I have to say, I have not been great about taking pictures. Me: I have some time to blog right now, let me look at my pictures from the past few days. Hmm. There’s nothing there!

Maybe later today I can get some crescents.

The weekend ended up being a relaxing weekend. We had a few things we were going to go see, but ended up just chilling out at home more and getting some things done around the house. I really needed that, because I have been feeling burnt out and ready for the semester to end, and I think this weekend gave me the energy I need. (Hahahah not really but I will make it through!)

We saw the total eclipse in 2017 in our backyard and it was a neat experience, but I didn’t think driving anywhere to see another one was necessary and Louie agreed with me, until yesterday when he panicked and worried he was missing out and so he made arrangements to tag along with a friend to see it but I’d already made too many plans for the day to switch (was worried about getting back for some students but particularly an evening rehearsal.) Truthfully I was annoyed at Louie because we had talked about it before, but I am happy to do things on my terms and let him enjoy it with his friend, and who knows, maybe I’ll have sun and they won’t! I will either go to my backyard or walk over to the park or to the university campus.

I feel like there are two camps, the “oh, yeah, we had that in 2017 it was cool” and the “oh my god you can’t miss the eclipse, nothing but a total eclipse is worth it and you are a total loser if you don’t take the day off work!”. I fell into the first one, and while I’m sure seeing it again would be cool, I also wanted to just see at home or close to home and experience whatever was happening here. I’m also happy Louie is getting his experience, though I will keep trying to get him to be a BIT more of a planner.

Things I remember from 2017: the way the bugs started “singing” and the birds got quiet and the streetlights came out, and then the birds starting singing like it was morning. I also remember being in my own backyard with some friends and how neat that was. Life is full of choices!

Are you getting the eclipse where you are? Have you seen a solar eclipse before?

Other things going on: we are hosting our movie club tomorrow night. We watch the movie ahead of time and get together to discuss it, just like you would in a book club. This month’s movie was Poor Things, which I enjoyed but also have very mixed feelings on. I also already finished my book club book for the month: The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride, and I would recommend it. I finished The Hunter by Tana French last night and enjoyed that as well. I am still stuck on how much I loved In the Woods and will never quite get over that and enjoy another book of hers the same, however.

We also have a reservation this week to eat at a new restaurant by Ben Poremba, Esca. One of my favorite restaurants was Olio, which recently closed, and hopefully this will fill the hole a little bit. There’s a good restaurant scene here, but there’s also always a lot of places that close. I guess it’s the way of it, but sometimes it feels like a game of whack-a-mole: a new place opens somewhere, but another one closes leaving an empty building in its place. But with all of us doing so much shopping on the internet and grocery shopping at huge supermarkets, what can fill up all of these little storefront and restaurants? This is something I ponder as I walk down Delmar in the Loop (local readers will know what I mean at least). On the east side, things are hopping and growing more than ever, but the west side there there are dozens of empty restaurants and storefronts. It seems like, at least in St Louis, that new and “hot” places open but leave other places empty, and we just keep switching around where the happening place is, rather than growing overall. It’s a bit sad!

But I hope to have a fabulous meal, and by then it’ll practically be the weekend again. My goal for this week: take some pictures!

So, again, tell me: have you seen an eclipse before? Are you in the “path of totality” this year?