Galaxy Cafe and a "WOW" Day

When you bring a die hard New Yorker who doesn't like change whatsoever from NYC to Austin you're in for a difficult ride.  And believe me I got one.  Today Abe came to the gym with me.  He doesn't come often anymore because he bikes with Reed and plays tennis with a bunch of people a few times a week.  And so he gets his exercise without the gym.  But today he joined me and then we headed up to Galaxy Cafe with a coupon I had from Groupon.  It wasn't crowded, there wasn't traffic (the gods were with me) and we sat and chatted and enjoyed the day.  The food was delicious by the way.   Then we headed over to West Elm to take a look at some leather chairs I've been too interested in.  And while we ate, Abe admitted that the move was good, life is good. And so I am eternally grateful to him for joining me in this city I love, love, love!

THE PALM BEACH STORY/AUSTIN FILM SOCIETY

Moving along in this Essential Cinema series about re-marriages we saw this film made in 1942  directed by Preston Sturges.  We laughed our heads off in response to brilliant dialogue and perfect delivery by Claudette Colbert and Joel McCrea.  The wardrobe for Ms. Colbert is breathtaking, the sets are lavish and tasteful and once again we're surrounded by the antics of the top one percenters.  Characters like the Wienie King (a rich generous hard of hearing sausage magnate from Texas) and a foreign nonsense speaking gigolo will have you laughing non-stop.  While taking the train to Palm Beach for a quickie divorce Ms. Colbert is surrounded by rich businessmen with their hunting dogs and their frat house antics.  She meets Rudy Vallee a real charmer on the train who falls for her with heart and soul (he's quite cute) and subsequently his sister, a playgirl in Palm Beach fabulously played by Marty Astor.    There is a good trick ending that had us laughing and not minding it's "happily ever after" conclusion. Abe and I loved, loved, loved this film.  Well curated and introduced by Kimberly Jones with helpful notes.

South Lamar Foot Bridge and the Ducks

After gym, errands, house stuff and laundry I walked Town Lake, over the foot bridge on S. Lamar (it is beautiful) and hit West Elm and Lululemon.  Checked out some leather chairs (I like the lighter color), called Abe, formulated a possible selling/buying purchase plan.  Headed over to a great sports/yoga/ gym store where I got the best service ever and then to Office Max for cartridges.  While all of this might sound boring it made my day.  I listened to NPR on headphones and then 94.7.  And while I walked back over the footbridge there were ducks. Lots and lots of ducks.  Swimming in formation. The sun was setting.  And I got teary eyed and thanked God for such a beautiful sight.  Now to cooking for Abe.  A good life!

Renegade Crafts Fair

I soloed down to Palmer Events Center with instructions from Abe to buy what I want. Is there something wrong?  Or did he know that this is a small crafts fair with a lot of DIYs.  No disappointment.  I bought a headband for this mass of unruly hair from a talented young woman.  But Abe did know something.  I needed time to myself to nurture myself after cooking, cleaning and being a mother to two adult children.  The gym, the fair, the NY Times and a little ol headband has me back on track.  In Austin.  My home.

Master Pancake Spoofs Tom Hanks/"Hanksgiving"

We all 4 laughed repeatedly at John Erler's spoof tonight of Tom Hanks' silly/funny films.  All but PRIVATE RYAN where nothing could make me laugh at his dying scene.  But John and company were in rare form.  Particularly when John came out buck naked at mid time in a spoof of CAST AWAY.  With Wilson his friend interviewing him about his attraction to a tennis ball (his only covering).  The audience howled.  And the theater was cold I might add.  Coming to the close of a 4 day week-end with family.  Master Pancake is a good way for us to conclude.

LOST MEMORY OF SKIN

I ordered this novel from my library after hearing the author Russell Banks on an NPR interview.  A novel about sexual offenders who find themselves homeless with ankle bracelets living under a Causeway in Florida.  What could be more unusual for a social worker who worked for 30+ years with victims of sexual abuse to find herself reading a compelling, engaging novel  offering a different point of view?  This is a well formulated fiction asking what have we done to create this population?  For everyone who thinks pornography is not an issue...imagine being 11 years old and being left alone all day long, sometimes weeks at a time and viewing internet pornography 10 hours a day.  No sex life, no normal developmental relationships, just learning about sex and relationships through internet porn sites.  Chilling I'd say.  This is an extraordinary book.  Take it out of the library. It's free and a worthwhile experience.

THE DESCENDANTS

After eating and cleaning up Liz and I headed to the Alamo S.Lamar to see this beautifully cast film.  A film about a family in crisis with proof that life is messy.  And that timing for crises is never planned accordingly.  Imagine a mother in a coma with an adolescent daughter and a 10 y.o. daughter and a husband who learns from his daughter that Mom was cheating.  Everyone in this movie is so real!  George Clooney's performance is perfect. While the young teenage boy who accompanies this family on their dark journey is something out of the ordinary  his presence adds humor to the constant presence of pain, anger and grief. The funny parts are played so well and the shot of the girl under water reacting to her mother's fate is just magnificent.  I'm glad we saw this film on Thanksgiving.  It reminded me that families are not perfect, have lots of moments of stress, can sometimes be supportive and other times cruel and hurtful.  I like confirmation of living in the real world.  And can you imagine?  People were eating french fries right next to us!  Where'd they find the room?  Happy Thanksgiving!