tue 08-03-99
I woke up last night and turned off fan, closed the window, and
pulled up the sheet and waffle blanket.
One of my new disks has songs from Twelfth Night. I remembered
the movie of it I saw a couple years ago that I liked a lot.
wed 08-04 Went to out to Chef Chang's with Valerie for peking ravioli and scallion pancakes. They have a nice seawater aquarium with large very bright and active fish. The blue one kept swimming in circles.
thu 08-05 On my way past, a music group was setting up in the little park in front of the west campus entrance. I stopped with my scone on the way back. One man had a shawm, accordion, and an old bassoon which he didn't play. There were flutes, recorders, oboe, two celtic harps, guitars, fiddle, and percusion. They called themselves Urban Myth and played international folk and early music. Only a few people were listening. I stayed for half an hour.
fri 08-06 I was able to figure out the calculated results code for the hematology enter results today, but maybe I'll just leave it for now while I write the interface for the new analyzer, and do that part of the generic interface later when the web version of the formdriver is ready.
sat 08-07 Party at Valerie's. Chips and much corn and apple pie. Games. Morocco was there. Some of us took corn shucks and saw Valerie's horse.
fri 08-13 Got my new glasses this morning. They were supposed to be ready yesterday but there was a power failure.
sat 08-14
Valerie picked me up early to go to Portland and Peak's Island
for Andy's birthday. We made it in time to pick up the parking
permit which had been left for us at the ferry ticket window and
get back for the 9:15 ferry. Then it was announced that the
ferry had engine trouble and was out of service. Instead, there
would be a car barge at 9:15 and a passenger ferry at 9:30, The
Island Romance. Valerie liked that. We found a Portland paper
and Valerie did the crossword puzzle. We stood on the top deck
in front, a crew member squeegeed the bench for us, and the
Captain blew the horn. We backed out and headed into the Bay.
I wore my rain jacket and we saw two lobster boats with seagulls
around them.
Larry and Andy and Robin and Janet and Janice and Sarah and
Emily and Nathaniel and Andrew met us at the dock. We stopped at
the library rumage and bake sale on the way to the house. Andy
took Emily to the clinic for the elbow she had scraped earlier,
and we prepared for the Uncle Andy look alike contest, with
hawaiian shirts, shorts, and glasses with strings. Valerie
examined the beach. Lunch of chips and bread and lox and tuna
and peanutbutter and jelly and melon and salad.
Janice had to leave and
we went to the fifth Maine encampment and Valerie and I
listened to three soldiers playing the fife. If Valerie hadn't
told me it was impossible I would have thought two of them were
women. They let Valerie try playing. It was black wood with
metal bands at the ends and six holes and fingered like a penny
whistle. They told her you could get plastic practice ones in
Freeport, and Valerie decided she had to have one. We saw
the sanitary inspection. The ladies found women's bloomers in
one of the tents, which was a surpise to them this year. There
were the appearently usual questions about the condition of the
men's bowels, bathing, and reading matter, the man found drunk,
the fight over cards, and the drummer boy who could count from two
to king ace. We got a tour of eighth Maine where we were staying
that night, where decendants of the unit could stay in the summer
and that now took paying guests. They had recently recoverd some
antique fixtures that had been stolen during the sixtys by buying
them at the ebay auction. We listened to the waves at night.
sun 08-15
Most of us went the Lion's pancake breakfast, with sausage and
scambled eggs. There was trading of food and an excess of orange
juice. Valerie took a picture of a trimaran. We saw Larry's
harpsicord in progress.
We all took the repaired ferry to Portland and Valerie and I
headed south to used book stores, via Twentieth Maine, the civil
war shop in Freeport. The parking lot was full so I waited in
the car while Valerie went in. It was sort of raining and there
was too much traffic to get to Bean's.
sat 08-21 Bought Richard Strauss's Sonatina for sixteen winds, "From an Invalid's Workshop," by the Nowegian Winds. I heard this piece many years ago on the radio and looked for it on LP, but could only find the follow up piece, "The Happy Workshop." Valerie liked the Mozart wind serenades. Also discovered a very nice recording of the Mozart Requiem by Martin Pearlman and Boston Baroque. It is a new completion by Robert Levin based on that of Sussmayr.
sun 08-22 Sent out a notice about a room for rent. The only reply was from a woman who said she was on vaction and telling me who to call if it was an urgent technical support issue. I thanked her and said I forgot to mention it had a private bath.
tue 08-24
Took solitare and hearts off my computers at home and at work.
My new neighbor listens to a loud television. I can't hear it
from the bedroom.
tue 08-25 Valerie and I went to the last LWB discussion in Jamaica Plain. I mistook the time and got to Green St station half an hour early. Walked over to the park where there were water jets in a large circle and watched the children play. She was early too. We had tandori curried chicken with black lentils at Bukhara and took cushions as we were advised.
sat 08-28 Got my glasses adjusted and a library card this morning. Used to get one wherever I moved, but his is the first I've had in Massachusetts. Books on Denise Levertov, whom we heard quoted at General Assembly.
sun 08-29
A man was throwing pieces of bread out into the Charles from
Magazine Park for the large flock of white geese.
Found a thin copy of Levetov's Breathing the Water and
a new book by John Varley.
As I was walking back through the little park between St Paul
and Amory streets, a large hawk swooped low under the trees. The
pigeons scattered, clattering their wings.
mon 08-30
Howard saw squid yesterday. There were lots in schools darting
in the shallow water between the seawall and dock. Two kids
were trying to catch them. Howard helped.
Went out to Walden Pond late this afternoon and swam a
little, for the first time this summer.