I have been redeemed! But before I discuss this triumphant redemption, I should mention what a fabulous day I had today! Derek and I woke up obscenely late and lolled around until we felt ready to cease our...well...lolling.
I spent a little time on Facebook IM with a friend who had the nerve to IM me from Greece. Then he added insult to injury by sending me photographs of where he was staying that were so fabulous, that they still looked great despite being taken by an iPhone. Seriously now! Who takes pictures of opulent greek islands with a cell phone? It's akin to blasphemy.
Anyway, I digress...frequently........and at length.......
Where was I? Oh! Talking to Steven on IM. So, after berating him about his lack of respect for the photographic arts, Derek and I headed off to 11worth cafe for breakfast. The 11worth is a local landmark. The food is fabulous. Housed just west of the Old Warehouse district in downtown Omaha, this one small cafe is most likely responsible for half the heart attacks in Omaha. I suspect that if you tried to order any fruit or anything with the words 'lite', low calorie, or 'organic' in it, you would be politely asked to leave. They do serve diet coke though. Their specialty is heart stoppingly rich foods like sausage and gravy and chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and a pound of butter. It is a very WORTH-while cafe.
After a stupendous breakfast spent trying to come up with some great ad material for a client, we drove to the Joslyn Art Museum only to discover that they were closed on holidays. Who closes a place tourists go on a holiday? It's okay, we got over it and checked out the newly upgraded and very beautiful grounds in front of the building. It was a perfect morning. Cool and cloudy and the leaves on the trees at the museum had just started to transform into flaming autumn colors.
Then we went to Lauritzen Gardens. When we first moved here we stumbled across Lauritzen on an outing with the kids. There were about three trees and a couple of rose bushes. Fortunately it was also free. 10 years later, it is no longer free, but it IS well worth the price of admission. We wandered around admiring the impressive gardens and displays, then returned to the arboretum/gift shop/cafe where, as an homage to my mother, we stopped for a snack and a drink.
I love those little cafe's at museums and gardens and zoos and other like places. My mothered love them too. I love them because she did. My sweetest memories of her are outings we took together, just the two of us. In particular, I loved going shopping with her to Valley Plaza, in Bakersfield CA. We would wander through the stores for a while and stop and throw pennies into the large water feature in the center of the mall. Then we would stop for lunch at Wyatt's Buffet. I loved the array of culinary possibilities displayed before us and I was fascinated by the huge fireplace that imposed itself on one wall. To my adolescent eyes it was beautiful and elegant.
So mom and I would go through the line and choose things like meatloaf or roast beef, and tapioca pudding, vegetables and rolls and finally, and most importantly we would arrive at the delectable looking desserts and I would agonize over which one to choose until my mother would finally insist that I pick one. Upon reflection, I am certain that the food wasn't nearly as good as I remember, but it was still always a grand adventure to me and on those treasured afternoons, my mother and I were in a little world that was only big enough for the two of us.
My mother passed away two years ago this weekend. So, my sweet husband and I ate our chocolate cake and I cried and missed my mother and Derek held my hand. Thank you Derek.
From the gardens, we headed home and I collapsed into the fabulously relaxing hammock in our garden for a quick power nap. Then it was off to pick up Jeannie. We were on a mission to retrieve the undoubtedly grotesque and inferior projects from my last day of glass blowing class. You cannot imagine my delight at discovering that my overly tired mind had apparently painted my artistic endeavors in a much grimmer light that was necessary.
Not only were the items I had finished quite good...well, to me at least, there were in fact, an alarming number of them! It seems that after I had finally abandoned my futile efforts to create a useable lemonade glass, I had gone into a feverish oil lamp making frenzy. I remember feeling quite pleased that I had finally found something I could do, but in my grim determination to focus on this ray of possibility, I had not noticed how many I had actually made! There were a few small and dainty, though occasionally lopsided bud vases, a very respectable, larger and heavier jar that I will put candy corn into just as soon as I buy some, a very nice, swirly sort of candy dish and at least 5 or 6 of my little oil lamps which I have now tested and which I am thrilled to declare, work perfectly. The day was saved!
To round off the perfect day, Derek and I spent the evening barbequeing (well, Derek actually did all the barbequeing while I watched) with Chi and Heather and the grandbabies, and Colt and Michelle and Jessica. Julia was her usual charming and precocious self and ran screaming for Nana to save her when her father tried to wrangle her into the car to go home. My day ended on a perfect note. I have my family and I have my oil lamps and I have my memories.
Good night mom.
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