Your Tax Dollars At Work

Aaron and I had a fun weekend together. We added it up and on Saturday, between my class and work and his work, we managed to spend a whole 6 conscious hours together.

As part of those six hours we visited the National Gallery of Art for the George De Forest Brush show. Brush was an American painter trained in the French academy. He returned from France and spent some time living in Wyoming and Montana with the Arapahoe, Shoshone and Crow. He eventually left the West, returned to NY city to set up a studio. His work has almost never left the hands of private collectors and this was the first public show. Brush was suspicious of the modernization and its production of mass produced, cheap goods which he worried was destructive to the environment and art. Most of his paintings contain messages about conservation and preservation. The National Gallery has set up a really good website for the show so you can see most of the work here.

Brag

I just have to brag about this. I rode my bike down to the art store to buy some supplies yesterday. When I came out of the store, I found that it had started to drizzle AND the new pallet I bought was about 3 inches too long to fit in my bag. So I strapped on my helmet and peddled back in the rain, one handed!! I held my pallet in one hand, steered with my other hand while carrying my heavy shoulder bag. The rain became heavier and the wind was gusting but I kept my balance. I was so proud!! Take that stupid pregnancy books that say you should stop riding your bike at 3 months!

Swallow Mobile

I really want to get this mobile "for the baby" which means for me. Having a baby is like getting an imaginary friend who can make demands. You can say things like "I'm fine with either car seat but the baby would like..." It's a cheap trick and I try to avoid using it but I might not be able to resist for such a cool mobile. I love, I mean the baby loves swallows! And aren't they the perfect color for a newborn's inept eyes?

Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Hall

Aaron's been telling me all week that he had a surprise for me on Wednesday. I told him I was 50% excited about it. That dropped to about 30% when he told me it was right by the White House and there were no animals involved (I was imagining a really awkward work party) then 10% after he told me it was a fund raising dinner for McCain. By yesterday afternoon I was feeling under the weather and ready to call off the whole date. But Aaron seemed so eager about the whole thing that I decided I would be a good sport and swallow whatever Republican event he was dragging me to.

Lucky for me, Aaron is much more fun than I give him credit for and he surprised me with Ben Folds tickets at the DAR Constitution Hall! It was a really fun show. Ben Folds is just as crazy as ever and the show really rocked. Almost all the material was new, which was cool, and the old stuff he played was just perfect. I was really glad I had a seat but there were several songs that made me sad we weren't on a dance floor.



As a bonus I REALLY liked the opener, Missy Higgins. You can check her out here.

Kentucky Fried Chicken! Winged Fighters!

A couple nights ago I woke bolt upright at 3 AM. I tried counting sheep, I stretched out, I drank some warm milk, I read for a while but I couldn't feel the least bit sleepy. Around 4:30 I asked Aaron if he would keep me company. (It was a Saturday morning.) He rolled over and mumbled an agreement. I asked him to tell me a story thinking that might help me get back to sleep.

He started out "Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess named Katy." Aaron paused, mumbled then said "and she had to go to war. There was a war and she had to fight but that was okay because she was really strong and the German troops were coming down but that's what being an athlete is. Mumble mumble. Kentucky Fried Chicken! Winged Fighters!" And then he was out again. I think it's the best story he's ever told.

Song of the Lark

A day or so ago I started rereading one of my favorite books, The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather. Last night I read the following:

"Only, if you want a big thing, you've got to have nerve enough to cut out all that's easy, everything to be had cheap."

It was a good reminder for me. Guess I should stop watching those Star Trek reruns...

You know your kid is a nerd when...

John Steinbeck


Theodore Roethke - I love his angry face!


George Orwell


TS Elliott


Richard Hugo

You know your kid is a nerd when he starts making great 20th century literary figures from legos. But aren't they awesome! I stumbled upon them when I was looking up a Theodore Roethke poem and had to share. I think Orwell is dead on. You can see more of this guys work (including the Monty Python Dead Parrot sketch done completely in legos) here.