“Kitchen’s Finished”
I finished watching the movie “Penguin Bloom” with my elliptical workout on Monday morning. I really enjoyed and recommend this film. Penguin is actually an injured magpie that Naomi Watts’ character and her family adopt. Penguin helps her adjust to being in a wheel chair after an accident.
By an interesting coincidence, Naomi Watts was also in “Demolition”, the next movie that I watched with my workout. This film was mildly entertaining and nowhere near as good as “Penguin Bloom.”
A nice walk in the afternoon finished up my Monday exercise regime. Brandi Carlile’s “Broken Horses” kept me company. She performs a relevant song at the end of each chapter – a cover of Neil Young’s “Philadelphia” was excellent and almost topped by her version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”. Unfortunately these songs only appear to be available as part of the audio book.
Tuesday’s exercise was a pleasant swim at the gym – only issue was the water aerobics class in the two lanes next to me – very noisy and excitable instructor. I had some free time later in the afternoon and got some reading time with a coffee at Duino. The new hardwood floors were installed in the kitchen and look great. I’m quite happy that Diana talked me into having the same floor throughout the ground floor – it really makes the kitchen and living area seem more like one big, open space.
We received this picture from Clorinda’s neighbors – this mountain lion has been seen quite a bit during the day on Gypsy Hill lately, and seems very comfortable up next to the houses. We’re going to have to think twice about going out for walks on the hill when we visit next week.
Diana joined me for a walk on Wednesday afternoon. The living room was finally put back together at the end of the day. We’re almost ready to take up residence in there again – just some final touch ups to be finished.
Thursday was the highlight of my week. I was able to attend the Byron Nelson golf tournament with a couple of work colleagues. The tournament moved to the Craig Ranch TPC – just a few miles from our home. Our CEO is a member of the salesmanship club that hosts the event, and was gracious enough to provide us with some 17th hole skybox tickets. The 
weather was perfect – mid 70s and not blazing hot and humid as is typical for this event. Jordan Spieth is from Dallas and so was a big draw on the course. We were fortunate to have great spots to watch him making an eagle putt attempt on the 12th hole – right until the mobile cameras moved directly in front.
Here’s his eagle attempt:
And here he taps in the birdie:
Diana was quite excited when the pendant lights were installed above the kitchen island – Jose had me stand next to it so that he could make sure my head didn’t bump into them. I do think they look great – and not too blue like the designing twins thought.
We had a work dinner at Del Frisco’s Grille in downtown Dallas – a bit of a drive but great to see some of our colleagues from Mexico who were visiting. I loved the short rib stroganoff that I chose for dinner.
Work on the kitchen was pretty much completed on Friday – right on schedule with just a few small touch up things to be done. That and the appliances that should trickle in over the next few weeks. Here are some pictures – our favourite touches are the pendant lights, the waterfall island slab, and the lighted display boxes on top of the cabinets.
Diana spent most of Saturday loading things back into the cabinets. Note one of the must have spice racks open on the right.
We chuckled at the entirety of Jose’s plans for the kitchen:
Patty and Brent always find the best cards. Masquerading as “normal” (whatever that looks like) is indeed exhausting.
Sunday began with a walk, trying to beat the rain forecast for late morning, and then consistently for the next 10 days. Just a light sprinkle and a lot of humidity. I’m watching the final round of the Byron now as I finish up this post, Spieth is now 5 shots behind K.H. Lee – they started the round early in hopes of finishing before the rain gets too bad.
My reading this week was by Ann and Anne. First was “Run” by Ann Patchett
Set over a period of twenty-four hours, “Run” is a story about how worlds of privilege and poverty can exist only blocks apart from each other, and how family can include people you’ve never even met.
Since their mother’s death, Tip and Teddy Doyle have been raised by their father. As the former mayor of Boston, Bernard Doyle wants to see his sons in politics, a dream the boys have never shared. But when an argument in a New England snowstorm causes an accident that involves a stranger and her child, all Bernard Doyle cares about is his ability to keep his children—all his children—safe.
Tip and Teddy’s brother, Sullivan, is the least pleasingly developed of the otherwise excellent characters in this novel. We are given quick glimpses into what went wrong with his life, and then that is all dropped and forgotten. I wonder if there was a lot more about him in an early draft and then that was edited out? This passage reminds me of ultimately realizing that it’s true what we are told – you never stop worrying about your kids:
“Even when Sullivan was a teenager he had a certain formality when things were very bad, as if he was preparing to serve as the counsel for the defense. Doyle wondered if he needed to spend some time worrying about Sullivan on top of everything else, even though he had sworn off that pastime years ago.
Once he was in his room with the door closed, Doyle realized he wasn’t going to get to anyone on his list.”
This is the episode that sets the whole story off:
“He was a boy stepping out in front of a car he clearly did not see. Tip kept his head in his books, in the clouds, with the fishes. He didn’t pay attention. She pushed him, but not because he was hers. She pushed him because he was there and the car was there. She pushed him so hard she was certain she had sent him sailing up through the falling snow and into the night like a punch form a cartoon character. Pow! He spun off towards the stars. Had she knocked him clear to safety? She had never hit anyone as hard as she hit Tip, and then, as if in reply, she was hit by the car.”
Describing Kenya, the just discovered sister, running on the Harvard indoor track, and one of the reasons for the title of the book:
“They were no longer waiting to see how fast she could go, they knew how fast she could go. Now they wanted to see how long it would be before she crashed, and if that was what they were waiting for they might as well sit down and get comfortable.
Tip had never seen anything like it. Not just the speed but the utter effortlessness of it all, the way the toes of her shoes barely touched down before she set off again. She was a sprinter, clearly she was a sprinter, and yet she just kept going until he started to change his mind and wonder if she wasn’t going to knock out a half marathon on the track while he sat there waiting.”
This was an excellent read and I highly recommend this and the other Patchett books that I’ve read, with “Bel Canto” being my least favourite.
My next book was “The Beginner’s Goodbye” by Anne Tyler.
Crippled in his right arm and leg, Aaron grew up battling with a sister who constantly wanted to micro-manage him. So when he meets Dorothy, an outspoken, independent young woman, she’s like a breath of fresh air. He marries her quickly, and they have a relatively happy, unremarkable marriage. Aaron works at his family’s vanity-publishing business, turning out titles designed to guide beginners through the trials of life. But when a tree crashes into their house and Dorothy is killed, Aaron feels as though he has been erased forever. Only Dorothy’s unexpected appearances from the dead—in their house, on the roadway, in the market—help him to live in the moment and to find some peace. Gradually, Aaron discovers that maybe for this beginner there is indeed a way to say goodbye.
A paragraph that hit very close to home with our ‘interim kitchen’ in the bedroom/master bathroom. It’s from the book “Beginners Kitchen Remodeling”, published by Aaron’s company:
” ‘Knowing What You Want’ was the first chapter. (Where in your present kitchen do you do your slicing and dicing? Do you, in fact, do any slicing and dicing?) ‘Communicating with Your Contractor’ was the second. Almost the entire remainder of the book consisted of what now seemed to me an inordinately detailed plan for setting up an interim kitchen in a spare bathroom.”
Some of the classic Tyler dialogue that captures real world domestic life so well:
” ‘Oh, I didn’t realize it had to have historical significance.’
‘Dorothy,’ I said. ‘Would you rather just not do this?’
‘I said I would, didn’t I? But then all you can come up with is this fusty old place where your parents used to eat. And when I question it, you fly into a huff and turn down everything else I suggest.’
‘I didn’t turn down “everything else”; I turned down Jean-Christophe. It just so happens that I dislike a restaurant where the waiters require more attention than my date does.’
‘Where would you be willing to eat, then?’
“Oh shoot,’ I said, ‘I don’t care. Let’s just go to Jean Christophe.’
‘Well, if you don’t care, why do we bother?’
‘Are you deliberately trying to misunderstand me?’ I asked her.”
I enjoyed this song from Frank Black, former frontman of the Pixies. Interestingly I was just having a conversation about the Pixies with our HR leader at dinner on Thursday, and recommended the Loud Quiet Loud documentary about the band.
A great version of “Love Train” by Paul Thorn, a musician from Tupelo, Mississippi, who was a professional boxer for several years before being discovered playing in a local pizza restaurant.
And finally, here’s one from the Hothouse Flowers – an album I used to play all the time and had forgotten about.
Stay safe, patient, and kind.