Playing "Catch Up" On A Broken Guitar
I don't know much about musical instruments, but I'm a broken guitar today if there ever was one. My throat is raw, so the sounds that I emit are wrong notes. I don't know if strings are supposed to be loose or stiff--but today, I'm a broken string, a string on the verge of snapping: awkward, out of practice, twangy-y.
My mom was here last week and we spent it in a whirlwind: shopping, walks downtown, cooking delicious meals, taking a one-day bus trip to Manhattan, ambling around the Frederick Festival of Arts, and celebrating our littlest guy's birthday (he's three today; YAYYYY!).
Our trip to Manhattan was a highlight. We strut through the city like we owned it, splashing through dirty puddles (it rained for most of the day), pushing in and out of quirky shops, and upscale ones, too. The hell with it; they were all upscale: fancy expensive yarns, billowy skirts, embroidered cardigans, beaded necklaces, silver earrings, flaaaaat shoes, vintage toy cars, sculptures, bowler hats. We walked the length of Broadway from 35th Street, ending up in Greenwich Village, then darting over to SoHo. We backtracked through the Village to Little Italy, where I hailed a cab (first try!) and we zoomed back up a zillion blocks to 82nd Street (lotta traffic, lotta road rage from our driver who muttered "fucking idiots, fucking people" constantly) and The Met. We were only able to spend a bit of time at the Met because we needed to get back to Macy's, where the bus was picking us up to take us back to Maryland ("Crabcakes and football, that's what Maryland does!"). I bought my children Willliam hats, recorders, and art books (M got Vincent Van Gogh, J got Matisse). I bought Lou two art books and myself a Vincent Van Gogh bookmarkand this guy: The Lives of the Muses : Nine Women & the Artists They Inspired by Francine Prose.
We ate, too: at The Cellar Bar and Grill (basement of Macy's) and The Silver Spurs Diner (Village).
Oh, and our busdriver was crazy. His name was Bill and he was about 80 years old. He drove confidently, zipping through the Lincoln Tunnel, rumbling over bridges, edging other cars off of the road while everyone was jockeying for an exit ramp. We watched The Princess Diaries II on the bus and I was appalled by the whole thing--stupid plot, stupid message. A woman has no business getting married if she's gonna have children and teenagers at her bachelorette party, then make everyone participate in an activity like mattress surfing (alright, I can mayyyyybe see "mattress surfing," but only if there were beer, margaritas, and injuries involved).
I have much to catch up on (blog reading, emails, a meme from Susan, morning pages). I will be holed up in my quiet, air-conditioned house today, aloe slathered on my ridiculous sunburn, chain-drinking coffee to soothe my raw throat.
Hope that you all had a great weekend.
Here's to a happy week ahead!
My mom was here last week and we spent it in a whirlwind: shopping, walks downtown, cooking delicious meals, taking a one-day bus trip to Manhattan, ambling around the Frederick Festival of Arts, and celebrating our littlest guy's birthday (he's three today; YAYYYY!).
Our trip to Manhattan was a highlight. We strut through the city like we owned it, splashing through dirty puddles (it rained for most of the day), pushing in and out of quirky shops, and upscale ones, too. The hell with it; they were all upscale: fancy expensive yarns, billowy skirts, embroidered cardigans, beaded necklaces, silver earrings, flaaaaat shoes, vintage toy cars, sculptures, bowler hats. We walked the length of Broadway from 35th Street, ending up in Greenwich Village, then darting over to SoHo. We backtracked through the Village to Little Italy, where I hailed a cab (first try!) and we zoomed back up a zillion blocks to 82nd Street (lotta traffic, lotta road rage from our driver who muttered "fucking idiots, fucking people" constantly) and The Met. We were only able to spend a bit of time at the Met because we needed to get back to Macy's, where the bus was picking us up to take us back to Maryland ("Crabcakes and football, that's what Maryland does!"). I bought my children Willliam hats, recorders, and art books (M got Vincent Van Gogh, J got Matisse). I bought Lou two art books and myself a Vincent Van Gogh bookmarkand this guy: The Lives of the Muses : Nine Women & the Artists They Inspired by Francine Prose.
We ate, too: at The Cellar Bar and Grill (basement of Macy's) and The Silver Spurs Diner (Village).
Oh, and our busdriver was crazy. His name was Bill and he was about 80 years old. He drove confidently, zipping through the Lincoln Tunnel, rumbling over bridges, edging other cars off of the road while everyone was jockeying for an exit ramp. We watched The Princess Diaries II on the bus and I was appalled by the whole thing--stupid plot, stupid message. A woman has no business getting married if she's gonna have children and teenagers at her bachelorette party, then make everyone participate in an activity like mattress surfing (alright, I can mayyyyybe see "mattress surfing," but only if there were beer, margaritas, and injuries involved).
I have much to catch up on (blog reading, emails, a meme from Susan, morning pages). I will be holed up in my quiet, air-conditioned house today, aloe slathered on my ridiculous sunburn, chain-drinking coffee to soothe my raw throat.
Hope that you all had a great weekend.
Here's to a happy week ahead!
posted by Cate at 6:45 AM
11 Comments:
Oh your weekend sounds devine! i want to go and do all of the things you said...even just to listen to a NY cabby swear sounds so, so BIG CITY! Sigh...
Your new books sounds devine, let me know if you like it. It piqued my interest. Happy Birthday to you sweetie, wow three! That's exciting. Hope you feel better too. Try some lemon tea, not coffee.
a.
This sounds like such a wonderful trip! I am jealous, but grateful to have shared the journey through your blog!
xoxo
What an awesome weekend. Too bad you didn't have more a choice on your bus movie!!!!! I have 2 girls, and George who has no opinion(YET), so I have had to endure that movie, and the first one, and lots of Hillary Duff ones too! I know how painful they can be. I try to nap my way through them.
And coffee to soothe a sore throat? Now that is a new one for me. Take care. I too wish us all a happy week. My computer was absolutely in a coma since friday...so I have a lot to catch up on, just not at a ground breaking pace anymore!
I want a weekend like that.. shopping and crabcakes - in addition to cabbies who constantly curse. That sounds just fabulous to me!!
If I went on a chain-drinking binge of coffee I would have some sort of massive panic attack!! I can't wait to see what sort of writing that inspires!
I'm glad you had such a lovely weekend. And I'm with you - here's to a happy week ahead.
AAaaahhh, that sounds fabulous! Well, except for the sunburn and sore throat at the end. But the rest of it sounds like a blast!
It sounds like a great trip and YES! When you come to the city in August, please lets get together for a drink, I would love that.
Feel better hon and I am so envious of that weekend, I so need one of that manner.
Wow you covered a lot of ground. I think I feel tired just reading about it. Feel better soon.
Welcome back to you Cate! Glad you had some one on one time with your mom! Sounds like a wonderful trip!! I'm still feeling moved by your last post, the idea of your family sitting around having your own dear poetry reading. I wish this would become a family ritual that could spread like wildfire.
what a fantastic weekend! you really did it all and told it splendidly (as usual)...i especially like the bit about the bus driver.
i need a weekend like that...all i did this weekend was sit around watching football while eating crabcakes ;-)
A,
Wouldn't it be so much if we could all meet in the city? Oh, the food, the laughter! It seems so sophisticated to me (but then, I define sophistication as the settings in Woody Allen movies!)!
Thank you for the birthday wishes for my little guy! Also, I had to drink coffee (aside from hot chocolate, it is the only warm beverage I like! Hate tea--blechhh!). Thanks for the suggestion, though. xo
Baylor,
Thank you! It was such a short trip, though--I think we were only there 6 hours! Hope you are feeling better! Each day is just a bit closer to the main event (and your body belonging to YOU again!). xo
Bec,
I do not know how you stand it. There were all of these women on the bus practically sobbing over that movie and gushing about how romantic it was, and I was like: you've gotta be kidding me. I'm all for romance, and that, that movie was not one bit romantic (though I can absolutely see how it would appeal to young girls!). You should've seen the husbands on the bus--they'd perked up at the idea of watching and movie and THAT was what they got! Needless to say, they all slept!
Hope you've had a good time catching up! xo
Holli,
Y'know, in hindsight, the coffee might not have been a wise idea. I felt very wiggy last night, and I didn't put it together with the coffee consumption until after I read your comment. Today, I'm going to try to drink more water!
Thanks for your kind words! The cabbie was my favorite part! xo
Deb,
It was nice! Hope you are feeling rested up from your weekend, too!
Tara,
It was wonderful, though I have to tell you, every time I visit your site, I feel like I'm treated with a little trip to Paris! I was visiting you last night and just in awe over your photos! You get my wanderlust going!
Kiki,
Thanks! I thought of you often, esp. when I was in the Village! I wish that I had written down some of the places you'd recommended on your blog! Yes, here's to a drink in August!
Shannon,
Oh, it's so nice to get away! I hope you are able to do that soon! Thank you for your lovely words--I feel much better today!
Harmony,
Yes, too much ground. It was exhausting (at least, for me; my mother was not the tiniest bit daunted . . . or tired!). Thank you for the get well words! I appreciate them!
Alexandra
Thank you! That poetry night was so much fun! I'm blessed with a mother and a husband who are good sports and are open to feeling passionate about the things that make me feel passionate! It would be lovely if families had poetry readings. My boys enjoy poetry (Shel Silverstein is their favorite!)--I hope that there love for language continues! Thank you again!
Susan,
You know I loved this comment! Thank you for acknowledging my Maryland remark! I love this state, really! And you're doing great things with One Deep Breath--I love it!
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