The Last Cattle Drive

I have been remiss in my reading for the past several weeks, so it was high time to get back to business.

Our book club will soon be discussing The Last Cattle Drive by Robert Day.  When I heard the title, I was pretty sure it was going to be a western, but really, it takes place in Kansas in the 1970s (during the time I was growing up in Wichita...).  If you can imagine driving a herd of 250 cattle to market across northern Kansas, staying clear of the interstate and other modern institutions, well you can just imagine what might happen.

I found the writing pretty funny and laughed out loud at certain points.  I also looked up some of the references to places, and they exist.  Here is one such place - the Garden of Eden in Lucas, Kansas.

Seasonal Haiku

Concert Weekend

A photo from our fall semester

It always seems to take me a day to recover from a concert weekend.  Our schedule is pretty full from the dress rehearsal on Friday night (2-2 1/2 hours), concert on Saturday night and a repeat on Sunday afternoon.

This particular concert of the Claremont Concert Orchestra was unusual for a few reasons.  This was a student showcase with three concertos (one violin, one cello, one piano).  Unfotunately, our cellist suffered an injury to her hand and could not perform, so we had to leave out her piece for the time being.  Since she is only a sophomore, she should be able to play it at another concert in the future.

Secondly, not only was attendance low (for what reason, I do not know), but at the end of the rousing Egmont Overture by Beethoven, you could have heard a pin drop.  Not one person started clapping.  We had to stand up in silence before the audience responded.  That was the most strange feeling.

Our next concert will be with the choir when we perform the Brahms' German Requiem, and I'm guessing that we'll have many more people in the audience what with friends and family of the choir as well as the orchestra.

The People Who Take Care of You, Part 2

A month ago when I was at the Women's Retreat, one of my friends brought along her massage chair and gave some of us an abbreviated back/shoulder/head massage.  It was heavenly.  I took her card and thought about when I would want to visit her in her office.  Well, this is a concert weekend, and I thought it would be great to go into the concert feeling relaxed and refreshed.  I made an appointment to see Suzanne yesterday for an hour-long massage, and it was what I expected, and a great way to end a work week.

If you are local and are interested in massage, you can find out about Suzanne at her website here.

The People Who Take Care of You, Part 1

Last weekend I got a horrific toothache which started in my lower left gum and then moved into my tooth.  On Monday I went to see my dentist, Dr. Arnold Valdez.  After examining my x-ray and mouth, he said that he didn't think it was a cavity or abscess or anything that he could help.  I think he could have easily said that he needed to do some serious work in my mouth, but he didn't.  I really appreciate that he has a low-intervention philosophy.  He did give me a prescription for penicillin, saying that I should fill it I felt it necessary.

The next day asked a friend of mine who is a nurse practitioner if it could possibly be related to sinuses (various places on the internet suggested that tooth pain can be related to sinusitis).  She said it certainly could be, and that I should take some real Sudafed (not the fake stuff - but the kind you have to get from behind a locked glass) and Afrin (three days only).

Short story, between the Sudafed, Afrin and penicillin (the pain was getting pretty bad by then), most of the pain is gone.  My tooth is still sensitive to cold and some food, but I think it is just a matter of time before I'm back to 100%.

Lighter Later!

Tonight it was still a little light at 6 p.m.  I love it when the days are getting longer!

Pina

Tuesday night at the Laemmle again last night.  Having been to several movies recently, we saw the trailer for Pina, a dance movie, and it looked great, so we had to go.  This is a documentary about the life of the choreographer, Pina Bausch.  The vast majority of the movie is devoted to dancing with very short interviews by the dancers in her company.

Most of the dancing will challenge your ideas about movement and what constitutes dance, but I really enjoyed most of it, especially the opening sequence of The Rite of Spring. 

Rhubarb and Elderberry

I hadn't tried a different flavor of cider in awhile, in fact, I haven't had any flavor of cider in awhile now.  I was in the Cheese Cave with Lynn today, and we noticed this one - Rhubarb and Elderberry Filtered Pear Cider - so we had to buy a bottle to split.

I definitely like it better than the one with ginger, and, actually, as much as the blackberry variety.

Comfort Food

While watching the Nate Show one day a while back, I bookmarked the featured recipe for Skinny Mac and Cheese.  I recently decided it was time to try this lower-cal version of the ultimate comfort food.  I have to say, it turned out great, and the asparagus was a great compliment.  Plus, it was really, really easy to make.  To reduce calories even more, I substituted almond milk for the skim milk.

Mardi Gras Sunday

Here is a  low-quality video of the very fun Pilgrim Pickers and CUCC Brass who led the music in church this morning for our Mardi Gras Sunday celebration.  It's great fun to sing songs like When the Saints Go Marching In and This Little Light of Mine every once in awhile.