Dallas and a cold.

The weekend before last, the weekend of the 9th, I was in Dallas for the opera. It was a good trip. H. went with me because Salome is an opera she wanted to see; she loves the Oscar Wilde play. Alas, H. forgot that opera is all about the grand gesture and not realistic stage presentation. So, to her it was so badly acted as to be distracting. To me, it was beautifully performed, but the costumes and set were distracting and unpleasing. The set involved purple and red and I never have, and never will, see those as complimentary colors. The costumes were supposed to be evocative of the 1900s as the company decided to set the production around the time it was written (1905, I believe). I didn't appreciate the realization of their vision and spent much of the opera simply listening, with glazed and unseeing eyes.

Still, to be fair, the staging was grand, colorful and the performance was stellar. I eagerly look forward to Tosca next month - the last of the season.

Saturday afternoon, before the opera, H. and I met up with S. and we went to the Dallas Museum of Art to see the Phil Collins installation - the world won't listen. No, not that Phil Collins. This Phil Collins. He does video installations Even if you aren't a fan of the Smiths, the piece is enchanting.

Heidi's indigo hair...
























H. and S. at the Dallas Museum of Art.














We had lunch at the Nasher museum. It was such a beautiful, temperate day.

During this oh-so-cultural weekend, I caught a cold. I made it through the opera just fine (owing to the hour-and-a-half length of the opera, I'm certain), but wasn't feeling too well Sunday. As it was my third week of work, I went in Monday, but Tuesday I got up and dressed and was downstairs when I knew that I should be in bed. Sigh. It was annoying. My boss was understanding. I went to the doctor Wednesday and am happy to report that my first experience with the Kaiser Permanente system was positive. Thank goodness.

I am feeling almost well now.

This weekend I took it easy. Saturday was my Dad's birthday. 63. Mmmmhmm. The weather was gorgeous. He spent all day at the mechanic's. Happy Birthday indeed.