lunch container from Storables. The market bag has wheels and it folds up into this nice little square pouch, and the lunch container has an ice block that lays in the middle to keep your food cold. Clever people!
- I finally finished “A Curious Earth” by Man Booker Prize finalist, Gerard Woodward, which I greatly enjoyed. The book’s protagonist is Aldous Rex Llewelwyn Jones, an aging widower and retired art teacher, who is content to sit in his house, drink whiskey, and watch potato vines grow from within his kitchen cabinet from long forgotten potatoes. I found Aldous to be very frustrating, but Woodward’s rich prose kept me enticed and filled with a feeling of hope.
- This week’s edition of Seattle Weekly is the “Best Of” issue and I now have a list of places I want to go and restaurants I want to try. These include (in no particular order): fish & chips (w/fried lemon slices) at Pike Street Fish Fry; visiting Magus used books; Lunchbox Laboratory; strazzapreti at Tavolata; getting my suitcase repaired at Omni; visiting the Open Satellite Gallery in Bellevue; listening to jazz at Egan’s Ballard Jam House; a peanut butter & bacon burger at McCoy’s Firehouse; lunch on the rooftop garden at the SW corner of 4th & University; balsamico e fragolo and basilico truffles from Fiori Chocolates; a torta from Barriga Llena; and dinner at Spring Hill in West Seattle.
- Even nice guys still make you crazy! That is all.
149. Portland Art Museum
Today was another lovely day! I had appointments for most of the morning/afternoon and then I decided to visit the Portland Art Museum before heading home. The museum was so quiet, it was wonderful — there were times I was the only one in a gallery. I checked out their permanent exhibits and then visited a few of their special exhibits: Every Picture Tells a Story: Persian Narrative Painting (a collection of Persian paintings from the 14th through 19th centuries — my favorite!!!), Celebrating Prints: Recent Acquisitions (featuring nearly 65 works by over 50 artists, including Francisco de Goya and Kara Walker), Highlights from the Paul and Clara Gebauer Collection of Cameroon Art, and the Klaus Moje glass exhibit (also wonderful!! — pictures above)…
An exciting inclusion in the exhibition is The Portland Panels: Choreographed Geometry, a massive four-panel work created especially for this retrospective. Composed of more than 22,000 hand-cut strips of glass fused together at the Bullseye Glass factory studios in Portland, this work is a stunning technical achievement.
Before driving home, I made one last stop at Powell’s (to get a book on the Northern Lakes Region of Italy — my September destination!!) and then had dinner at Cha! Cha! Cha! in the Pearl District. I sat at an outdoor table (beautiful evening!!), sipping horchata and read my book for awhile, then drove home around 8 — with the top down, wrapped in a blanket, with my heated seat turned on! :)
Today’s food report — Day 5:
# of Ultra Clear Shakes: 3
Breakfast: Strawberries
Lunch: Romaine lettuce w/chicken, almonds & sesame seed dressing.
Dinner: Beans & rice; horchata.
Tea: None.
Water: 7 glasses.
Symptoms: Tons of energy, no headaches.
140. A family Fourth!
I LOVE long weekends!!! Especially now that I’m working again, I REALLY love long weekends!!! I think I finally caught up on my sleep a bit and I’m feeling a little less grumpy. :) It’s been a REALLY LONG couple weeks.
I did NOTHING this weekend except read, watch movies, go for long walks, and meet friends for coffee. Seriously my friends, that’s it!
My Fourth of July was spent drinking coffee with G3, lounging at the park with my book, and then hanging out and BBQ’ing with Mom, Dad, Kyle, Vanessa, and Vanessa’s brother, sister-in-law and niece (who are in town visiting) at Mom & Dad’s condo. It was relaxing not having to deal with the crowds, and the fireworks were beautiful! We could see Elliott Bay, Gas Works, a few other shows we couldn’t identify (Bill Gates?), and a sliver of Juanita Beach.
On Saturday, I met Dana for coffee at Peet’s and then we walked around Greenlake a couple times while we caught up on life. Miss D spent the first couple weeks of June in Italy, so it was fabulous to hear about her trip. Saturday night, I caught up with Odie over drinks and Sunday morning, I met Heather at Uptown Espresso. We walked thru Myrtle Edwards Park and the Olympic Sculpture Park and then took a tour of a condo she just placed an offer on in Belltown. It has an amazing view of Elliott Bay and the Puget Sound and I’m looking forward to when she hosts book club so we can all enjoy it right along with her! :) We had mimosas and brunch afterwards at Café Campagne and then bought flowers, cucumbers, heirloom tomatoes, mint and fresh feta at the Market. I spent my afternoon at the park reading and then came home and made a huge, wonderful fresh Greek salad.
The movies I saw this weekend were The Other Boleyn Girl, Cassandra’s Dream, Under the Same Moon, The Jane Austen Book Club, and Volver, and the two books I read were The Godmother by Carrie Adams (total chick lit) and The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson (July’s book club pick).
Just the kind of weekend I needed. Here’s hoping this week is a little more manageable! :)
139. Weekend Wrap-Up
What a BEAUTIFUL weekend! I drove home from Portland/Vancouver on Friday night with the roof down on the bug the entire way. It was a lovely drive and the fresh air felt wonderful! :) My meetings in Vancouver went well on Friday and then Janel, Gabbie and I hung out for the afternoon and went out for dinner before I drove home.
On Saturday, G3 and I watched some Euro Cup soccer at The Pumphouse — Russia v. Netherlands. He was very excited since Russia won 3:1. I’m excited about Spain! (The semi-final games will be Spain v. Russia and Germany v. Turkey.)
We saw a great movie at The Egyptian on Saturday night — Mongol, directed by Sergei Bodrov. The script is okay, not great, but the cinematography and score are SPECTACULAR! The story recounts the early life and legend of Genghis Khan (born in 1162), and was nominated for an Academy Award. This is definitely one worth seeing on the big screen.
I finished three books this last week — My French Whore by Gene Wilder (yes, THAT Gene Wilder), Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones (shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize), and Flower Children by Maxine Swann. I loved them all!
