Monday, June 12, 2017

Things That Make Me Happy






Although we had horrible weather over our two weeks on Cape Cod, we still had a good time. Phil walked his way back to his pre-treatment strength. And that was nearly a year ago now. A lost year in some ways but not in all ways.
We saw an interesting play (SEX WITH STRANGERS) a terrific cello concert, one good movie (WONDER WOMAN) and spent a lot of time with good friends. Not much reading took place although Phil enjoyed DODGERS (Bill Beverly) and THE HOLY THIEF (William Ryan). I read and discarded books. We ate a lot of seafood. Probably a poisonous amount.


It made me happy that the cellist (Amit Peled) is touring with six of his students from the Peabody School of Music. One was only seventeen. All of them were great cellists. Maybe classical music will survive.
I am happy to announce that Polis is going to publish my story collection: I BRING SORROW AND OTHER STORIES OF TRANSGRESSION in early 2018. A lot of them appeared in places unseen by most people and a few are brand new.
Glad to be back though. I have a lot of work to do and it's been a while since I could say that.
And here is a crazy sign we saw in an elevator.
Every fifteen minutes!!!! All of the directions seem strange. I almost took the stairs.



10 comments:

Jeff Meyerson said...

Great to have you back. Congratulations on the book and great news about Phil's recovery. Yes, it does take a long, long time. It took Jackie over two years after her knee replacement to be anywhere close to normal and another year to really get there.

Things that made me happy this week: seeing Deb and John on their whirlwind tour of New York and taking them on the Staten Island Ferry. (They went back to Times Square, we saw a George Thorogood concert.)

Seeing our EIGHTH show (half on Broadway, half off-) in the last eight weeks (we have another next Sunday), the very interesting COST OF LIVING. (The New York Times review.) Present Laughter (for which Kevin Kline deservedly won a Tony), Groundhog Day, A Doll's House Part 2 (Laurie Metcalf won for this), and Indecent were among the others.

Discovering a new author - Sebastian Kope, whose COLLECTING THE DEAD I really liked.

Clearing up (OK, I returned a couple unread) my library downloads and getting my other library books down to a reasonable level.

BOSCH on Amazon Prime

George said...

I happy you're back and Phil is feeling better!

I'm happy I went to my local Regal Theater this weekend and watched six hours of great piano playing in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.

I'm also happy I'm finally reading WAR & PEACE in preparation for the Broadway play we're going to see in a couple of weeks: Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812.

pattinase (abbott) said...

I loved the second and third season of BOSCH, Jeff.
I wonder if that's coming here, George. I bet Josh Groban is not in the touring company.
How nice to spend time with Deb!

Unknown said...

Welcome back. Glad to hear the good news on Phil, and congrats on the new book deal.

pattinase (abbott) said...

Thanks, Bill.

Jerry House said...

Speaking of Cape Cod, real fried clams (with the bellies) make me happy. The best I have ever had was in a dive (now long out of business) near the Hyannis airport.

George Saunders' book, LINCOLN IN THE BARDO.

I'm happy my kids and grandkids got to see dolphins and sea turtles while boating on Santa Rosa Sound. Being close to some of the wonders of nature is an experience never to get tired of.

Grandson Mark is off with friend's church group to do work for the needy in Alabama. So proud of the young man he is becoming. He made honor roll, as did his sister.

Had a wonderful time at the Kangaroo's Pre-K graduation. All the kids were adorable and Jack was very enthusiastic, using his program as a megaphone during the songs. His teachers did a marvelous job with the whole class this year.

A bonus happiness: I get to read your blog every day again, while knowing that Phil is better and that I have another book from you to look forward to. More bonuses: Rick seems to be doing well and Sandy Tipple is getting feisty -- both good things.

Rick Robinson said...

I'm happy you're back, and to hear Phil has "walked himself" back into shape. Boy, do I need to do that.

I'm happy the garden is looking so wonderful.

I'm happy to have just re-read ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN, which I hadn't read since 1974.

I'm delighted your book of stories has been picked up. Wonderful!

Anonymous said...

So glad you had a good time, and it's great to hear Phil is doing well!

Steve Oerkfitz said...

Patti, WONDER WOMAN isn`t just a 'good' film, its a supreme masterwork and one of the greatest super-hero movies ever made.

Yvette said...

Welcome back, Patti. Even if the weather didn't cooperate, it sounds as if you and Phil had a relaxing time. Relaxation is strengthening, I've always believed.

I'm hoping to see WONDER WOMAN soon (meant to over last weekend, but my little dog Rocky became ill and you know how that goes) - most everyone is raving over it.