Things have been pretty mellow here this week.  A few tours here and there, which I’m finally feeling comfortable with.  Still sketchy enough on the dates to need a cheat-sheet, but I’m hoping to be off that by the end of the week.  Miguel’s last day was Friday, and we ended the day with coffee and brownies from the Austin St. Cafe in the courtyard.  I made a new friend, a baby praying mantis:

I played with him for a minute and then set him back on the picnic table.  A half-hour or so later, at the dollar store, Liz told me to hold still and plucked him out of my hair.  Apparently, he’d decided to hitch a ride.  She put him at a jaunty angle on her cowboy hat and we continued shopping.  When we got home, he was still there.

…

Saturday evening was full of culture.  Rob (assistant director) had promised a couple of interns to help with a piano concert that night, so Liz and I volunteered.  Volunteering consisted of pouring wine for music lovers and discovering vinho verde, a yummy sparkling white.  We got to listen to Beethoven’s last three piano sonatas, which I really enjoyed.  I haven’t sought out much classical music since I was young, but I’m glad that serendipity conspired to bring me to that concert.  The last movement of the last sonata, the pianist explained, is what had brought her to Marfa to play these pieces.  “I’m not saying that Beethoven was inspired by the West Texas landscape,” she said, “but I think you really get the same sense of infinity from this music.  It plays with your sense of time.”

After the concert, we wandered over to the Yard Dog, a gallery that was having an opening complete with live music.  A lot of other people had drifted over from the piano recital as well, and we mingled between the art and enthusiastic dancers, PBRs in hand.  Still later in the evening, we checked out a band that was playing on a lot on someone’s ranch and closed down the Thunderbird Lounge (with a bottle of vinho verde, of course).  I’m just proud of myself for staying up that late–my body’s still somewhat on the in-bed-by-eleven clock.

…

Yesterday Liz and I ate at the delicious Austin St. Cafe, which is only open Saturdays and Sundays.  We both had curried green eggs and tomato-basil soup and could barely walk away from the table.  The proprietor is the nicest woman I’ve ever met, not least because she offered to give me the recipes for both dishes.  They operate out of their house, so sitting on their porch feels like you’ve stopped by a friend’s house–a friend who loves cooking and gardening, so you sit at little white tables, looking at her beautiful garden, while she brings you endless dishes of culinary delight.  No, you can’t have my life, but thanks for asking.

…

Liz and I both have the day off tomorrow, and so tonight we’re going to try to see the mysterious Marfa Lights.  Expect a full report here, Dear Readers!