8/2: an assortment

I read an Artforum article about a show of paintings by Hayley Barker, and I was taken with the photo of one of the paintings that the article discussed:  "Front Yard at Dusk with Visitor" (viewable by clicking here.)  I sent it to a friend of mine, and she mentioned nice things about it; I showed it to Chris, and he mentioned interesting things too.  I was grateful to hear about what other people saw and so see through their eyes a little.

After the utter (and, for me, not productive) bewilderment that was my last audiobook (Joy Williams' Harrow), I needed to listen to something different (and reliable) as I walked.  I chose The Young Clementina by D. E. Stevenson because I loved Miss Buncle's Book.  The first hour of the audiobook was bliss--smart, vivid, thoughtful.

My aunt in Nebraska sent me an unexpected and wonderful note about my pamphlets.  Happy to have real mail in the mailbox!  And a Facebook friend messaged me good words about a pamphlet I had sent him recently.

As usual these days, I had a hard time settling into work, but I enjoyed it when I managed to get into it.  Among other things, I read a well-done article about the underlying pessimism of the speech of Aristophanes in Plato's Symposium.

After dinner I asked Chris to get my piano keyboard down from a closet shelf (my wrist wasn't up to lifting it).  I have not played it in years and years!  I'm not good at all--despite 8 years of childhood piano lessons alas.  But I have an easy book with some traditional Scottish songs, and I played a few of those.