The Adventures of Zoë

Bad blogger, no cookie!

I just got a call from my mom. Saying that she hadn't seen any new posts on my blog, so she thought she'd call to see what was happening. Oops. This weekend has been supremely unexciting; yesterday it was chilly and rainy, and today it's been so hot that even my fingernails are sweating. The lovely pre-war apartment building that I'm staying in does not, of course, have air conditioning. I've been trying to work on some new design ideas for fall knit accessories, but wool yarn doesn't really hold much appeal right now.

Last weekend, however was much more interesting! The boy was in town, so we did a bunch of fun stuff... Friday, we went to the West Side Market, which has a pseudo farmer's market outside and amazing year-round vendors inside. (I say pseudo because there was no shortage of vendors selling fresh produce that was not local. Caveat emptor.) Inside the market, it is full-on sensory overload, with any type of fresh meat you can imagine, fancy cheeses, seafood, fresh pasta, spices...all kinds of good stuff. We got stuff to make an amazing dinner (fresh linguine, basil, tomatoes, ricotta salata, and the driest scallops I've ever seen) and wandered around looking at everything for a little while. Saturday we packed up a picnic supper and went to see the Cleveland Orchestra. During the summer they perform at Blossom, an outside amphitheater/festival grounds out in the country. We sat on the lawn and had a lovely evening with wine, cheese, and Tchaikovsky's Fifth. There was even a couple near us who had brought their own candles. We were quite far back on the lawn, and I was quite impressed with both the acoustics of the space and the quietness of everyone seated on the lawn. (With the exception of a woman near us who spent over a minute wrestling with a plastic bag that apparently was not behaving to her liking.)

Sunday we headed over to the Cleveland Zoo. They apparently have "the largest collection of primates in North America," and it was indeed an impressive variety. Aside from the monkeys, saw spaced-out koalas (but they are so cute!), squabbling flamingos, a cheetah taking a leak (much to the amusement of the kids next to us), and plenty of other animals. They had a sea lion who was quite the charmer; we got to the pen shortly before one of the trainers came out to work with him. He reminded me of Zeus (my large, less-than-brilliant dog). He handled the game of fetch exactly the way Zeus does; he'd watch the trainer throw the empty plastic bottle, look at where it landed, and then swim directly over to the trainer for his treat. Without getting the bottle. At one point, the trainer went back inside to get something, and the sea lion slid out of the water right up to the door, laying there dejectedly with his nose to the bottom of the door as if he was trying to wriggle in after her, or at least see where she'd gone. What a ham.

Random: first on the NY Times paperback nonfiction list is "Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man". Funny, that's exactly the opposite of the combination I would prefer. (What's the quote - well-behaved women seldom make history?)

posted by Zoe @ 7:45 PM