The past 48 hours has been extremely busy for us. Here's what's been shaking.
Home Repair
Saturday morning found me up a ladder at a friend's house, cleaning a five-foot long section of downspout and tarping the resulting rotting shingle siding. The goal was to make it sufficiently functional that the water stops leaking into the foyer but sufficiently ugly that the homeowner wouldn't leave the tarp there indefinitely.
Sailing Lake Erie
With a light wind from the North-North East, a nearly calm Lake Erie and nary a cloud in the sky, I felt the day would be wasted if we didn't get the rudder wet. First Mate EMG and I took Krazy Kat out for a 90-minute cruise from Gordon Park to Cleveland's Eastern Entrance Lighthouse. To this point, this was the highlight of the day.Dinner at Cleveland's Saigon
After picking up and installing the baby-sitter, we headed to Cleveland's tasty East 4th Street for dinner at Cleveland's Saigon restaurant. Not far from my employer, I've eaten here three or four times and have developed a taste for BBQ Beef over Rice (C2). We have a rule in our house that you can't have the same dish twice in a row (unless Mom is serving leftovers) so I had to try something different: Salt-baked Scallop (T6). My wife had the Lemongrass Beef (E5). While I tasted hers and she enjoyed it thoroughly, I much preferred mine. Oh! Scallops were meant to be eaten! And whoever thought to lightly-salt and bake them?! The portion was a bit too big but that didn't stop me. Perhaps I could convince them to serve a lunch portion some day.
Cleveland Shakespeare Festival's Hamlet
Elsewhere on these pages I describe our evening watching Hamlet. Less than two miles from dinner, a quick jaunt down the freeway to West 14th street saw us to Tremont's Lincoln Park to see CSF's Saturday evening performance.
The weather (temperature, light and humidity) was perfect. The wind was a bit strong from the wrong quadrant, NNE, which, while blowing the actor's words away from us, also kept us from telling a hawk from a handsaw. Probably also kept the mosquitoes away, too.
All in all, a very good day and an excellent night.
Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church
Sunday mornings find us at church. While there are many, many Presbyterian churches in the area, there are few nearby that hold to their ancient roots as much as the former RPCGA and, to some extent, the PCA. So we drive a gazillion miles to Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church, part of the John Knox Presbytery. Why do we go there? It's complicated. Ask me some time.
Housekeeping
We're certainly not legalists. We (including the children) have kept the Sabbath on other days and therefore needed to break it this Sabbath. So we cleaned house on a Sunday because we rested some other day when we should have been working.
Cleveland's Zócalo
After picking up and installing the baby-sitter, we headed to Cleveland's tasty East 4th Street for dinner at Cleveland's Zócalo restaurant. Not far from my employer, I've eaten here three or four times and have developed a taste for Enchilada and/or Tamale Platos de Combinacion. We have a rule in our house that you can't have the same dish twice in a row (unless Mom is serving leftovers) so I had to try something different: Chile Relleno, one cheese and one beef.
I was under-impressed. My cheese Chile Relleno wasn't completely melted. I was surprised to find zucchini and asparagus in my beef Chile Relleno. Perhaps if I'd just gotten the one and not both? I don't know. The Queso Fundido was tasty though as were the chips, salsa and bean dip.
My wife may have had the best, though. She had the Sopa Tortilla Con Limón and it smelled and looked marvelous. She claimed to have liked it, too!
I think my fault with Zócalo is that having eaten extensively in Texas, Mexico and places further south (to the equator), there's a certain something that is hard to reproduce in northeast Ohio. It seems that only the fanciest restaurant or the humblest hole-in-the-wall can make good, authentic Mexican food.
Cleveland Shakespeare Festival's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
Elsewhere on these pages I describe our evening watching Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Less than two miles from dinner, a quick jaunt down the freeway to West 14th street saw us to Tremont's Lincoln Park gazebo to see CSF's Saturday evening performance.
The weather (temperature, light and humidity) was again perfect. I have wanted to see this play since 1991 and finally got to see it.
The Tremont Scoops mint chocolate-chip ice cream sandwiches are awesome!
All in all, another very good day and an excellent night.
I will most definitely be watching Cleveland's Shakespeare Festival's website for next year's announcements. We will be back!
