Journal of a Sabbatical

December 3, 2000

hbdt

Today's Reading: The Story of the Stone (a.k.a. Dream of the Red Chamber): Volume 5: The Dreamer Wakes by Cao Xueqin and Gao E, Autumn from the Journal of Henry David Thoreau edited by H.G.O. Blake, Escape from Kathmandu by Kim Stanley Robinson, The Island of Penguins by Cherry Kearton

Dream of the Red Chamber - greatly abridged

Academic Research and Info Center for Dream of the Red Chamber - even includes a list of all the dishes (and there a great many) served at the banquets described

I feel like I crammed an entire weekend, maybe even a long weekend, into one day today. It's Thomas's birthday so Nancy and I joined my family for dinner at La Madre's house.

La Madre called me in the morning to ask me to stop for 8 ears of "five-color or was it tricolor" corn on the cob at Victory Market on the way. Who knew everybody in the entire city of Waltham buys their groceries at noon on Sunday at Victory Market? I haven't seen grocery checkout lines this long since the last time the weathermen predicted a blizzard. Call me late for dinner.

Of course I have to be the one to be late when I'm the one who has to leave early and everybody else is trying to accommodate. Before I found out La Madre was having a family gathering on Thomas's birthday I'd made plans to attend the holiday sale at The Art Well,which is the group gallery/studio space where Mark has his studio now. So the plan was we'd eat around noon and I'd leave at like 2:00 PM and get to Worcester at 3:00, stay 'til like 4:00 and get Nancy home in time to host her social worker support group at her place.

Anyway, I arrived late with bicolor corn. Not "five-colored" not "tricolor", plain old bicolor (yellow and white, if you were wondering, sometimes called butter and sugar corn). That's what was on sale 5 for $1.99. The birthday brother wasn't there yet so I didn't feel quite so bad.

La Madre prevailed upon me to read the blessing for the Advent wreath and sprinkle holy water on it. Some wisecracker asked me if Buddhists have holy water. "Of course," I replied "you just have to boil it first." Elizabeth lit the first candle and I was about to read the prayer for the first week when everybody took off to the living room to eat cheese and crackers, except those who took off to the kitchen to cook. Andrea joined me for the prayer and pointed out that I was reading from the 1999 Advent booklet. I told her I had 1991 and 1999 and asked which she preferred. 1999. So I read it to Andrea. Even La Madre was in the kitchen cooking. Weird Advent wreath lighting.

Dinner featured the aforementioned corn on the cob (bicolor), baked potatoes, carrots, broccoli, salad, and garlic bread. What am I forgetting? I think there was a meat loaf. I did not threaten the children with tofu this time. They're already planning never to eat anything I cook.

I did, however, threaten them with coal in their stockings unless they told me what they wanted for Christmas. Andrea doesn't want anything so I asked if coal and some switches would be all right. Later she told me she wants a Snowbabies ornament. Elizabeth now wants a fountain instead of a clock radio. So I was right about the soothing water sounds. I wonder if they make clock radio fountains. Wake up to the real sounds of water rushing over river stones in your very own bedroom. No need for those phony tapes and synthesized sounds, just install one of those little electric fountains in your bedroom. Hey, don't laugh, you could wake up to it. Just plug it into one of those timers that turns the lights on when you're away on vacation. That's the ticket.

After dinner we sang Happy Birthday to Thomas and ate birthday cheese cake - the cheesecake I bought for Thanksgiving that we didn't get a chance to eat with all those pies. With a choice of toppings: blueberry or cherry.

I looked at my watch and declared it past time to go.

It took a little over an hour to get to Worcester 'cause I took Rt. 9 (Massachusetts readers will understand that. For out of state readers I should explain that Rt. 9 is not really a highway, it's the world's longest strip mall.) I was glad we were able to squeeze in the visit to The Art Well. Mark showed us his studio and the kilns and some works in progress. It's a nice space in an old red brick industrial building in downtown Worcester. Very arty. We had some time to look at the stuff for sale in the gallery and chat with Mark before getting Nancy home in time for her social worker support group meeting at her house at 6:30.

By the time I got home to my house I was exhausted. Did that stop me from ordering several Christmas presents from amazon.com? Nope. Did that stop me from working on the MRFRS volunteer newsletter? Nope. What's that old saying? If you really want something done, ask a busy person?