Terrific Tuesday

Snow

Okay, normally, I count snow as pretty terrific, but regular readers of this blog will note my waning enthusiasm. It reached an all-time low yesterday as we drove through it to get to NYC. Much more than a dusting, we probably got 2-3". And we sat in traffic for more than 2 1/2 hours to get to town. I hadn't thought of it much before, but I think I might be scared of snow. Or specifically, being out in it. I like watching it from inside, playing in it later, but I don't drive in it while it's falling nor walk around outside too much before we're shoveled. You know what they say, "If God had wanted Texans in snow, he would've made bullshit white." I knew I'd gone round the bend when I actually turned to Mama and said, "Well, at least it's unlikely that we'll get into a fatal car accident going this slow." To her credit, she just patted me and kept driving. And we did get there safely with no problems.

Doctor's Appointment

We'd left early because the kids had a school delay and we decided to go to the museum before my appointment. The weather didn't cooperate. We found ourselves in town too early to go the doctor but too late to really go anywhere. So I called the office and they said he'd see me early, special exceptions for out-of-town patients, though there might be a wait. Now, when there's a "wait" at most doctor's offices, it can be a long time. I bet we didn't wait, from entering the office to seeing him, more than 10 minutes. Bless him. He thinks I'm still doing well, gave me three trigger shots to my lumbar area to help with pain, prescribed a muscle relaxer in addition to my other meds, applauded the treadmill purchase (talked bad about ellipticals as unnatural again . . . if only we'd found him before we bought it), bemoaned hormones and the weather, and was all-around encouraging and friendly, especially to the kids who jumped when I squealed at the shots (he didn't let that alcohol dry! And, well, my lumbar spine is very sensitive). Another great visit.

"Dinosaur Museum"

The kids had voted for the American Museum of Natural History since we'd been to the Met the last two times (and the exhibition on the Forbidden City hadn't opened yet), so we headed there next, across the park covered in snow. We always go on Saturdays, so it was nice to have the museum to ourselves, well, relatively, for one of the top tourist attractions in the city. Sis chose to see the bunny diorama and Bud the dinosaurs, so we went to those first. And just happened across the monks, who we hadn't known were going to be there.

Tibetan Buddhist monks. And they were creating a traditional Tibetan medicinal mandala out of colored sand (that's the sand up above). It was fascinating to watch them work, beautiful to see, as they applied minute amounts of brilliant sand layer upon layer in synchronized silence, one monk on each side of the mandala table, no instructions, no model, all from memory and study and teamwork. The kids, at least conversant with Buddhism from their talks with Ma and Gong and visits to temple in Queens, were still surprised to see the red-robed men. And, because Ma and Gong follow a different tradition, curious about the Dalai Lama, whose picture was on the altar next to the mandala.

We watched for a long time, purchased a few children's books on Buddhism and a new set of flags to hang outside, and then headed to the cultural anthropology dioramas of Asian peoples. Where we happened upon a children's activity about to begin. They would be able to make their own sand picture, over the brain logo of a current exhibition, using Tibetan techniques with the help of a monk. Sis and Bud were the only kids there when it started, taking the chakpur, long, tapering, hollow metal tubes and tapping them, with the monks' help, to distribute colored sand on the outline. They concentrated very hard, were very careful and serious, and then became shy when they looked up to see about a dozen curious adults watching them. It didn't deter them long and they went back several times to add different colors, as other kids and adults took turns too. We spent quite awhile traversing between the two stations, the monks working on their mandala and the visitors working on their picture. It was such a special experience.

(Actually, it always seems to be at AMNH, from our wandering through polar tents during an Arctic global weekend, to watching traditional Chinese performers during another, from the Silk Road exhibition to this. While I'm usually biased in favor of art museums, AMNH has done a better job of capturing our attention and delighting (and educating) us with new experiences. )

Fondue

We stayed much later at the museum than expected or intended. And so we decided to stop for dinner on the way home, realizing we'd get home too late to eat, especially because they'd probably fall asleep. And so we stopped for fondue. The kids were cautiously optimistic, since we promised shrimp and chocolate (no, not together) and told them it was "Swiss night." And we all had a great time. They both tried the traditional cheese fondue but then just ate the bread and apple bits, leaving all the cheese to Mama and I, which was fine by us. Then they had chicken, steak, and shrimp in a boiling vegetable broth. Because they've had Korean BBQ, they've had some experience with cook-your-own-at-the-table, though not quite in a soup pot (and Bud wanted to drink the boiling soup, like you would for sukiyaki, so we'll have to do that with Ma and Gong), but we still had some cross-contamination with eating forks touching raw food and impatience for food to be cooked before it was. Bud loved the shrimp, Sis the chicken. I ate all their vegetables. Mama ate surf-n-turf. And then we had room for chocolate! The highlight for both kids because there were strawberries too. It was late, but they revived when they saw dessert and our server was nice to bring extras.

After such a day, you won't be surprised that they slept all the way home. A good sleep after a great day.