The Calm Before the Storm

Took off Saturday for Dad's house and of course thoroughly enjoyed the Dook-Carolina game. Dropped by Mom's on Sunday for brunch before driving on down to Asheville and the Grove Park Inn. We spent pretty much all day Monday and Tuesday at the spa, floating, steaming, soaking and sweating our cares away. I hadn't realized it until tonight, but this week seems to be my attempt to absorb a lot of my favorite parts of living in North Carolina before taking off for a few months - the Dook-Carolina game, Grove Park, Blowing Rock, Old Salem, the ACC Tournament - about the only thing missing is a trip to the Outer Banks but unfortunately we won't be able to work that in. Saturday will be my day to spend some time down on Franklin Street while Lady J's at Syd's getting her hair done.

I'm also trying to start getting absorbed in Chicago-ness. Lex mentioned reading The Devil in the White City a few weeks ago - I had seen it when it first came out and thought it sounded fascinating, so I've been reading it the past few days. I don't find the parts about the murderer all that interesting but the majority of the book, about the design, building and running of the Columbian Exposition and its aftermath, I find pretty damned fascinating. I've also got copies of The Blues Brothers, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and High Fidelity to take up with me next week (guess I also need to find a copy of Adventures in Babysitting). But I don't expect to be watching old episodes of the Bob Newhart Show.