Epiphany

We headed out to see an Epiphany pageant last night, a play filled with adorable moments, but memorable music as well.

My favorite part was the prelude - a classical guitar solo, played by a young adult, still in high school I believe. The church was dark, he sat in a chair on the altar, under a spotlight, playing Concierto del Sol by the Mexican composer Manuel Ponce.

I'm sure most people in the audience felt as humbled as I.

If You Can't Sleep In

Woke up at the crack of dawn on this Saturday morning to get our daughters to the high school test by 8am.

Then we drove east toward the lake to run an errand. And then we drove back home.

There's something kind of beautiful and mesmerizing about driving miles through the city when there's no traffic. You notice the architecture and the new businesses and the empty storefronts . . . the way things change.

Low Tech Considered

I was thinking about that NPR show "All Tech Considered". I listen to it now and then, and have picked up some cool techie tips by doing so.

But I cling to my former low tech life, as I suspect others do.

The whole conversion to digital television, for example, was mostly an inconvenience. In our neighborhood, Channel 2 doesn't come in unless you have cable TV, and being forced to buy cable doesn't sit well with me. Six months into the endeavor, my friend's antenna recommendation solved the problem. Phew.

Then I saw how hubby could make certain people very happy by hooking up their old VCRs. At Christmastime, he helped out my father on this front. And before the day was out, Dad was blissfully watching his tape of La Bohème.

And that made my Luddite self smile.

Better than Bally

I have a lovely little yoga group. We meet in the basement of a neighborhood church.

If you can appreciate how cold that basement floor is during a Chicago winter, you will understand how loyal this group is. I tend to drop in and out, but whenever I do make class, there are A and K and C and J and E, and of course our beautiful instructor, who thanks us for practicing with her.

One evening in 2009, after class, we all rolled up our mats and walked over to A's house for strawberries and wine and conversation. Can you imagine?

It's true.

A Little Light Reading

The other day I drove a friend to the police station to pick up a police report. While waiting, I grabbed some "Tips for Teens" brochures:

The Truth about Club Drugs
The Truth about Heroin
The Truth about Cocaine
The Truth about Alcohol
The Truth about Tobacco

Tomorrow morning, school starts up again. I guess I can put this reading material out for our 14 year olds to read over breakfast. Hoo hoo! Wake up, vacation is over! Let's have a heart-to-heart!

Much to Ponder at the Vet...

...where I saw a prominently displayed flyer reminding the public that February is National Spay/Neuter Month. Cook County residents can get a $40 rebate on a spay/neuter surgery (cats, dogs, ferrets) during the month. I wonder, how much does it actually cost to neuter a ferret?

Also, the doctor reminded me to drop off a stool sample from the pooch, and handed me a high tech stool-sample-collection gadget. Hilarious!

But I don't know if I'm up for the task.

Libraryland

I'm enjoying my birthday present of Friday through Sunday delivery of The New York Times. On this morning's Chicago page, I see a news item about the Chicago Underground Library and its new permanent home in the lobby of the Red Tape Theater in Lakeview. It opens January 16.

Meanwhile, neighborhood branches of the Chicago Public Library begin reduced hours tomorrow.