Good day sunshine

I’ve had a great weekend. On Saturday, Katharine, Brenden, Anthony and I took Xander to see the Curious George movie. Some critics have panned it, but I thought it was great, although admittedly it’s a richer experience, to see a children’s movie with a much loved child on your lap or sitting beside you.

As we walked through the mall on the way to the parking lot afterward, I spotted a carousel. I love carousels, so I immediately volunteered to take Xander for a ride (which was actually a sneaky way for me to get to ride). Brenden said, "Aaarrrgggh, Katharine and I both get sick on carousels, but take Xander if you like." Needless to say, Xander was completely enthusiastic.I bought a token (adults ride free) and after circling the carousel twice on foot to find just the right horse, I lifted Xander onto his chosen horse and stood beside him, holding onto his horse’s pole, waiting for the carousel to start. He looked at me and frowned. "No, no!" he said emphatically, prying my fingers from the bar. Then he pointed to the empty horse in front of him. "Get your own horse!" he commanded, and so I did. Luckily, they had safety belts on the carousel horses, so after making sure that Xander’s safety belt was securely fastened (he’s not quite 3½, after all), I got on the horse in front of him and we had a happy ride together, after which he came back to my house and we finally assembled the gingerbread house that I never got around to doing with him before Christmas. It didn’t matter in the least to Xander that we were assembling it close to Valentine’s Day, and he was very proud of the end result.

Today, I went to the symphony at the Bass in Ft. Worth. The Bass is a beautiful performance hall designed by David M. Schwarz. Although I’m a woman who for the most part prefers to rough it when on vacation...e.g., I’ve gone on (and successfully completed) a desert skills survival course, two cattle drives (no small feat for someone who doesn’t really ride), a 7 day river rafting trip on the River of No Return (but here I am!), and a camel trek in the past few years, I splurge on the symphony. I love live music, and after years of sitting in seats that would give a goat a nosebleed, I finally decided to treat myself and move on up (or down, in this case) to great seats, with the result that I’ve happily (and without guilt) purchased a season subscription with box seats to the symphony for the past few years.

I love sitting in a box. The sound is great, of course, although I don’t think there’s a bad seat in the Bass (the sound was great in the nosebleed seats, too). But in addition to the sound, you can really see the stage from the boxes, and if you arrive late (which I hate to do, but it’s an hours’ drive from my house to Ft. Worth, and depending on traffic and the weather, it can happen) you can slip into your seat in a box without really disturbing anyone. Today I discovered another great perk of having box seats; I can order a drink or coffee before the concert and have it delivered to my box so it’s waiting for me at intermission. This means that I don’t have to stand in line to buy a cup of coffee only to find that it hasn’t cooled sufficiently to drink it by the time intermission is over. Ah, luxury!

And then there’s the music itself. The program today was terrific; the Suite from Copland's Appalachian Spring followed by Copland’s Clarinet Concerto (played beautifully by David Shifrin), and then, after intermission, Beethoven's Second. Today I brought my digital camera. After drinking a cup of just the right temperature coffee, I walked around and snapped some pics, including the angel at the top of this page (of which there are two on the outside of the hall, each 48 feet tall, sculpted from Texas limestone), and two shots of the beautiful ceiling.