A Rash of Outings:

Upon return from two weeks of vacation time, there was such a backlog of paperwork and appointments and excess stuff to deal with that I felt I needed a break!

Fortunately, HM and I were offered (by friends of ours) tickets to a concert that proved to be quite delightful!  It was four saxophone players from Germany--Arcis Saxophone Quartet.


I fear I over-indulged in recordings of the performance.  You must understand, Viewer Dear, I had such a great seat, so close to the front of the auditorium. I thoroughly enjoyed the performance, too. Each piece seemed to top the one before it!  It's tough deciding which bits to share.

These may not be the best clips, but they give you a touch, a tiny taste, a feel for  the concert. So there you go, Listener-Viewer Dear; if you listen and view, maybe you'll get a decent all-over sense of it.


These players are international stars.

"I need the photo for a facebook 'like'!" I told them.
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There was this, too.  One afternoon the HM asked me if I wished to attend a gathering at a local church.  It was advertised as a group that works at turning guns into gardening tools.  Fascinating! I thought.  And said, "Yes, let's go!"

After an explanation of what Beatingguns.com is all about, and a very interesting program, the sizeable audience moved outside into the chilly night air and watched a blacksmith form the head of a garden digger.  The metal used was from a donated gun.

Reader Dear, it really did give one a feeling of hope.

At least one person (I know this for a fact) was moved to ask, "Can I order one of these?"

And that person was instructed to put her name on a list.  She was told that she'd likely receive a notification to send payment and receive the tool about mid-summer.

This group (and it just makes sense [wouldn't you agree, Reader Dear] must complete their cross-country fund-raising tour (which originated in Colorado) before they can get back to serious beating of guns into plowshares (the hand-held kind).





This, Viewer Dear, is what I ordered:

PEACE, Dear Viewer! I'll be sure to let you know when I'm peacefully moving soil with this peace-filled tool.
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The final outing about which I'm going to elaborate was of the (somewhat) impromptu kind: "We need to go out together! Let's have lunch next Monday!"

The Husband of Mine and I and some dear friends of ours had had a lengthy lapse of seeing each other.  Then one day Only Son saw these friends, Minh and Thuy (say it Ming and Twee),  at a local market where they prepare and sell delicious fried rice.

"My mom was in the hospital again," Only Son told them.  He didn't stick around to explain because they were very busy (As I said, Reader Dear,  their rice is terrific! They  were swamped with lunch-hour customers).

Minh and Thuy swiftly came to my house to see that I was okay.  That's when we made our plans for lunch out.

And we had a very good lunch at a restaurant serving Vietnamese food.  After lunch our friends took us to a grocery store that caters to customers who are searching for Asian foods, or perhaps have a taste for the unknown.   Reader Dear, this little shopping trip was more fun than I've had in a grocery store for a very long time!

I felt as if I were in a very interesting museum with my own personal guides!

A package of Duck Tongues

The HM was not nearly as surprised by black chickens and intestines from all sorts of creatures, but I was tickled by the novelty of new discoveries.


I took photos of the Dried Longan* Pulp,

and likewise the Osmanthus** Intestines ("Do you suppose you'd find them more yummy than pork sausage?" I asked the HM).

 
Of course, there were some displays of foods with which I was more acquainted  Look at the beautiful fresh fish, Viewer Dear! This department of the museum (er, grocery store) featured an aquarium with live fish swimming.  I looked at those (also beautiful) fish and cringed.  It's a fact of life that humans eat anything lower on the food chain, but I prefer to contemplate that fact after the execution.

I purchased a fresh whole young coconut (with a shell, but hairless).
Thuy gave me instructions.****

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*Longan is a member of the Soapberry family, Dear Reader.
**As opposed to a strange Asian creature I'd never heard of prior to this (and for which I was enjoying the use of my imagination), Osmanthus is a plant.***
***Which begs a question regarding the Osmanthus Intestines.
****Oh, yes.  Reader Dear, I promise you follow-up on the coconut.

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More of the rash to follow, Dear Reader...