Some weeks are quiet, and others, you have something on every night. This past week was the latter.

Monday night we were out for ballroom dance practice, and there isn’t much more to say about that.

Tuesday night I had book club meeting (and Jean braved the grocery store all by hisself!), to discuss Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan. It was definitely a quick and interesting read, an account of  how a 24-year-old suddenly gradually became more psychotic, to the point of spending a month in such a state of delirium that, to this day, she cannot remember that time. Yet most testing showed nothing wrong with her; a medical mystery. To write the book, she had to rely on eye witness accounts by her family, friends, and boyfriend, along with medical records and some hospital video footage.

So it made for some good discussion. Two of us had only the eBook version, and we both reacted the same way to seeing the physical hardcover: Picking it up in fascination at its surprising “heft” in “real life”. “I feel like I’ve brought in an ancient artifact,” friend-with-actual-book remarked.

Wednesday night we were off to see Jeans’n’Classics / KW Symphony rendition of “The Music of Annie Lennox”. But before that, we went out for dinner to Niko Niko Roll & Sushi. The level of service was a little weak, and the lack of a wine list a bit disappointing, but the food was pretty good. Not quite up to Watami Sushi level, but better than most “all you can eat” places. And, for the first time I can recall, we were actually at Centre in the Square a full half hour before concert start! That speed of service was much appreciated.

(I was told my speed of walking may have contributed, too. It was chilly out!)

The concert itself was very enjoyable. They had six different female singers covering the various Eurythmics and Annie Lennox solo songs, so you got to hear them interpreted through a variety of voices and singing styles. They all wore dresses in the first half, and men’s wear in the second, in tribute to Annie Lennox’s own range of fashion.

Thursday, we had a Jean work event at the Culinary Studio, to celebrate some achievements (that this isn’t the place to describe). Children and spouses were welcome to join. What we did was move from workstation to workstation, preparing a different appetizer at each: soup, spanakopita, crepes, spring rolls, and bruschetta. (The kids made chocolate chip cookies.) It was a lot of fun—and I’ve learned I’ve been chopping vegetables incorrectly for 25 years. (Gonna be a hard habit to break.)

Then, we all ate what we had made. It was surprising how filling a small number of appetizers (and cookies) can be!

Friday we stayed home and watched a movie called Secret Things. There will be a separate post on that.

And Saturday we were out for a very special dinner, which will also merit its own post.