Pretty!

I was just wandering through jeffdc's photostream at Flickr.com and saw some photos of illuminated manuscripts that he took at the New York Public Library's exhibit, The Splendor of the Word: Medieval and Renaissance Illuminated Manuscripts (Jeff's NYC photoset is here).

I love illuminated manuscripts. I especially like the images. I really enjoy the style of medieval illumination. I'd like to be able to reproduce them and work with that kind of style. When I was in high school, I studied Egyptian and Mayan graphics. I even pieced together a cartouche for a birthday gift to a friend of mine, which was one of the very few times that I've created something as a gift.

Anyway, I'm thinking I need to attempt another trip to NYC to see this exhibit.

New House-sitting gig

I had thought that I wouldn't be house-sitting anymore. Rob and Mike moved to Martha's Vineyard. mai_neh and grok have moved further away from the Metro, making it too strenuous to commute to my office each day.

But last night I met with Jim W., a friend of Bob S. Jim has recently moved to D.C., but still has clients on the west coast, so he flies out there every three weeks or so. He's a nice fellow, very easy to get along with, and his home seems to be somewhere between Dupont Circle and Adams Morgan. (I say "seems" because I'm still not really confident in my knowledge of D.C. geography.)

His two cats are Leo and Dinah. They're an interesting breed: part house cat, part African jungle cat, part bobcat. They have tails like Manx kitties — just a little stub. It's a little comical to watch Leo twitching this little stub around. It looks like he's wagging his tail.

Jim and I met and liked each other, so I'll be his caretaker when he flies back to the west coast.

After I met Jim, I walked over to Mike A.'s house to stay with him overnight. Mike is a nice guy, but it's difficult to get time with him. Every time I suggest something, he's got some rehearsal or other commitment, so I end up just coming over to spend the night without actually enjoying a movie or whatever with him. I suppose I'll keep trying.

I arrived at work half an hour early this morning. It seems that I can sleep in a little when I'm taking care of Leo and Dina later this month, because it will probably take me about the same amount of time to get to the Metro from Jim's home as it did this morning from Mike's.