First, I have a belated celebrity death to report. Namely, Alan Dundes died back in March. For those who don't immediately recognize the name, he was a folklorist who is probably best known for his collections of photocopier lore, i.e. the humorous flyers that used to go around at offices but are now sent largely by email. He also collected a truly astonishing number of versions of Cinderella.
This was a particularly insane week at work, with some last minute high level briefings and the like. I have a feeling the coming week is going to be pretty bad, too. Oh, well, that's just how it goes sometimes. It was annoying that I was stuck at the office late on Thursday night, since that was the free parking day at the Udvar-Hazy Center (the newish branch of the Air and Space Museum out by Dulles Airport.) Parking there is normally 12 bucks, so I would have liked to have gone, but I didn't even get home until after 7 and, while it's only about a 20 minute drive, that still wouldn't have left me enough time to make it worth it.
I did manage to get out on Monday night. Alexander McCall Smith was doing a signing at a bookstore in the District. Since I got my mother hooked on the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, I figured a signed copy of the newest would be an appropriate Mother's Day gift. Smith was quite an engaging speaker, by the way. He told a very funny story about a judge in Northern Ireland who decided to leave a lecture early by crawling out. The problem was that he had bodyguards, who were then faced with an interesting etiquette dilemma. If they walked out, that would defeat the judge's attempt to be inconspicuous. In the end, they decided to sort of crouch. The bookstore also served bush tea and one person in the audience asked Smith if he was responsible for the wider availability of rooibos in the States.
As for the weekend, I had a too brief phone conversation with Robert. I had to cut it off so I could get over to the used bookstore and get rid of another batch of books. 37 out, and only 9 in, with about $12 worth of credit left for the future. On the way home, I ran a few other errands. Then I went to see Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The movie was better than I expected. Plot was never the strong point in anything Douglas Adams did, so I suspect the whole thing would make no sense to anybody who didn't know the source material. Alan Rickman as the voice of Marvin was perfect casting, but I thought Marvin was too round and shiny. And I hated the way they did Zaphod's second head. On the plus side, I liked the point of view gun, which would be way useful in my life. Overall, it was entertaining, but not a must see.
Today, I drove out to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. One of the things I always find surprising is that there are still farms left in the mid-Atlantic region, surprisingly close to the affluent suburbs. Most of the point of going to things like this for me is adding to the stash of knitting yarn and I certainly did that. I did restrain myself and not buy a lot of gorgeous but pricy stuff. But I got wool for three sweaters, plus a couple of smaller projects. Mostly, I focus on buying hand-dyed yarns from non-local artisans. I also bought one stuffed animal - a llama that was just irresistably cute. All the way home, I indulged my fantasy of having an alpaca and llama farm.
Copyright 2005 Miriam H. Nadel