the world is talking now

1) molcajete at el gallo giro.  el gallo giro is my second favorite restaurant in provo.  my first favorite is communal, which is fine dining, and gallo is what people around here call a dive, so i don't know if it's fair to rank such different restaurants together.  but, the point is this:  molcajete.  its a lava mortar on which people grind corn with a pestle, but at gallo they turn the molcajete upside down on the grill (fired with wood!) and smoke it until it's piping hot (even ten minutes after being served, the sauce in the molcajete was still bubbling--that's how hot it was).  then they fill it with chorizo, queso, and a fantastic green sauce.  next comes grilled chicken, nopales, skirt steak, huge juicy prawns (legs on), and grilled green onions (the kind with the big bulb that are labeled "hispanic onions" at our local grocery store.)  THEN they serve soft, fragrant, thick hand made corn tortillas along side.  christian and i ate this for dinner tonight, for about 15 bucks, and we brought home leftovers.

2) the artist:  a silent film that is just adorable.  i have to admit i wasn't that excited to see it.  i kept wishing i could be home in bed watching house or something, but it was the beautiful, almost perfect, little story of a silent film actor who needs to resurrect himself when talkies come in:  "the world is talking now," the producer at his studio tells him when he fires him  "it's a new era."  renewal and rebirth have been an important theme for me lately, and this film spoke directly to me on the subject.  i thought it might be too gimicky, but it really became absorbing after a while, and was elegant as all get out.  p.s. i LOVED  the furs, gloves, sequins, fringes, stockings, and bobs.  why oh why was i born in a casual clothing era?

3) byu reading:  i read at the byu library today.  i've never done a full reading alone without a co-reader, and had to fill up 45 minutes of just me and my poetry, but i did it and had a great time.  the students were intelligent and thoughtful and seemed to genuinely care about art, poetry, and things of a deep and spiritual nature.  it was uplifting and renewing to my spirit.  then i had lunch and hung out with some english faculty who were really smart, cool, and interesting.  unfortunately, my (charcoal)tights/platform sandal combo were not ideal for walking in (i thought we were eating on campus, but we walked down to a restaurant off campus).  the tights make the sandals slippery and i got huge blisters on the balls of my feet.  may not be able to do yoga tomorrow, even. there's an unflattering photo of me at the reading up there with some cool english faculty.

4)  i came home from movie and dinner date, and my darling, darling, dearest lula had taken down all the christmas ornaments and decorations, dragged the tree out to the curb, vacuumed, and put the kids to bed.  she is a 13 year-old without parallel.  above is a watercolor, "gold winter tree" she made. little motherly brag: her art teacher said she has very confident brush strokes.