I like going to movies in a theater, sometimes, depending on the movie, but I don’t really enjoy watching a movie on my TV set. I always thought it was because the set was relatively small and there were many distractions, like the computer, near me. And I don’t really watch TV programs; I listen. Tuesday morning, my Ancient China class began watching the first hour of a movie about the period we are studying. Even though the screen was much larger than my TV set I must have checked my cellphone (I no longer wear a watch) four times in that hour. (I rate movies by how often I feel compelled to know the time. Zero is the highest rating.)

Today we were supposed to watch the remaining two hours. I really like the class; I wouldn’t get up in time for an 8:30 class if I didn’t like it. But sometimes I have no patience. I thought about staying in bed and not going at all, but I got there for the lecture the first hour and then left. I have a bad cold, the first one since I had bronchitis last year at this time. Maybe that’s my excuse. Also, today is my birthday. I wanted it to be a nice day. Two hours in that terrible chair watching indistinguishable actors killing each other seemed like torture.

I bought a cup of tea and took it to Schenley Plaza and watched children and puppies playing. The family had a bubble machine and the little boy, barely able to walk, kept trying to catch the bubbles. The puppy did it also, when a few of them came his way. Then I walked over to Phipps Conservatory where they have just opened a Chihuly show. I loved the Chihuly show in Chicago, which I must have seen four times even though I was living in New Jersey. But after my experience with Chihuly in the Bronx, last year, I wasn’t sure how I felt about seeing another of his shows. But it was nearby, no coping with airplanes and security, and I really enjoy the Phipps. I finished my tea, walked over and treated myself to a membership as a birthday gift.

It’s a wonderful show and it was a perfect birthday gift. For the most part the work is sited within the plantings. You know it’s glass, but it seems absolutely to belong; like it grew there. That’s how it appeared in Chicago, but not nearly as much in the Bronx. I looked back at my photos from last year. If there were pieces nestled among the plants, I never photographed them. I took a lot of pictures today. Eventually, I’ll post them along with some of the Bronx photos. And I plan to return often.