There’s nothing like a mid-winter vacation to get your mojo back.\u00c2\u00a0 Here’s a quick overview of\u00c2\u00a0our week off (with details on the most important bits to come over the next few days):<\/p>\n
Done<\/strong><\/p>\n Trip to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (exhibits visited included the two Kyoto exhibits, the exhibit of photography of the human body, and the bits of American furniture that we could find)<\/p>\n Concert at Symphony Hall, Boston, for an afternoon of Mozart: Symphonies 39, 40, and 41, conducted by James Levine<\/p>\n Dinner at Dalya’s<\/a>, where we had our wedding reception all those years ago.\u00c2\u00a0 Excellent food, as always.<\/p>\n Lunches\u00c2\u00a0at 31 Main and Helen’s Cafe; takeout Valentine’s Day dinner from Savoury Lane<\/a> (great bargain, lasted us two meals…).<\/p>\n The required vacation week\u00c2\u00a0bookstore visit, to the Concord Bookshop<\/a>, my favorite independent bookstore.\u00c2\u00a0 Remember to support your local bookseller!<\/p>\n A short-lived trip to the Burlington Mall, mostly to get face soap for me and an iTunes gift card for Jim.\u00c2\u00a0 Not really our thing.<\/p>\n Made a batch of homemade soft pretzels (yum!), and cooked up some kind of awesome nachos.<\/p>\n Spent a fun evening\u00c2\u00a0with\u00c2\u00a0Linda & Andy (and Greg), Greg & Carolyn (and Ben); dined on Andy’s awesome vegetarian stir-fry and Carolyn’s yummy cherry pie.<\/p>\n Visited with Jim’s mother and brother; enjoyed her homemade lasagna and birthday cake (happy belated birthday, Bill!).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Seen<\/strong><\/p>\n High School Musical 3: Senior Year<\/em>.\u00c2\u00a0 Don’t laugh.\u00c2\u00a0 I like these movies.\u00c2\u00a0 B+\u00c2\u00a0~ would have been A- if it hadn’t been so uncharacteristically dark.<\/p>\n My Best Friend’s Girl<\/em>, with Dane Cook and Kate Hudson.\u00c2\u00a0 Hard to grade this one, since I’m still not sure what I thought of it.\u00c2\u00a0 B+?\u00c2\u00a0 B?\u00c2\u00a0 Should I take off points for offensiveness, even if it’s very funny offensiveness?<\/p>\n Stardust<\/em>, with Claire Danes and Charlie Cox, as well as Michelle Pfeiffer as an old\u00c2\u00a0(sometimes beautiful, sometimes haggard) witch and Robert DeNiro as a cross-dressing gay\u00c2\u00a0pirate (???!!!???).\u00c2\u00a0 A-\u00c2\u00a0~ good fun, well done.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n Across the Universe.<\/em>\u00c2\u00a0 Couldn’t stomach this one!\u00c2\u00a0 After about fifteen minutes Jim and I both stuck out our tongues in disgust and turned it off.\u00c2\u00a0 Blech.<\/p>\n Death at a Funeral<\/em>.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Very, very funny.\u00c2\u00a0 Really enjoyed this one.\u00c2\u00a0 A.<\/p>\n The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/em>Stopped watching this one a few minutes in, after consulting with my sister the professor,\u00c2\u00a0who gently commented that\u00c2\u00a0the book is way better than the movie, and I would be doing the book a disservice if I didn’t read it first.<\/p>\n And a few favorite T.V. shows:\u00c2\u00a0 “The Office,” “30 Rock” (which I’ve grown to love, surprisingly), “The Vicar of Dibley,” “Chef,” and a few minutes of assorted crap\u00c2\u00a0to cleanse the palate.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Read<\/strong><\/p>\n Envy <\/em>by Anna Godbersen<\/p>\n 100 Cupboards <\/em>by N.D. Wilson<\/p>\n Ranger’s Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan <\/em>by John Flanagan<\/p>\n The Great Tree of Avalon <\/em>by T.A. Barron (begun, not finished)<\/p>\n This Old House <\/em>magazine<\/p>\n The Atlantic<\/em><\/p>\n The New Yorker<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n More on the books in the coming days, of course.<\/p>\n Thank goodness for vacations.\u00c2\u00a0 The house is clean, the cats are happy, and Jim and I look like ourselves again – fewer stress wrinkles on our well-rested faces.\u00c2\u00a0 Aaaah.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There’s nothing like a mid-winter vacation to get your mojo back.\u00c2\u00a0 Here’s a quick overview of\u00c2\u00a0our week off (with details on the most important bits to come over the next few days): Done Trip to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (exhibits visited included the two Kyoto exhibits, the exhibit of photography of the human … Continue reading Done – Seen – Read<\/span>