things i
did
in 17.
a moustache-twisting journal of the few things in my life worth mentioning
23 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 09 | 08 | 07 | 06 | 05 | 04 | 03 | 02 | 01 | 2000 | 99 | 98 | 97
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What a year. Dedicated to the glory of God.
so, what did you do?
23 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 09 | 08 | 07 | 06 | 05 | 04 | 03 | 02 | 01 | 2000 | 99 | 98 | 97
pureed cucumber
Sometime in April, I hit on a superb way to thicken up soup. Pureed cucumber. Absolutely wonderful in just about any kind of soup. It's neutral-ish, but also adds a springy freshness.
bought new tables
Our gorgeous old table was gorgeous, but just wasn't versatile enough. So we sold it and bought a beautiful maple parquet table that will host dinners, homework, crafts, and more. And also a nice tall table for Cate's supplies. Two tables!
played organ in a friend's church
Back in New York for another Ken Slavin date, I reconnected with other friends throughout the week. One was Matt, who serves as a priest at a Bronx church. He invited me to sit in for a Sunday. Tons of fun, watching him do his thing, seeing an old friend in a new-to-me element.
hit the 20-year mark
Twenty years back, I read an article about the Dvorak layout, switched that day, and never looked back. I'm still a dang quick typist, though in recent years I've had to become more ambidextrous with layouts, because we all use so many computers these days. What's weird is looking back and seeing that I've now been Dvoraking for longer than I QWERTYed.
wore oud
The enchanting fragrance from Maison Francis Kurkdjian. The first fragrance I've gotten this excited about in a long time. (More here) I'd tried a sample but never imagined that I'd have a bottle. My family, though, sprung one on me on my birthday. That's because I ...
turned 50
Half a century. I'm half as old as Finland. Suddenly, that seems like a Thing. I got to thinking about decades: ten years ago (married, childless), I was reeling from an ugly botch that stained my final moments at the church I grew up in. Ten years before that (unmarried, virgin), I premiered "The Dream of Skip," an absurdly complex church youth musical, nailed by the church youth choir. Ten years before that, I was in college, living with a hilarious and deep roommate who became a lifelong friend, and beginning to date my first girlfriend. Ten years before that, I was plowing through 4th grade with a not-good-enough teacher, and living for Sundays, Wednesday nights, afternoons with a best friend, and piano. Ten years before that, I emerged from my mother's womb and started becoming the guy you see today.
wore boots
My last really great pair of boots was a kangaroo-hide pair that had been my grandfather's. He wore a size seven; I outgrew them in middle school. I decided it was high time to have some good boots. So I got a nice shiny dressy black pair and a ready-to-scuff brown pair. They're a bit of a challenge in this skinny-pants moment. But they will outlast this moment. They feel great.
witnessed a challenge coin bestowal
Clara and I saw a man in military gear. As often, Clara went up to him to thank him for serving our country. Several attempts were aborted because he was in a transaction, then in an adult conversation. But finally she got his attention and said "Thank you for your service," very formally and prettily, accompanied by several quite ornate curtsies. The man thanked her sweetly, and then a surprise! He pulled out a gorgeous challenge coin and presented it to her. She was flabbergasted. So was I. She'll cherish this coin, and the honor it represents, the rest of her life.
smoked with andrew
Andrew and I have been in each other's lives since childhood. Our families are parallels in many ways. For years I've run into him here or there and we've promised to get together and then never did. Well, enough. We started a regular cigar and conversation date. Music, books, art, Texas, family, work, culture, and more, in a great cloud of engaging camaraderie. Why on earth haven't we been doing this for 30 years?
concerted for christmas
The Protags played with the superb San Antonio Chamber Choir, for a special Christmas concert at the Tobin Center. This choir is absolutely at the top of the form. Man, what a show!! Packed house, too.
found a fit for cate
A Honda Fit, that is. Her entire driving life, she's had to make do with the car she got. Now she finally got the car she wanted. She loves it. It's perfect. It looks like a grey wife to my silver Pacifica.
made a "night cometh" clock
One fine day I got a bunch of supplies; another fine day I got 'em out and did it. The clock is a Baptist tradition that now hangs in our house. (More here) The day turned out to be an important one, on which I
said goodbye to an old friend
From recent wide-ranging conversations at his house which graciously accommodated us regularly, through a lifetime all the way back to my kid days in RAs when he was a counselor, Randy was a rock-solid presence, easy-going about all the right things, serious about all the right things, giving a long career to helping people, loving a wife through 30-plus years of marriage, molding daughters to womanhood, his carefully-presented bull-in-a-china-shop persona never concealing his tender heart. Rest in peace, Randy, and thank you for the lasting fingerprints you have left on this world.
lost weight
50 years old, remember? At the half-century doctor's visit, the doctor gave me a spanking. She even Took Off Her Glasses. I had to get serious about my health. I did what she said, really shaping up what I ate. By year's-end I had lost 25 pounds. I've since lost another 10. It feels good and my suits look slamming again. I've always been tall and good at presentation, so I never really looked horrible, but man it's a relief. Nothing tastes as good as healthy feels.
took the best picture of my life
Clara was delighted at the rain, and insisted on going out for a rainwalk, as she often does. She was dancing around so gaily that I had to get a picture. I stuck my phone out the door, aimed in the general direction, and snapped 8 or 10 times. One of them was this photo. Unretouched: the phone textured it this way in the dim light. The neighbor's light was perfect, the crack in the driveway was perfect, the girl was perfect, the umbrella, the boots, everything. I had it printed and framed.
opened the third bottle
On our wedding day (now just over 5,000 days ago, too!) I gave Cate 3 bottles: a white to open on our first anniversary, a sturdy red on our fifth, and a well-regarded Bordeaux, Château Greysac 1991, to open in the window of time when it has matured and is at its peak. That time came. Beautifully-textured, a little dizzying at first, jammy and cherryish but not a single bit sweet. A perfect blend of flavors with the kind of spice we like in Pinot Noir and Shiraz — but occurring at a deeper level. Absolutely perfect with our dinner. Relishing each sip was a perfect metaphor for relishing each satisfying moment of our 13 years.