the weekend in review
Saturday night AJ and I went to see Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys at the Birchmere. It was a much larger (sold-out) crowd than last time we saw him, back in October. Probably because he has since appeared in the movie "O Brother Where Art Thou" and a couple of his songs were the centerpieces of the soundtrack. It was obvious that many in the crowd were newcomers, not old time fans like me and AJ. I mean, we've been buying his music for almost a whole year now.
Yesterday Nancy and I met to run, but it was so hot and humid that we walked instead - down through the zoo and around Rock Creek Park for a bit. We then went to Politics & Prose and Barnes & Noble, looking for going away gifts for Pei, whose farewell cook-out party was scheduled for 4:00 in Rock Creek Park. After going home and changing into my cook-out clothes (teva sandals, shorts, the Kohl's "English Patient" sort-of Hawaiian shirt) I went back down to Nancy and Brendan's and then with them over to the party location. It was a surprise cook-out - Gary, Pei's boyfriend, had to convince her that she needed to take a break from packing and go for a walk. Somehow, despite the overbearing 95 degree heat and sweltering humidity, he managed to talk her into it, and when they got to the cook-out she was properly surprised. It was fun. Lisa was there, but that was only a mild annoyance. The predicted thunderstorms held off until Pei was finishing her last piece of cake - she insisted on standing under a tree (just what you're supposed to do when there is lightning about) and eating the last few bites before they got too soggy. She leaves next week for a month in China, and then in mid-August moves to New York to attend grad school at Columbia.
Last night I didn't do much of anything except watch The Simpsons - Homer had a crayon removed from his brain which made him all smart, but he decided he preferred being dumb so he eventually stuck the crayon back up his nose.
Yesterday Nancy and I met to run, but it was so hot and humid that we walked instead - down through the zoo and around Rock Creek Park for a bit. We then went to Politics & Prose and Barnes & Noble, looking for going away gifts for Pei, whose farewell cook-out party was scheduled for 4:00 in Rock Creek Park. After going home and changing into my cook-out clothes (teva sandals, shorts, the Kohl's "English Patient" sort-of Hawaiian shirt) I went back down to Nancy and Brendan's and then with them over to the party location. It was a surprise cook-out - Gary, Pei's boyfriend, had to convince her that she needed to take a break from packing and go for a walk. Somehow, despite the overbearing 95 degree heat and sweltering humidity, he managed to talk her into it, and when they got to the cook-out she was properly surprised. It was fun. Lisa was there, but that was only a mild annoyance. The predicted thunderstorms held off until Pei was finishing her last piece of cake - she insisted on standing under a tree (just what you're supposed to do when there is lightning about) and eating the last few bites before they got too soggy. She leaves next week for a month in China, and then in mid-August moves to New York to attend grad school at Columbia.
Last night I didn't do much of anything except watch The Simpsons - Homer had a crayon removed from his brain which made him all smart, but he decided he preferred being dumb so he eventually stuck the crayon back up his nose.