Vacations, Books and Boeuf

So here I am in Burlington, Iowa figuring out how to take a vacation.  It's a bit hard for me to relax and do nothing.  My mind is always on the next project or two down the road and that means emailing and designing and researching and thinking.  Elizabeth asked me to refrain from FB surfing and stop checking my regular sites (those being cnn.com, musicalamerica, playbill and weather.com) for at least a week.

I made it four days, which I think is a TOTAL triumph!

Our boys are loving grandma and grandpa's house -- it sits a few blocks away from the Mississippi River (up on a bluff) and is a great house, complete with screened in back porch and a sun room great for playing cribbage.

I've already made a lemon ice box pie (using no recipe, thank you), grilled peaches (can't grill without peaches!), and a batch of rice krispie treats that made it almost to the end of the day.  Cooking is great therapy and it certainly stops me from wanting to download free episodes of "Dirty, Sexy, Money" for my inspiration to start blocking "Agrippina".  

While standing outside grilling some chicken I thought through some ideas for "Agrippina" and really do think that Emperor Claudius should be in a wheelchair on oxygen, however having him look like Donald Sutherland is also a cool idea.  We'll see.  I'll definitely have cocktails ever-present in this Handel opera!

Tonight Elizabeth and I went to see "Julie & Julia" (I think that's the title).  It was hilarious, inspirational actually, and made me want to get Elizabeth onto writing her book on teaching young singers, as well as made me want to start in again on my book "The Tao of Opera".  I've only done one chapter and that was back in May.

Julia Childs, as portrayed by the simply amazing Meryl Streep, must have been a great person to eat with!  And who knew she had such a great sex life?!

Elizabeth and I are going to go in search of her Mastering the Art of French Cooking tomorrow -- we'll see if it's here in Burlington.  I think either coq au vin or boeuf bourguignon will be on the menu for tomorrow night's dinner!

Bon appetite!