Harpsichordian: Summer Journal: Week 2

Now that I go on morning walks nearly every day, I have been judging lawns and edging (ours is definitely not in the competition).

LUNA BOMB

This weekend was eventful. I mentioned my brothers had their birthdays last weekend, so this Sunday held the surprise party for Rich, the older one. His wife, Sally, planned it. What she didn't know, however, was the surprise-within-a-surprise: my parents, other brother and niece drove in from Boise on Saturday to attend the party. Here they are looking at photo albums of little Richie; my dad's at the table preparing a sweet tribute to read to his son.

We got Rich out of the house on Sunday by taking him on tour of several breweries in town: Big Barn, Budge Brothers and Ramblin' Road.

When we got back from the tour, this was waiting for him in the backyard. Such fun. There are oodles of musicians in this photo.

I have been breaking up the workday with some beautiful walks around campus and good podcasts to listen to along the way. My favorites are always This American Life, Fresh Air, America's Test Kitchen Radio, and The Splendid Table. This past week I threw in a few wildcards, which were pretty good: The Dinner Party (featured an interview with Steve Martin), a couple of the New Yorker's Out Loud, and The Scrum, which was a little snooty but interesting anyway. When I looked down to adjust the volume on my earbuds one day, I noticed that I had a little traveling partner on my shirt.

Monday was a big day: I was able to officially declare myself DONE with the book I've been working on for pretty much the last year. In celebration, I felt I should take Tuesday off. So I did. After a leisurely morning at home, I went to the library and got my traditional mix: 1 fiction (Telegraph Avenue by Michael Chabon), 1 nonfiction (Weeds by Richard Mabey), and two cookbooks (Vegan Before 6 [VB6] by Mark Bittman and The Heart of the Plate by Mollie Katzen).

I also planned it so that I could watch the USA play Belgium in the World Cup.

I left work early on Thursday and hit up the Thursday Market in the Perry District as things were just setting up, which meant I got my pick of the best berries.