When temperatures are above 65 degrees, I try to spend as much time outside as possible. When we lived in Chicago, our apartment had no outdoor space. Our current apartment has a very small deck off the living room, which we have been using quite often, but what I'm really dreaming of is a backyard. I don't need a sprawling estate. I would just love a place to spend relaxed summer nights, sit by a fire with friends and family, sip an iced coffee in the shade of a pergola, or read a book with a dog at my feet.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
In Memory of Cy Twombly.
Artist Cy Twombly died at the age of 83 on Monday in Rome. I had the good fortune of seeing the exhibit The Natural World: Selected Works, 2000-2007 at the Art Institute of Chicago in 2009. I especially loved the rich tones in his Untitled, 2001 series, and was stunned by the scale and beauty of a series of untitled paintings he completed in 2004, my favorite being Untitled n°5, 2004. But I don't think I can understand the true color and magnitude of his Bacchus or Lepanto paintings until I experience them in person. Here's hoping for a trip to Munich to see them at the Brandhorst Collection.
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| Untitled, 2001 (via) |
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| Hero and Leandro, 1985 (via) |
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| Bay of Naples, 1961 (via) |
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| Miramare by the Sea, 2005 (via) |
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| The Rose (II), 2008 (via) |
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| The Rose, Gagosian Gallery (via) |
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| Bacchus Psilax Mainomenos, Gagosian Gallery (via) |
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| Brandhorst
Collection, Munich (via) |
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
July 4th Recap.
We had a perfectly American Independence Day. We started it off by sleeping in on a holiday Monday. It's what Uncle Sam would want. Then we loaded our bikes into the back of the car, drove a short distance to northwest DC and rode our bikes through Rock Creek Park and along Pennsylvania Avenue into downtown. Since the Metro wasn't too busy yet (I think everybody was watching the parade), we took the green line down to Nationals Park.
What is more American than baseball? Why, watching baseball from awesome seats, while eating a chili dog, drinking beer, and almost catching a foul ball, of course! I found myself rooting for the Nats and the Cubs. And even though the home team won, I serenaded the crown with "Go Cubs Go" as we were leaving the stands.
To skip the Metro chaos after the game, we walked from Nationals Stadium back to the Mall. The area around the stadium is still turning. There are quite a few new high rise office and residential buildings, but some old "New Condos" are still available.
Knowing that we were going to be waiting a while for the fireworks to start, we grabbed some beers and burgers at the Hawk 'n Dove on Capitol Hill before heading to the Mall to find a small piece of real estate from which to watch the show. We ended up sitting right at the foot of the Washington Monument looking west, and watched the fireworks pop with the Lincoln Memorial in the background.
The last time I went to see live fireworks on the 4th of July was in 2001 in Indianapolis. I'm not sure why it has taken me this long to realize how incredible a live fireworks display is. And fireworks on the 4th in Washington, DC, can't be beat. I think we've found a new tradition.
What is more American than baseball? Why, watching baseball from awesome seats, while eating a chili dog, drinking beer, and almost catching a foul ball, of course! I found myself rooting for the Nats and the Cubs. And even though the home team won, I serenaded the crown with "Go Cubs Go" as we were leaving the stands.
To skip the Metro chaos after the game, we walked from Nationals Stadium back to the Mall. The area around the stadium is still turning. There are quite a few new high rise office and residential buildings, but some old "New Condos" are still available.
Knowing that we were going to be waiting a while for the fireworks to start, we grabbed some beers and burgers at the Hawk 'n Dove on Capitol Hill before heading to the Mall to find a small piece of real estate from which to watch the show. We ended up sitting right at the foot of the Washington Monument looking west, and watched the fireworks pop with the Lincoln Memorial in the background.
The last time I went to see live fireworks on the 4th of July was in 2001 in Indianapolis. I'm not sure why it has taken me this long to realize how incredible a live fireworks display is. And fireworks on the 4th in Washington, DC, can't be beat. I think we've found a new tradition.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Training Tuesdays: 07.05.11.
Note to self: If a severe thunderstorm wakes you up at 4:00 on the morning of a long run, lasts an hour and a half, knocks your building's power out at 5:45, which prevents you from getting your car out of the garage at 6:20 for a 6:30 run, do not think that you can grab your bike, ride 4 miles in pouring rain to the start of the run and catch your pace group before they leave.
I'm going to blame the unexpected early rise here, but I was not thinking straight on Sunday. In a fit of nerves about having to do a 13-mile run alone, I thought getting to my group run somehow, anyhow, even 15 minutes late, would be better than just setting off on a 6.5 miles down, 6.5 miles back course through Rock Creek Park by myself. What ended up happening was that I stressed myself out, tired myself with an unnecessary (and hilly, might I add) bike ride, and still ended up running alone. Genius.
When I got to the trail head, I thought that if I could catch my group or even catch a slower pace group I would run the entire route with them. Then I realized that in my tizzy I had not grabbed my Metro card. I did not have cash. I did not have a credit card. I did not have my cell phone. If I ran the entire 13 miles with my group, I would be riding my bike home. No thank you. I made the decision to run 4.5 miles down the trail, 4.5 miles back and then 4 miles home. This was, by far, my best decision of the day (other than later when I decided to take a 4 hour nap). The run went well, even though I had some difficulty keeping a consistent, slow pace. I averaged about 20 seconds/mile faster than what I run with my group. My first mile was my fastest - about 70 seconds/mile faster than my long slow pace. I blame the bike ride. My legs had to shake out for a few miles before they felt normal. Mile 13 was my second fastest.
Because of the added stress I put on myself on Sunday, and because of the 12 miles of biking and 5 miles of walking we did yesterday, I am giving myself an option to skip today's run. It is certainly not going to happen this morning. Maybe tonight. Maybe on the treadmill. Maybe in my dreams.
This is my running schedule for the rest of the week:
I'm going to blame the unexpected early rise here, but I was not thinking straight on Sunday. In a fit of nerves about having to do a 13-mile run alone, I thought getting to my group run somehow, anyhow, even 15 minutes late, would be better than just setting off on a 6.5 miles down, 6.5 miles back course through Rock Creek Park by myself. What ended up happening was that I stressed myself out, tired myself with an unnecessary (and hilly, might I add) bike ride, and still ended up running alone. Genius.
When I got to the trail head, I thought that if I could catch my group or even catch a slower pace group I would run the entire route with them. Then I realized that in my tizzy I had not grabbed my Metro card. I did not have cash. I did not have a credit card. I did not have my cell phone. If I ran the entire 13 miles with my group, I would be riding my bike home. No thank you. I made the decision to run 4.5 miles down the trail, 4.5 miles back and then 4 miles home. This was, by far, my best decision of the day (other than later when I decided to take a 4 hour nap). The run went well, even though I had some difficulty keeping a consistent, slow pace. I averaged about 20 seconds/mile faster than what I run with my group. My first mile was my fastest - about 70 seconds/mile faster than my long slow pace. I blame the bike ride. My legs had to shake out for a few miles before they felt normal. Mile 13 was my second fastest.
Because of the added stress I put on myself on Sunday, and because of the 12 miles of biking and 5 miles of walking we did yesterday, I am giving myself an option to skip today's run. It is certainly not going to happen this morning. Maybe tonight. Maybe on the treadmill. Maybe in my dreams.
This is my running schedule for the rest of the week:
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Wearing: July 4th Weekend.
Not very glamorous. Not very interesting. But very practical. This is what I'll be living in this weekend. In fact, I started wearing this outfit yesterday, slept in the T-shirt last night, and plan to (maybe, hopefully) wash it before wearing it again tonight tomorrow Monday.
Our plans for Monday include riding our bikes into DC, listening to the reading of the Declaration of Independence at the National Archives, watching the National Independence Day Parade, heading over to watch the Nats take on the Cubbies, and, more importantly, eat hot dogs and drink beer (God Bless America). Boy, it'll be hard to root for the home team when they're playing the Lovable Losers. Later in the night, we'll probably take in some fireworks.
This outfit will keep me cool and comfy for my busy Fourth. This T-shirt is the most perfect thing on earth. I bought a medium so it is nice and loose and comfy and I have been wearing it tied in a knot at the waist (like this pretty lady). It looks great with this Gap skirt I got last year. I might wear a pair of bike shorts under my skirt, but I might not. Let's just hope I don't get pulled over for wearing a skirt on a bike like this woman in New York. My Toms will be perfect for biking and walking around in, and the wayfarers will be absolutely necessary as it is supposed to be hot and sunny. Oh, and don't think I have a pair of for-real for-real Wayfarers. I have $8 knockoffs from Old Navy. I'm still sporting Racey Rouge polish on my nails. It will be there all summer; don't forget to tip your waitress.
And the backpack. I could lie and tell you I'm going to carry around some adorable straw tote or trendy crossbody bag. But, you know what? I won't be. My trusty Jansport will carry everything I need for the day - a blanket to splay on during fireworks on the Mall, my camera, and sunblock, sunblock and more sunblock. Seriously, we've been having summer-like weather for over a month now and I'm still pale as a ghost. And intend to stay that way, thank you very much.
Friday, July 1, 2011
This Wedding Video = Joy.
I first saw this wedding video on The Flashdance blog back in December and have not been able to get it out of my head since. It single-handedly made me wish we had hired a videographer. This videographer. It is pure magic. Pure joy.
Hank & Camilla's Reception from Shark Pig on Vimeo.
I hope your weekend is full of excitement, happiness and fun.
Josh Ritter: Keeps His Chickens in the Car.
File this under reasons I love this city. Last night, my favorite singer and new author, Josh Ritter, had a book reading and signing at Politics & Prose. He discussed how he approached writing his novel, Bright's Passage, and how writing the novel was similar to and different from writing songs. Talking about how his writing method, he said he determines the rhythm and meter of a song and builds the lyrics and rhyme to fit. Similarly, he said determining the arc of the story helped him keep his ideas organized when approaching his novel. He recalled a quote by Tom Waits: "Gathering all this material together was like rounding up chickens at the beach." And then noted that he would have to keep his chickens in the car.
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| photo by Politics & Prose |
Having an angel be a major character in the book made him realize how often angels show up in his songs. He played Folk Bloodbath and Galahad as examples.
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| photo by Politics & Prose |
He was just as joyful talking about and reading from his novel and answering the audience's questions as he is when he's playing...which is pretty damn joyful. If you've never seen him live, see Exhibit A, below, to get an idea of what I'm talking about. Then go to his website, see when he's playing near you, and buy tickets. Stat.
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| Vic Theatre, Chicago, May 15, 2010 (yes, I was there) photo by eight one seven photography |
If you've never heard his music, please take a listen. This is a video from his NPR Tiny Desk Concert. The first song of his set, The Temptation of Adam, is a sweet, romantic song about strangers finding love in a missile silo during a nuclear war. It is one of my favorite songs of his, and favorite songs, period. To read more about this song, read this fantastic interview Josh did with Independent Weekly back in 2007. He also plays Lark, Rattling Locks and Kathleen during the NPR set.
You're welcome.
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