They led off with Hayden (Quartet in C, Op. 74, No. 1) followed by Debussy and some folk music sets from Scotland. The program included excerpts from Beethoven, Schubert, Tchaikovsky. And more folk songs from Scotland of the 1700s. I really enjoyed their explanations which ranged from a jig to a tarantella which is named for a spider. Supposedly, when bitten by a spider, you did a dance -- a tarantella. I don't know if that is made up, but I enjoyed listening to the Scottish accent.
[A tarantella is not an eight-legged creature but is in fact a dance, or the music for it, in lively 6/8 time. It gets its name from the Italian port of Taranto, as does the tarantula. The words are united in an old folk belief that frenzied dancing was required to avoid death after a tarantula bite.] ~ vocabulary.com
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On Monday night, when I brought out the trash, I was transfixed by the moon.
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Since it's just past Midnight, it is now Valentine's Day. Happy V Day to you. I looked it up and it certainly did not have romantic beginnings. Starting off with pagans celebrating in February, frowned on by a Pope, somebody decided to make it a celebration of Valentinius (Valentine). Apparently, there were three different Valentines -- or not. Word of mouth wasn't reliable; there might have been two different stories about one of them. At any rate, all of them seem to have been beheaded after performing healing miracles. (Note to self: do not publicize any miracles performed.)
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Two elderly ladies were chatting.
Mable: All I read about is mutual orgasm this and mutual orgasm that. Did you ever have mutual orgasm, Tillie?
Tillie: No, I think we always had State Farm.
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We broke the Rule of Three today. You know, don't go to more than three places in one day. (Emily said, "Why?" I said, "Because we're old and we get tired!)
We began with breakfast at IHop, then on to Costco (we had to go back after groceries for gas because on the first pass, it was all blocked off), followed by Glossy's (I bought a bathing suit cover up). In the afternoon, we went to Desert Oasis (health center) to get Mom's new wrist blood pressure cuff calibrated.
From the You Can't Make This Stuff Up Department: as we were getting into the car to get the b.p. cuff set, Mom dropped it on the floor of the garage. No big deal, right? Um, well ... it went under the car. And I couldn't back the car out for fear of running over it. I had her hand me a long handled mop. No, I did not hit anything with it. So I got down on my knees -- on the cement floor -- to see that the darn thing was near the back wheel. I was able to sweep it out. Then I realized what a bad idea it was to be kneeling on the cement. Needless to say, I did get up but there were a couple of tense moments there. I think going to the gym regularly has clouded my mind and I think that I am actually fit and agile.
Last Saturday, Mom and I went to another free concert at Agua Caliente Casino. You have to pick up the tickets before 6 p.m. and then the show is on at 8 p.m. Guess what you're supposed to do then? We actually went to supper but we did gamble a bit after the show. (Nope, no winning although I did get to stretch my money for a while.) The main band was Ambrosia who were popular (they said) in the 70s and 80s. They had a big bunch of fans there, but I felt their lead singer should have retired. Of course, this critique is from someone who can't sing, but I can recognize good singing.
View from parking garage at Agua Caliente Casino (logo on right)
The next day, Carole treated Mom and me to Sunday brunch at the Casino steak house. Wow, was that delicious!! And it came with a $25 free play for all of us. Thank you, Carole! That was her birthday present for the two of us.
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Speaking of birthday presents, Mom is taking me on a seven day cruise to Mexico. Woo hoo! We leave Saturday from L.A. The first stop is Cabo San Lucas, then Mazatlan, followed by Puerto Vallarta.
I'm really glad we have 5 smart casual nights (see: above). I really hate the stupid nights.
Have a wonderful Friday and weekend. Cheers!
