Happy Birthday, Brian!

Thursday was Brian's birthday, and we celebrated in full style! Brian bought us tickets to hear the Boston Symphony Orchestra play Beethoven's 8th and 9th Symphonies.

For those of you who haven't begun humming yet, the 9th is the one that ends with the Ode to Joy. And you've probably never heard the 8th before.


The Ode to Joy is sung by a full choir. I don't think I've ever been to a professional choir performance!

The other thing I really enjoyed at this concert was the pre-concert talk. During a pre-concert talk, a musicican will give a little background to the piece being played and also suggest things to listen for during the performance. Our teacher suggested we listen to the orchestra "discuss" what theme they are going to play in the 9th's fourth movement: various melodies from earlier in the piece are "suggested" until they break out into the familiar Ode to Joy.

I was surprised to learn from the program notes, that the words being sung by the choir are not those I grew up with:

Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day!

but rather are a piece of Enlightenment poetry Beethoven set to music:

Joy, beautiful divine spark,
Daughter of Elysium,
We enter, drunk with fire,
O heavenly one, your holy shrine.
Your magic once again bonds together
What custom strictly divided,
All Mankind become brothers
Where your gentle wings hold sway.

Brian really likes classical music. He grew up attending performances and pre-concert talks at the Oregon Bach Festival, he reads about the lives of musicians on his school breaks, and he seeks out the best recordings at used cd stores. I enjoy classical music, but I'm not nearly as interested in it as he is, so I wouldn't go to all the effort to learn about it as he does. I love being a sidekick to his interest, though!

Lunches for One

My husband and I have very different approaches to how we choose what we eat. Brian would be perfectly happy eating peanut butter sandwiches or Subway's parmesan chicken sandwiches every day for lunch. I, on the other hand, would prefer to eat something different every day, with the favorites rotated back in every once in awhile. Given the choice, we rarely choose to eat the same thing.

Of course, when it comes to meals at home, we compromise. The restaurants can fix us two different meals, but I will not. Sometimes, I make us safe meals - things I know we both like; and sometimes I make us experimental meals - things I think might be a stretch. And sometimes, Brian likes those experimental meals.

However, there are some things that Brian refuses to eat. For example, beans - as in black beans, refried beans, and garbanzo beans. To name a few more, there's squash, eggs, cheddar cheese, avocados, fish, lentils, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, and risotto rice. Now, in his defense, I have learned there is an exception to nearly every item on his list. For example, if the cheddar cheese is smoked, then it's good. And if the eggs have sugar and lemon juice on them (like a Dutch Baby), they're okay too.

Now, to be fair, I have food dislikes too. I really can't stand cantaloupe or goat cheese. Thankfully, these are fairly easily avoidable.

I was discussing this issue of not getting to eat as many different foods as I wanted to with a friend a few weeks ago, and she told me her strategy: she makes the things she wants to try and her husband refuses to eat for herself for lunches. Two problems solved: a cheaper, probably more healthy lunch than takeout, and an opportunity to not feel deprived of all those recipes.

I thought it was such a fabulous idea, I implemented it immediately. Gone are boring dinner leftovers and (gasp! yes, I bought some of them) frozen microwave meals. In their place are French Lentil Salad, brie cheese, artichoke antipasto, Red Lentil Soup with Lemon, black bean salsa, and this week's lunch:


Autumn Millet Bake.

I guess I should say, "Thanks, Brian, for being so picky!" and "Thanks, Sarah, for a solution!" My lunches have definitely improved because of both of you.

Where We Spend Our Days

The school year has begun, and we have settled into a routine: I go to work in the morning, and shortly after Brian leaves for classes. Most days this semester, he has classes until 4:00, and then he goes to the library to study. I get home around six and make dinner for us. At seven, he comes home and eats dinner with me. Then he goes back to the library for another study period and finally returns around 11:30.

This routine may sound pretty bad, but it is actually much better than in past years. Mostly, this is because of a new space Brian has to study in:


a library carrell!

This has been wonderful not only because it gives him a designated study place, but also because it gives him a place to stash his books. And with the recent back problems he came down with over the summer, that is wonderful in that he does not have to carry them around on his back and in that he does not have to pack them up every time he wants to take a break and walk around a little.


He's been pretty happy with it!

As for me, well, this is my view from my office:


Now, for those of you who live in wide open country, this may look pretty bleak; but I am pretty pleased with it! (Don't tell my co-workers, but my personal opinion is I have the best placed desk in the office.) First of all, it is not foam grey walls three feet away on every side. Second, this window is directly to my left - perfectly placed for daydreaming. And third, really now, the view isn't half bad! I can see the sky and the weather. There is a little rooftop garden with small trees in the distance that I can watch the wind blow around. And every once in a while, a seagull perches on the roof next to me, reminding me that we do live in a coastal town.

And that, my friends, is our context for the greater portion of our waking hours.

Do I Have the Greatest Husband Ever, or What?