Living well

Haven't meant to take a week off & don't know how it was that I did. Maybe it's that...

We've been living well.

Couple of weeks ago we hosted movie night - a gathering like a book group to see a DVD movie. B. did a full Indian meal out of her Christmas cookery book (gift of sister Sue). Great food, lots of conversation, & good cinema too.

This past Saturday we went to a Mardi-Gras party ("Samdi"-Gras as I thought). Hors d'oeuvres first at John's and then dinner dance at St. Anthony's in Brookland. The band was just right - five old guys doing big-band standards (swing, two-step, waltz, and even tango); nice big dance floor, lots of room. Our table -- four married couples and a matched pair of singles -- danced the whole four hours of it and closed the place down. B. wore a tiara!

Sunday we attended a recital - cello & piano - at a church in Northwest DC where we often hear good music. B. knows the muic director well and the performers are generally top quality.

Not to long ago I chafed at the cold weather and then snow & ice, but have sprung out onto the roadway as the temperature rose these past days. My winter legs were surprisingly in form over the weekend; riding faster than I thought I would & not much off my warm-weather personal-best rates of speed. And this afternoon riding home encumbered by a pack full of layers needed for the ride in I managed a rare feat that can only be done at my quickest pace (and a certain amount of luck to boot): a passage of two dozen successive traffic lights without having to stop.

This reminds me of some bike encounters of recent months. I unusually wheel through neighborhoods without anyone's notice or maybe some kidding around from high school kids after release. So it's memorable when people offer encouraging commentary. One guy I particularly appreciated was hanging out at a bus stop deep in the Shaw neighborhood on my inbound ride; he called out "Way to go Superman!" In my own neighborhood, a teenage girl called to congratulate me for wearing a helmet. Drivers usually do no better than tolerate me, but one recent afternoon a guy in an oncoming car flashed his lights and gave me thumbs-up. Finally, off bike, but in bike clothes, a woman who works in the Law Library (whom I don't know) told me my bike commuting made me a legend in LC. It does help.