Blogging A to Z: "Z" is for Last Things

All right, I'm cheating a bit. Again. Instead of writing about a single "z" topic, I decided to do a list of "last things," a meme of sorts, since "z" is the last letter.

Last new book I finished that I liked: Palladian by Elizabeth Taylor. Her first novel, it takes its cue from Austen and Brontë -- the heroine's name is Cassandra Dashwood, and she is a governess employed in a gloomy house by a dysfunctional family. She falls in love with the widower. Entertaining stuff, well written, but only a pale indication of the brilliant Elizabeth Taylor we come to know in her later novels.

Last new book I finished that I'll never read again: Maurice Guest by Henry Handel Richardson. At 500+ pages, it was infuriating finally to reach the end, only to have two characters commit suicide, and the character you liked least to get everything she wanted. Utterly depressing.

Last re-read: The Ghost and Mrs Muir by R. A. Dick. Swe-e-e-et novel; even better than the film, which is wonderful. Enough differences between the book and the film to justify owning both.

Last film seen in a theater: It's been so long, I'm having a hard time remembering! I think it was Beginners, with Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer. That was indeed some time ago. Last summer, was it?

Last trip by plane: Again, it's been a long time. August or September of 2010, when I went to visit Celia for eight days.

Last opera I saw live: The Elixir of Love at HGO, November 2009.

Last concert or recital I went to: I believe it was a guitar recital in Seattle; probably during my last visit to Celia, so that would be the fall of 2010.

Last opera production I worked on: The Barber of Seville, HGO 2004. Nice to go out with a comedy, even though I cried all the way through the final performance.

Last truly memorable restaurant meal: Il Sogno, in the Pearl Brewery complex in San Antonio, December 2010. (I don't eat at fancy restaurants much anymore.) Mostly northern Italian fare, exceptional cheeses. Since I can't drink alcohol, I make fine cheeses my substitute. However, because of my allergies, I can't eat bleu cheese of any kind, including gorgonzola, which I LOVE. Waaaah!

Last poem I wrote: Sadly, it was this past March -- and the last before that was December. It's been slow lately. . . .

Last poem to appear in a publication: "Pressed Leaves," last month, in Decanto.

Last poetry reading: March 13, at The Twig Bookstore

Last time I submitted poems to a publication: Can't remember. I guess that means I'd better get off my duff and send something out somewhere.

Last time I touched the piano: Yesterday, figuring out the chords to "Yesterday" for my last blogpost. Before that -- can't remember.