Birthday Weekend

I had a really awesome birthday weekend! On Friday night, M and I went to our old hood, Andersonville, and saw Waiting for Harry at the Neo-Futurarium. It was great. A bunch of Chicago writers talking about their reaction to Harry Potter in profound, silly, angry, or just peripherally related ways. My favorites were Megan Stielstra, Sharon Greene (who had some funny predictions for the future, but ended on an oddly sad note when she predicted that Hermionie would become first a performance artist divorced from an alcoholic Ron Weasley and then a sort of right-to-die horcrux that took on the souls of dying people) and everyone cracked up over Ian Belknaps's scathing screed against all things Harry Potter and how fans are lowering standards for literature everywhere by accepting mediocrity (or, as he put it, letting JK Rowling crap in our brain pans.) Sounds lame, but it was hilarious, in a Lewis Black kind of way. Then we had dinner at a new restaurant - Anteprimo, which is really, really good. Then we walked around Andersonville and ogled all the HP fans. Practically EVERYONE was wearing a cape. It was so fun.

On Sat. night we had a little party in the back yard. I suppose the only flaw was that we put some mulch down in our garden and had no idea it would make our yard smell like a barn. Well, our friends are so lovely, they didn't even complain that it smelled like shit. (: C&D made the most awesome pinata of all time - airplane bottles of booze, firecrackers, candy and bubbles - what could be more fun? Oh! I know! A late-night bout of karaoke!!!!

It turns out bubbles photograph well in the dark!
Then yesterday on the big day we had a lovely brunch with friends G&G, then I actually talked M into going to the beach with me AND getting in the water. Brrrr! Lake Michigan takes a while to heat up!

I'm still celebrating my Birthday Week and my Birthday Month, so, for now, I'm off to the beach again!