Sunday, August 10th, 2008
For quite some time, Laura and I have been planning a trip to Tanglewood this Summer. Every time it came up, there was something else to do. I think there may have even been a time or two where I was just too lazy to get up and go.
Last night was the night. We decided that we would go on Friday and on Saturday I went to the food store for all the goodies. You know, we get all the good food to eat while listening to the music.
The weather was supposed to be a little chilly in central Connecticut on Saturday night. What I wasn’t expecting was the downright cold air that was hovering in the Berkshires. I mean, I guess at this point, 45 degrees feels cold to anyone. I brought an extra shirt, but wish I brought my fleece as well.
On schedule last night was the “All-Mozart Program” in the Koussevitzky Music Shed. We grabbed our usual spot in front of the visitor’s center and spread out everything we had. I lit the four “bug” candles, but didn’t really need them due to the chilly weather. Mosquitoes and gnats like the heat and I guess it wasn’t optimal conditions for them to be biting people. That was nice.
The music was ok. I seem to remember our previous visits being more thunderous, while this one was pretty quiet. I like a roar and this time was more like a meow. I explained to Laura this morning that I felt it was more entertaining to the people sitting in the shed, not for us on the lawn. I would still choose to lay under that stars any day.
About half way through, I decided to take a few photos of the area at night. I am sure you could have guessed I was going to do that.
Here they are and remember, the larger shots can be found here.
Looking over Lake Mahkeenac
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Saturday, August 11th, 2007
Ooh aah…Not only did I drink my coffee on the porch this morning, I had the opportunity to set up my laptop and drink a beer at the table this evening. I have to tell you, it’s very nice.
There is nothing like surfing the web with a wireless connection on the porch while drinking everyone’s favorite Double Bock. I am actually writing this post out here right now. all I hear is crickets. Laura and I just finished dinner and are pretty pleased with the whole thing. I am not sure if she is more pleased with the fact that I made dinner or if I made her eat out here with me.
Well, here is a picture I took for you…
The oil lamp on the table is the one Laura just got from her grandfather’s house. The two candles are the “Off” candles that I bought for the Tanglewood concert. I was a little forced to start up the laptop tonight because I haven’t ran it in a while and I was feeling a little guilty. I miss it. This will also give me the chance to renew the Norton System Works that it came with. Also, there are a bunch of updates that it needs. Hey, maybe this will be a nightly thing for me. All we need now is the futon, so I can sleep out here.
PS - The picture is a little blurry because it is an almost-night shot. I had my camera on the night setting, which acts really weird.
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Sunday, July 22nd, 2007
I think I wrote a while ago that Laura and I like to go to Tanglewood, up in Lenox, MA. It’s a pretty sweet thing to do. This weekend was the “All-Beethoven Weekend.”
Now, I am not saying that I am a big Beethoven fan or anything, but the show was pretty good. The whole thing is that you get to lie out under the stars, while listening to the music. It’s pretty neat. Last summer, when we went up for the first time, all we brought was a blanket. We were eaten alive by the bugs and I had to buy two plastic cups of red wine and some cookies for about $20. This time was different. We made a list and everything…here is what we brought…
- Blanket
- “Off” candles
- Bug spray
- Sweater/Fleece
- Sushi
- Knife
- Wine
- Glasses
- Wine bottle opener
- Matches
- Cheese and crackers
- Red grapes
- Hummus
- Pita chips
…all in a big cloth bag. The only thing we were missing was our sleeping bag to throw over us when it got a little chilly later on. To improvise, I just moved everything off the blanket we had and rolled ourselves up in it. I started to doze off towards the end of the show, but I was quite comfortable, so you can’t really blame me.
Here are some photos that I tried to grab…
This is right after we parked the car. We were walking up towards the gate and I realized that I forgot my camera. I had to run back and grab it…alond with this photo of the parking lot.
I took this photo of the Koussevitzky Music Shed on our way in. People are getting set up on the lawn.
Here is a great view of the lake and the Berkshires in the background.
This is the house right behind where we set up our blanket.
Laura had to run to the little girl’s room, so I decided to get fancy and set up shop.
Ahh, the music is on…
I took this photo of the gift shop on our way out.
I think the show ended around 11PM. We drove all the way down past Stockbridge and through Great Barrington. Then, we followed Rt.23 to Rt.9H down into Red Hook, NY and then crossed the Mid-Hudson Bridge past Kingston. It was a good drive, but we were getting way tired. We stumbled in a fell right asleep. We woke up this morning at about 11:15AM. I haven’t done that since I was a teenager. I felt pretty guilty about that type of laziness. Man…
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Wednesday, September 13th, 2006
Usually, I try to finish up what I am doing at about 10:30PM and hop in bed to read for about a half hour. There have been times when I intended to do that, say to myself, “Oh yeah, one more thing” to then look up at the computer to see the clock read 2AM. Whoops.
Lately, I have been very good. Partly due to my new book, “Wobegon Boy” by Garrison Keillor. Let me tell you why.
A few years ago, Saturday nights were a much more popular “going out” night for me than they are now. Every so often, while driving in my car, I would be flipping through the channels on the radio to hear this very odd radio show. I never quite knew what it was…a guy talking, people singing…kind of like a variety show. I found it very interesting, but never listened long enough to quite get the name of it. I used to refer to the show as the one with the “Story Teller Guy.” I told everyone I knew about it.
After moving to the new house a little more than a year ago, I began listening to NPR (National Public Radio) a lot more. The station I listened to comes in much clearer here. Well, just as luck would have it, at about at 8:30AM, just as I begin driving across the the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge, I began to hear the same voice as the Story Teller Guy give a short narration of the day’s importance on poetry, called the Writer’s Almanac. It took a few times listening to be sure it was him, and then I got curious and did some research.
Well, apparently, this man’s name is Garrison Keillor and he hosts “A Prairie Home Companion,” usually on Saturday nights. I began to listen more and more and when 7PM hit on the right night, I made it a point to get in my car for a drive. This past summer was a great one for cruising around with the radio on listening to the program. There was lots of haze and humidity…perfect for a drive at dusk with all the windows open. I tried to keep my hair a little longer than usual just for the sake of it blowing in the wind. Who knows how much longer I will have it.
Listening to this show had become one of my favorite things to do. If I missed it, I would stream it on my computer through their website. Give it a try, you might like it.
The season closer this year was held up the Berkshires at Tanglewood, one of my favorite places under the sun. Laura and I made plans to go to the show. It would be like a dream for me to see it live.
Saturday night came and went, and for some reason, we didn’t go. We didn’t talk about it…we just didn’t go. I don’t know why. Sometimes, things like this just happen. We did talk about it a few days later and decided to go up the next weekend to see the Boston Symphony Orchestra perform. We did and it was like magic. I really enjoyed laying on the blanket on the lawn listening to the music and looking at the stars. Everything was perfect…the food, the wine, the candles and the music. It couldn’t have been a better night. If I could, I would go to every show Tanglewood offers every night. Next summer, I am sure that Tanglewood will see a lot more of us.
I told my mother how much I enjoyed listening to Garrison Keillor, going to the Berkshires and…well…drinking wine. To my surprise, a few days later, I found a small package in my mailbox. It was the book, Wobegon Boy by Garrison Keillor. Thanks mom.
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