Surfacing.

This past weekend we had Uncle Bruce's funeral. Not a happy occasion, but it was actually more uplifting than I expected. There was a real celebration of Uncle Bruce's life, and life in general, at this memorial service. There were photos of Uncle Bruce all over the place, his hat, a trophy from one of his tractor pull wins. You really got the sense that Bruce enjoyed himself. So many of his friends came out, too. These were the people who spent the most time with Bruce, so it was nice to meet them. And Father Larry, the monsignor from St. Pius in Fairfield, gave one bang-up eulogy. He weaved in some religion, saying that Jesus had reserved a special place for Bruce, but he also kept the service very human. Our loved one who is no longer with us on Earth is not gone. This person lives on forever through those who live with memories of that person, those who share stories of that person, and those who have love for that person. As long as those memories, stories, and love remain, the loved one remains. How comforting and warm those thoughts are when you think of something as so seemingly permanent as death.

Here's a photo of Uncle Bruce and Doug's father; Joe is on the left and Bruce is on the right. This was taken at Christmas in Monroe, maybe two or three years ago. Not that long ago, but long enough to know that things do change. Joe looks a little more haggard now, and Bruce, well, Bruce is no longer here in bodily form. Enjoy the moments while you have them, but always cherish the memories.

Moving on from my Hallmark moment... we have begun to surface from the cloud of sickness and death that has been around us for this first half of the month. Doug had a show last night with his new band Hot Molasses. This was the CD release show, in honor of their EP Molassachusetts. The show was good. They filled the room again; it seems the other band members have endless supplies of friends who are willing to stay out late on weeknights. I was proud of myself for going to this show, but I know I won't be going to many other weeknight shows. Just don't have the stamina. However, if Doug continues to channel his inner Slowhand and rock the sexy professor look, I may have to become a loyal groupie.

We're also reading a bunch here now. Invigorating our minds. Seems a bit of the reading bug is going around! I've decided that a pretty accurate way to gauge the success of a vacation is the number of books purchased while away. For two reasons. The first being that if you purchase books it means you spent time in a bookstore, and that's always a good thing. The second being that if you purchase books it means that something piqued your interest, that you were free enough from the constraints of your normal routine, your every day life, to open your mind to the possibilities of learning, of exploring new things, of exposing yourself to new ideas. Doug and I purchased a combined total of eight books while in Washington D.C. (have I raved yet about our love for KramerBooks and Afterwords Cafe? Easily one of our favorite book stores, because whoever is their purchaser and their collection developer is doing one heck of a job), and this past weekend purchased four more. Here's a selection of our new titles: We are definitely going to run out of space soon, and when that happens maybe we'll get Nooks.

If you're interested, right now Doug is reading two books, simultaneously, in typical Doug fashion. He studiously pours over John Adams, taking notes, looking up context on ideas and events that need more clarification, and then takes a little break from the intensity by reading American Sphinx, itself hardly a beach read. Thank you, Washington D.C., for reigniting Doug's passion for historical scholarship.

For my part, I just finished up House of Splendid Isolation, and have shifted gears to read The Good Soldiers. Doug has a problem reading one book at a time, and I have a problem focusing on one type of writing. First I want a novel, I want fiction, I want to lose myself in another world, and then I want to learn, I want to learn about my world, the world in which I live, I want reality and a view into the reality of the people around me. I rather enjoy non-fiction, but it's such a commitment. I can float through the prose of a novel quite quickly, but often trudge through the thickness of non-fiction. There is always a reward, though, if I can make it through. Books fill me up and make me satisfied in a way that food or work really can't. Maybe that's what TJ meant when he said, "I cannot live without books."

Drowning in books.

Last week, which started out so badly on Sunday, turned out to be an okay week. My mood has been really funny lately, though. I've been very moody. I'm blaming the ring, and there may be something to that, but it could also just be that I'm cycling through a moody spell. This happens. Ask Doug.

Anyway, the week ended pretty well. When Doug picked me up at the train stop in Newtonville on Thursday night we saw one of the brightest, most incredible rainbows we've ever seen. You could see the full color spectrum - even the BIV, which are hardly ever really visible.Part of me felt like a dork for standing on the street corner in rush-hour traffic (but isn't there always rush-hour traffic in Newton?) taking a picture of the rainbow, but it was a pretty neat moment, as you can see.

Then, on Friday night Doug and I headed to Big Papi's Grille for dinner. The place had its grand opening in late July, and it was advertised as mixing traditional American steakhouse food with Dominican flavors, but I have to say that I really was not all that impressed. I do like Big Papi, and I love Big Papi's public persona, but this place gave me no feeling of connection to Big Papi at all. The restaurant used to be the Metro 9 Steakhouse, which I guess recently closed. Someone must have come up with the idea to brand the new steak restaurant after Big Papi. All the staff was the same as from the Metro 9, and the decor was still the same as what was there from the Metro 9, save the Red Sox memorabilia on the walls. The walls were dark brown with red and gold framed fabric squares in which Red Sox photos and newspaper articles were hung. There were two fireplaces, both with heavy stonework around them, and the bar was heavy, dark wood. The chairs were vinyl with gold buttons along the seams (traditional steakhouse chairs), and the tablecloths were a cream vinyl (the tablecloths were new, as you could smell the vinyl smell). Here's a visual to help with my description: Needless to say, the decor in no way made me think of fun-loving Big Papi. Here's the thing - Big Papi at this point in his career (steroids or no) is a brand. He's an image. His image is that of the big, easy-going, teddy bear of a baseball player, out to have a good time. I picture Big Papi's restaurant with teal blues and greens on the wall, no tablecloths, tall bar/bistro tables, and a more Caribbean/Dominican inspired menu. Doug had french onion soup, of all things! And look at it!Where's the brown and bubbling cheese on top? What is that, a slice of American hardly melted? Not impressed. But Doug enjoyed himself. Doug got Big Papi's signature burger, the Dominican chimichurri burger, which I guess was infused with some red pepper flakes and had Big Papi's special en fuego sauce on the side. He did get the Caribbean cole slaw, and he really liked that. So I guess it was worth the wait (it was AN HOUR from the time we ordered until the time we got our burgers) to see Doug's smiling face as he chowed down at Big Papi's.Maybe because the place is so new there are still kinks to be worked out, so I am trying to give the place the benefit of the doubt, but man, I expected more from Big Papi.

And this weekend, so far, has been one for adding more books to our ever-growing collection. Really, I think I get new books every week. I don't read them quickly, either, so it's not like I need that many at my disposal, but there's something about going to a bookstore and looking for a book to read that I really enjoy. I spent a couple of hours in the Brookline Booksmith on Wednesday night waiting for Doug to get out of practice and managed to pick up five books from their bargain table. Last night/this morning, I spent lots of time on the Internet cleaning up my goodreads to-read list (and then going to Amazon and getting a few of the books I know I'll want to read sooner rather than later), and today Doug and I drove out to the Wellesley Booksmith because I wanted to see what they'd have on their bargain table. Turns out they don't have one, but their used book cellar is fantastic! We picked up another four books from there, and plus I learned that I get a discount when purchasing new books from the Wellesley Booksmith because I'm a librarian (though I tried to tell the guy at the desk that I shouldn't get the discount because I'm not a real librarian and wouldn't be buying books for my library's collection, but he said that as long as I consider myself a librarian and do a few things during my day that a "real" librarian might do, then I could have the discount. Thanks!). So a total score with the books this week. And it's a good thing that we are getting our new bookcase next weekend, because right now the coffee table in the living room is looking like its own bargain books table. We are basically drowning in books. I love it!