Friday was the last day of classes. It was a Jasper-care day for me, doing some grading and catching up on email while he napped. The kids let me off early because I had to drive down to campus to run the iSchool student awards ceremony, a hybrid event, decoupled from the graduation ceremony for the first time this year. I was supposed to be there at 4:00 to set up the zoom. And refreshments. The drive was a little harrowing at 3:30 on a Friday, the last day of classes, and I decided to go through town instead of the Beltline, and I think that was a mistake. But I got there right at 4:00, and of course there was a ton of traffic and pedestrians in the little dead end of Park St. between HC White and the Union, and there was a guy in an event parking vest standing in the middle of the steep ramp down into lower parking where I have my parking spot. So I thought it was one of those deals where UW sells our parking spots to paying customers. I rolled down the window and told him I had a permit and needed to get in because I had a work event upstairs and he said, “Mam, I’ve got nothing to do with that, the gate should open for you” and to my credit I did not say “then why the fuck are you standing in the middle of the entrance?”; I just proceeded on in. And the event went just fine, a little clunky but OK for the first time.
It was also gallery night, and we had made a plan to go to places we could get to by car to spare my knee. First Working Draft, a brewpub where RP’s Pasta used to be (in fact on the RP’s website there’s still a picture of the building in the About section) because Kiera, who was our former exchange student Belana’s best friend when she was here 2016-17 school year (I mean they got friendly then and they’re still friends) was showing her paintings there. Mark bought a print and I ordered one. Then we moved on to Talbot’s Gallery at Schenk’s Corners and parked in the Barrymore’s lot under my former bedroom window when I lived on Rusk St. I know a bunch of the artists represented, Andy Ewen, Sharon Kilfoy, Skinny Gavier, and the last time I went to gallery night there, Skinny & Andy were paying guitar. Not this time, and there was a lot of nice stuff to see, but it was crowded and we didn’t stay for long. We proceeded on to Garver Feed Mill, and there was art there too, and our initial plan was to maybe see the art and then and get Ian’s pizza for dinner. Pizza won, and we ate and went home and didn’t visit the art there.
Earlier in the week I got a little fixated on Phoebe Bridgers at the Met Gala. She is wearing Tory Burch and it’s intended to look like her signature skeletons.
Tuesday when I was with Jasper he was so so close to rolling over.
Thursday I rode my bike to work for my first little bike ride and it felt great. The main problem is I can’t really stand up on the pedals – it hurts – and I like to do that frequently on my 7-speed commuter bike, to get up that last bit of hill or even more, speed up to get out a bad situation. But oh well, hopefully every ride will be building up to standing. Saturday I rode to the library. Campus is something like 1.4 miles by bike, the library is almost 2, so progress. Today (Sunday) I’m planning to bike to our afternoon symphony, and that’s 2 miles on the nose.
Friday Emma and Jasper and I sat out on their deck in the morning before it got too sunny, and later just he & I went back. The afternoon sun had moved around, and I neglected to put a sun hat on him, but made do with a burp cloth.
Saturday I celebrated the last day of classes by NOT doing any work – give my students time to hand stuff in. I have some assignments that were due Friday 5/5 and a set of four group projects that are not due until May 9. Mark walked to the big farmers market on the Capitol square, and I drove to the pick up market and the co-op. When I got home, I had some banana bread I made Thursday night with frozen bananas (I am emptying out the freezer for its annual Memorial Day defrost) for breakfast with the tulips Mark got at the market. The King Arthur 2018 recipe of the year.
Banana bread with cream cheese and a drizzle of honey, tulips not shown
Saturday brekkie with tulips
We had curried chicken salad (my old old recipe), Coronation Chicken (NYT updated recipe), and Victoria sponge for dinner in honor of King Charles’ coronation, that we did not watch. I filled the sponge with rhubarb puree thus saving the last of our home made strawberry jam for eating. I’ll be able to make more in June probably. We ate the cake with strawberries and creme Anglaise that got a little curdled – I tried an extra egg yoke-y recipe and think I better go back to my usual – but it tasted OK. While eating our dessert, we watched the third episode of the Bridgerton prequel, Queen Charlotte and it was those characters’ coronation day too, gold coach and everything. I thought it started a little slow, but like I said it’s episode 3 and I’m hooked now.
Al and Emma and Jasper had a Derby party. They are so stylish.
And I just turned the heat off and opened the windows, cuz it’s warmer outside than in here!