In Which The 13th Isn't So Bad
So, it could have been worse. Friday the 13th, that is. I'm not a terribly superstitious person, so I don't tend to get jittery when the 13th day of the month falls on a Friday. And nothing happened Friday to really shake my conviction that it was just another day. Well, nothing that I can't blame on feline hijinks that would've happened any other day of the week. Let me explain.
I stopped off at the store to pick up some Valentine's Day roses for bewcastle . I beat her home from work, so I trimmed the flowers, arranged them in a lovely vase, and artfully leaned the envelope containing her card up against it. Very nice tableau, if I do say so myself. So I repair to the office to tend to some e-mail. Now, you've got to remember that I don't have the greatest hearing in the world. This will be important in a minute. I see bewcastle 's car pull up in the driveway. So far so good. I hear the key in the lock (I'm listening for it, which makes a good deal of difference with me...) and I next expect to hear some sound of surprised delight at the romantic little display awaiting her. What do I hear instead? Outraged scolding. Of our cat, Pisco. I hustle out to the living room to find my vase tipped over, water soaking into the runner on the coffee table, roses scattered everywhere, and the floor littered with distinctly chewed-looking rose petals. Apparently Pisco thinks roses are delicious. Feh. So much for my romantic beau geste. But y'know, if the worst thing that happens on Friday the 13th is that your cat does what she'd probably do any of the other 364 days of the year given the chance, you've probably had a pretty good day of it.
Things improved dramatically on Valentine's Day itself - we took a leisurely afternoon to Home Depot to buy flowers for the yard - some marigolds, pansies, and other colorful annuals for the pots out front. I was convinced to purchase some tomato plants as well. It sometimes surprises me how much fun you can have just about anywhere if you're with the right person - and bewcastle 's the right person for me, any day of the week. After dropping off the plants at home, we headed out for Persian food at Shaherzad in Westwood, which I would recommend highly. We each had a different rice stew dish, with the portions big enough that even I had enough for a second meal. The bread, baked fresh in the traditional oven at the back of the restaurant, is delightful, and the soup appetizers are hearty and filling enough on their own for a good lunch.
After we got home, I continued the rice theme by making a batch of my paella ahead of our Sunday outing with castle_kevorah . I may now make it the night before every time - the flavors got a chance to blend much more fully than when I serve it straight from the pot.
I take a group of kids to the Getty Villa for a field trip every year, but I've never seen their holdings all in one fell swoop. Well, yesterday we remedied that lack with a long and fascinating tour through the Villa's galleries - the truly impressive stuff was indeed truly impressive (the monumental Hercules, the bronze Victorious Athlete, the maybe-a-forgery kouros) but it was the little stuff that really delighted, like the 2-inch high figurine of a comic actor mooning the audience with his fingers in his mouth to make farting noises, or the vase painting depicting Hercules delivering the Erymanthian boar to a terrified King Eurystheus, who hides in a storage jar. Hilarious!
As always, the best part of the day was the company - we all chatted and admired and talked throughout the entire afteroon, discussing everything from the underrecognized role of slavery in classical society to when and why we stopped drinking from shallow bowls in favor of cups and mugs and beakers. After an afternoon of culture, we returned to the house for an evening of wine, mead, cider, beer, paella, and creampuffs, all accompanied by more delightful conversation.
Today, despite the rain, I put all the plants in pots and beds. Two hours really flew by, and the yard is now much more colorful than it was before. Not a bad way to spend a day off...
I stopped off at the store to pick up some Valentine's Day roses for bewcastle . I beat her home from work, so I trimmed the flowers, arranged them in a lovely vase, and artfully leaned the envelope containing her card up against it. Very nice tableau, if I do say so myself. So I repair to the office to tend to some e-mail. Now, you've got to remember that I don't have the greatest hearing in the world. This will be important in a minute. I see bewcastle 's car pull up in the driveway. So far so good. I hear the key in the lock (I'm listening for it, which makes a good deal of difference with me...) and I next expect to hear some sound of surprised delight at the romantic little display awaiting her. What do I hear instead? Outraged scolding. Of our cat, Pisco. I hustle out to the living room to find my vase tipped over, water soaking into the runner on the coffee table, roses scattered everywhere, and the floor littered with distinctly chewed-looking rose petals. Apparently Pisco thinks roses are delicious. Feh. So much for my romantic beau geste. But y'know, if the worst thing that happens on Friday the 13th is that your cat does what she'd probably do any of the other 364 days of the year given the chance, you've probably had a pretty good day of it.
Things improved dramatically on Valentine's Day itself - we took a leisurely afternoon to Home Depot to buy flowers for the yard - some marigolds, pansies, and other colorful annuals for the pots out front. I was convinced to purchase some tomato plants as well. It sometimes surprises me how much fun you can have just about anywhere if you're with the right person - and bewcastle 's the right person for me, any day of the week. After dropping off the plants at home, we headed out for Persian food at Shaherzad in Westwood, which I would recommend highly. We each had a different rice stew dish, with the portions big enough that even I had enough for a second meal. The bread, baked fresh in the traditional oven at the back of the restaurant, is delightful, and the soup appetizers are hearty and filling enough on their own for a good lunch.
After we got home, I continued the rice theme by making a batch of my paella ahead of our Sunday outing with castle_kevorah . I may now make it the night before every time - the flavors got a chance to blend much more fully than when I serve it straight from the pot.
I take a group of kids to the Getty Villa for a field trip every year, but I've never seen their holdings all in one fell swoop. Well, yesterday we remedied that lack with a long and fascinating tour through the Villa's galleries - the truly impressive stuff was indeed truly impressive (the monumental Hercules, the bronze Victorious Athlete, the maybe-a-forgery kouros) but it was the little stuff that really delighted, like the 2-inch high figurine of a comic actor mooning the audience with his fingers in his mouth to make farting noises, or the vase painting depicting Hercules delivering the Erymanthian boar to a terrified King Eurystheus, who hides in a storage jar. Hilarious!
As always, the best part of the day was the company - we all chatted and admired and talked throughout the entire afteroon, discussing everything from the underrecognized role of slavery in classical society to when and why we stopped drinking from shallow bowls in favor of cups and mugs and beakers. After an afternoon of culture, we returned to the house for an evening of wine, mead, cider, beer, paella, and creampuffs, all accompanied by more delightful conversation.
Today, despite the rain, I put all the plants in pots and beds. Two hours really flew by, and the yard is now much more colorful than it was before. Not a bad way to spend a day off...