Celebrations
These celebrations are dedicated to my sister, who’s overworked and underpaid and a hell of a lot more graceful about it than I could ever be. I would love nothing more than to invite her over tonight to relax by the fire and ease the stress of her seven-day workweek.
The celebrations reach back to lucky Friday the 13th, when Scott and I saw The Host at the Darkside. This wild Korean film is like a monster movie or a disaster flick laced with family slapstick, genre spoofs, political satire, and probably a bunch of juicy references I didn’t even pick up on… It’s the best new movie I’ve seen in ages. I laughed! I cried! I got into it! I’m alive! You all go see it now and then let’s meet for coffee and dessert to discuss, hmm? Dennis, who brought it to my attention and insisted that we see it, has more than made up for his endorsement of Pan’s Labyrinth. Giant sewer-monster thanks to you, Dennis!
Saturday, ahh. Pulling weeds awhile, and then chillin’ in the sunshine, legs stretched out in the grass, lazily reading a Ken Kesey book with Maddy at my side. Saturnight, Scott built a fire in our new back porch fire bowl, and we huddled close to the heat, mesmerized by the light—so relaxing!—and lazily roasted marshmallows. Maddy lay just beyond the circle of light, guarding the pack.
Sunday, an unabashed return to gastronomic pleasure! Yes, folks, I will gladly rise before 7:00 and cycle almost 10 miles for a farm-fresh omelette and all-you-can-eat pastry buffet. We cycled home gingerly, rested, digested, and then headed out to India Night for dinner and song and dance generously offered by the OSU Indian Students Association.
And did the beauty end there? No, sirree! Monday was fun-day, folks, because after work, Scott and I escaped to Portland in the Barry-mobile for a fabulous sushi dinner with his friends and Ted Leo and the Pharmacists at the Hawthorne Theatre. The unbelievably amazing music (and energy!), the intimate grittiness of the venue, the city at night… Vision of ultimate coolness—distant dream of my small-town teenage years—realized.
One last celebration, not tied to any particular day, of the mundane and the sublime in the kitchen. I’ve freshened up our old dishwasher (Eek! 1994 is old?) and started using it to alleviate the oppressive countertop cluttering of dirty dishes. (Emily, I dedicate my dishwasher campaign to you.) And the sublime—Scott standing at the stove crafting curry for chickpeas, the scent of the freshly ground cumin and coriander hitting the hot cast iron!
April 28th, 2007 at 10:00 am
Celebrations indeed! I didn’t realize just how much fun we packed in that weekend until I read it all here. Thanks, PSaga, for help making it all happen with me!
April 29th, 2007 at 1:19 pm
I’m hearing “Celebrate, Celebrate, Dance to the music” and seeing Deb Lane and me standing in the diesel vanagon with the sunroof open, dancing down the highway through Rome City while the bemused Dads drove us through a blizzard to prove their machismo and to dine at the Golden Buddha. Isn’t that just chock full of imagery and metaphor?
I will add to the celebrations list my call to Cornwall Friday (Lovely!) to make the last reservation of my summer nomad plans, a week in the Old Schoolhouse Hotel (http://www.cornwall-online.co.uk/old-school-hotel/Welcome.asp) on the cliffs of Cornwall overlooking the artist’s beloved fishing village of Port Isaac. (http://www.cornwall-online.co.uk/hathaway/Welcome.asp)
And a random question…Does the PSaga call me Mum to express a subliminal longing that I will be? Don’t hold your breath.
May 18th, 2007 at 6:30 am
Look at that spread; I wanna have brunch at The Farm!
And more tasty food tidbits: the Indian Students Assoc. posted their 2007 India Night recipes - downloading, downloading! Any particular dish to recommend?
Hey, I’m taking an Indian vegetarian cooking class this summer. After years of winging it through books on a regular basis, I’ll get a little experienced input. For me, ’tis the season for Indian cuisine! Gotta have y’all over for my famous dosa brunch sometime…
Yum, how was that chickpea curry?
May 26th, 2007 at 10:23 am
There is something to be said for redemption…
I read this post with a lot of good feeling. It was nice to hear about such an idyllic sounding weekend. Such a weekend seems like a faraway memory or a distant dream to me, and I really appreciated the vicarious pleasure of reading about yours…
I’m so glad you guys liked THE HOST. I find myself wanting to see it again really badly right now, when all around me is SHREK THE THIRD and SPIDER MAN 3 and PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 3…
The best movie I’ve seen in the last month is MANDINGO, and I’m not kidding– this is a far better movie than its repoutatioin would suggest. And I’m dying to see BUG and BLACK BOOK and 28 DAYS LATER and AWAY FROM HER, but I fear they’re going to get lost in the whirlpool created by all these big, flabby summer movies…
Back to studying… An e-mail update soon, I hope? And Patty was extra thrilled at your postcard, PS. Thanks!
May 26th, 2007 at 10:25 am
28 DAYS LATER should be 28 WEEKS LATER. And I don’t know what to say about “repoutatioin” that couldn’t best be expressed in four words: “Just shoot me now.”