Poor Bill was home sick again, still running a fever.  I hate it when my children get sick, and always wish I could take their place.

Stopped off quickly at the bookstore on my way to work to see if I could find any giucebooks to New York City. I think I will be meeting up with a couple of friends there for a weekend this winter, maybe see a couple of shows...saw one called The Cheap Bastard's Guide to New York City  and I took it from the shelf to look at it. I saw that it had a chapter dedicated to dumpster diving and which parts of the city were good for looking for certain things in the garbage. I laughed so hard when I saw that, even though I think the author was serious. Man, there is cheap and then there is just plain weird!  Needless to say, I picked out a couple of normal looking guides. I haven't been to New York in more than twenty years. It will be nice to go back there for a weekend.

Start spreading the news, I’m leaving today
I want to be a part of it - new york, new york
These vagabond shoes, are longing to stray
Right through the very heart of it - new york, new york

I wanna wake up in a city, that doesn’t sleep
And find I’m king of the hill - top of the heap

These little town blues, are melting away
I’ll make a brand new start of it - in old new york
If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere
It’s up to you - new york, new york

New york, new york
I want to wake up in a city, that never sleeps
And find I’m a number one ,top of the list, king of the hill
A number one

These little town blues, are melting away
I’m gonna make a brand new start of it - in old new york
And if I can make it there, I’m gonna make it anywhere

It up to you - new york new york

New york

Tomorrow I will take in the Jeep, eat lunch at my favorite Chinese restaurant, and getas much laundry done as I can so I can begin packing our bag for Chicago. A little more than a week! I can't wait! I love that city!

And Saturday I will plant daffodills all over our yard if the weather holds.

Chicago, Chicago, that toddlin' town

Chicago, Chicago, I will show you around - I love it.

Bet your bottom dollar you'll lose the blues in Chicago,

Chicago, the town that Billy Sunday couldn't shut down.

On State Street, that great street, I just want to say,

They do things they don't do on Broadway,

They have the time, the time of their life.

I saw a man, he danced with his wife In Chicago,

Chicago, my home town.

 

The kids were home from school today due to a teacher inservice. It was wonderful being able to spend time with them.  Bill was still running a fever and had a bit of a headache, but we kept it pretty much under control with tylenol. He rested a lot today, and being able to stay home from school and not having soccer practice was very good for him, I think.

Will be taking in the Jeep on Friday. It has been recalled due to a faulty latch for the back window. The Jeep dealer is right by my favorite Chinese restaurant, so I will treat myself to lunch while I am at it.

Long day. Bill woke me up very early because he was yelling so loudly at his little brother. That is not like him at all...a couple of hours after they went to school he woke me up again by calling and saying that he was sick. I went and got him, and the poor kid was running a fever  and he had a headache  so bad that he thought he was going to throw up. Luckily he did not, and I gave him some tylenol and he seemed to feel a lot better after a long nap. They do not have school tomorrow, either, which should also help.

 

Some more bits about yesterday:

Had a quick dinner at a Mediterranean deli near Hill Auditoreum. Had a big glass of hot tea and a hummus pita sandwich. After the concert, I went out for ice cream at the Ben & Jerry's. Walked around town a bit. It was a pleasant fall evening.

This morning, Dan and Stevie are off to Clinton for a soccer game. Bill is working on his homework. I am chilling out and wishing I didn't have to go to work on such a pretty afternoon.

Went to another fantastic jazz concert tonight.

Dave Brubeck is a master jazz musician, and the originator of such standards as Take Five. He also plays some classical music, and some very original compositions that fuse ethnic music (such as traditional Japanese music) with jazz.

I went to see him and his quartet tonight.

He was awesome. He is 83 years old, walks very stiffly, has a headful of white hair, and an old man's quavery voice. But when he sits down at his piano he plays with the intensity and force and limberness of a twenty year old. He also seemed to be a genuinely nice person. He talked about how happy he was to meet with music students the day before and answer all of their questions (he mentioned that a lot of the questions were about his Japanese/jazz fusion album). One of his army buddies from WW2 was in the audience and he had him stand up and told a story about how they had once been trapped behind German lines in the war, and dedicated a wonderful classical piece, Elegy to him.

It was amazing. It was remarkable. I feel honored and privaleged to have heard him play his music.

This morning was quite cold and rainy, but by the time I got done with grocery shopping it had become crisp and clear. It was a gorgeous day to sit outside and watch a soccer game.. The leaves have even started turning.. It was a glorious fall day.

I am quietly doing household taks . Just finished cooking a large late lunch/early dinner for the children. I am quietly waiting for Dan to come home so I can go into Ann Arbor for the jazz concert  and the ice cream with friends afterwards.

I've been reading Terry Pratchett's Hogfather. It's one of his Discworld novels, and a parody of Christmas. On Discworld, their version of Santa is the Hogfather, who flies through the air one night a year, in a magical sleigh pulled by giant tusked hogs...he keeps track of which children are good, and which are bad, and leaves gifts...

But, of course, weirdness is happening on Discworld in the particular year that the novel is set, so Death has to take the place of the Hogfather...

And weird new gods and demigods are springing into existrence...the oh god! of hangovers, the things that eats pencils, the thing that eats one sock of a pair in the laundry, the god of indigestion, etc. etc.

Just got home from the high school's homecoming football game. The team was losing by more than 40 points by halftime so we left after they did the halftime homecoming festivities. It was pretty chilly tonight, too. I think I will make some hot chocolate in a few minutes. At least it wasn't raining, with a high wind, and extremely cold like last year's homecoming game.

Work was a bear this week. All of our beds have been full, and the ER has been full, so everytime we can send a patient home, someone else is immediately admitted. Glad this week is over!

Tomorrow should be a good day. Stevie has a sccer game in the afternoon, then I get to go to the Ann Arbor Jazz Festival, as well as the Dave Brubeck concert at Hill Auditorium.

I have to go bring in the flower pots from the front porch - I think it's going to be pretty cold tonight!

I have been doing yet another reread of Roger Zelazny's A Night in the Lonesome October, one of the most imaginative and fun books I have ever read. I keep coming back to it again and again. It is the daily diary for the month of October of Snuff, Jack the Ripper's dog. He has a very interesting relationship with a cat...it's a lot of fun figuring that out. And it features great tributes to Lovecraft (especially his dream world), Dracula, Frankenstein, the Wolfman, Sherlock Holmes, and many other well known characters. Its a complete and total hoot!!!!!!!!!!

This time two weeks from now I will be in Chicago!!