d e c e m b e r

highlights of 2016

     this is just a quick review of the year.  to see the full details, keep reading after the Highlights, including many many pictures! 

january

     spent lots of time with Mama watching football; sadly our team wasn't in the playoffs.  Joyce got a new puppy, but since she's still in Arizona, I only get to see her in social media.  saw two friends - Doug and Larry - in And Then There Were None playing the roles that Kermit and I played in our version Ten Little Indians way back in the fall of 1977.  caught the world premier of Swift Justice, a tale of vigilante justice that occurred right here in SJ. 

february 

     the chef/owner of my first restaurant job opened a new bistro in my neighborhood, so I went there to dine, to see him and catch up!  watched the super ball game with Mama, and her team won!  I started all the activity that is involved in moving.  I found an apartment that is about two miles from work, so an easy commute.  painted another flamingo at another Paint Nite.  saw some young performers in the comedy Drowsy Chaperone.  used Janet's ticket to go see our local Jazz band - front row cabaret seating!  saw two friends in the 2-person show I Do, I Do - - delightful! 

march

     more moving, unpacking - it seems like a never-ending process.  was honored with the rarely read Torah portion for leap year.  our event organizers at work brought in a professional photographer so our attorneys could get updated head shots.  we admins were allowed to participate as well, so I now have a wonderful new headshot with my current hairdo.  saw many friends at Mulan Jr. at our home theatre.  

april

     attended a work proximity event at a wine bar in the foothills.  read and sang at Temple several times while much of our congregation and leadership were in Israel.  saw several shows:  Les Miserables with the students at my high school; a staged reading of Diary of Anne Frank; another production of Crowns, which I will always try to see; and Billy Elliot, because my employer bought out all the seats for this performance!  

may

     Janet and I spent Mothers Day with Mama.  another work proximity event took us to our local soccer team's new stadium.  went to see a local band play in a small venue.  the lead singer even asked me to sing with him on one song!  neither Janet nor I performed with our band this season, but I went to see the concert anyway.  fabulous to be able to watch the Indy 500 and the Washington DC Memorial Day Concert in my own apartment!  

june

     read and sang at one service at Temple.  was requested to be a mentor with the summer youth program at my "2nd home" theatre.  I will be playing sister Mathilda and the Caterpillar in Disney's Alice in Wonderland Jr.

july

     enjoyed two days off from work for the Fourth, and spent it getting my apartment more in order.  got to sing at Temple with some of my favorite musicians.  rehearsals ended and we held our performances for Alice.  it was such a wonderful experience not only mentoring these young talented people, but also being back on stage.  our interactions with the audience were special too. 

august

     my ops manager at work asked me to join her at the Barbra Streisand concert, since she knew I would enjoy it with her more than her hubby would!  joined over 2,000 women - and men - dressed as Rosie the Riveter to break a Guinness record.  our friends Ritchard and Michelle got married! 

september

     volunteered to do voice-over for e-readers at a work charity activity.  sang at Temple twice.  still spending a lot of time moving from storage and unpacking.  watched a production of Spring Awakening at our home theatre.  

october

     Joyce didn't join me but we were connected over text.  flew to LA and rented a car.  first went to San Juan Capistrano, which was on my bucket list.  went to see the play Billy & Ray at the Laguna Playhouse.  went to Hollywood and strolled on a lot of the Walk of Fame.  took a drive on Sunset Blvd.  went to the Hudson Theatre and got to see Going, Going, Gone, and to meet the playwright!  spent a day at Disney, getting preferential birthday treatment as an Ana at the Frozen live show.  rested up for a day and saw Magnificent Seven in a darkened theatre - my eyes had been sunburned the day before, even though I'd been wearing a hat.  for Birthday Dinner I went to a childhood favorite that has very few locations now, Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour.  I had made my reservation a month ago to be sure I could dine on My Day.  the next day I was back at The Park where I saw the Soarin' Over The World, plus rode the soon to be closed Tower of Terror.  yes, I got the T-shirt this time.  the next day I was mostly in The Original Park, enjoying a Monte Cristo sandwich and mint julep, and the many attractions we'll never tire of.  even stood in line to meet Minnie!  went back one more time on my final day in LA, to cruise downtown D, and ride the monorail.  on the way to the airport I stopped at the former Crystal Cathedral and walked through the gardens.  the building is closed and being renovated.  safely back home I went to see the touring company production of Memphis! in our performing arts center, and the ice show Disney on Ice at our hockey arena; plus our friend Aaron was playing the lead in Music Man, so I had to see that! 

november

     had an interesting karaoke/baseball experience that led to me singing five songs!  did another Paint Nite, of a sliver of a moon over a forest.  made my first Thanksgiving dinner in my own apartment.  saw friends in productions of Edith Stein and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. 

december

     went to see Janet play in our band's holiday concert.  saw a youth created production called A Dickens of a Mash-up.  and while it wasn't opening weekend, I did go see Moana on the big screen. 

     read about the whole year in greater detail below and in the Older Posts.

d e c e m b e r . 2 0 1 6

ahh, the busy-ness of the holidays! went to see an adorable premier production called A Dickens of a Mash-up written by some of the young performers in our community. it was thoroughly enjoyable, and good to see some of my fellow performers from previous productions too! Janet performed in the Holiday Concert with "our band" again, and even though I wasn't playing this season, I was there in the audience to enjoy the music. and I finally made it to the movie theatre to see Moana, which has been out for a month already! such a wonderful story, great music, awesome animation! yes, I will be buying that dvd and soundtrack :-)

n o v e m b e r

ever thankful!

started the month by going to karaoke ... but the night I picked was not the best, as the Cubs were winning the pennant for the first time in 108 years :-D  when the rain delay hit, we finally started the singing, and since most people were watching the game elsewhere, there was hardly anyone at the restaurant and I got to sing five (5!) songs before I left at 10:30. it was so much fun!!

one of the managers I do projects for at work gave me a $50 award, part of which I used to go to another paint night, this time in the building where I first worked in restaurants, now called east coast alice. besides having good food and bevs, I also had a great time painting with our artist Willie, who was quite a character.

it has been years since I have had the opportunity to make an entire holiday dinner in my own place, so this Thanksgiving I did just that. Joyce is still at her dad's and there's no way I could get my mom up the stairs of my apartment (turns out she had been invited elsewhere anyway) so I just cooked a small turkey roast and stuffing for myself, and made a very delicious "nutty drunken curry cranapple relish" which was also my own recipe/creation! I watched the replay of the Thanksgiving parade, and caught bits of the various football games on TV while preparing the various dishes.  It was wonderful to do these traditional activities once again.

shows I've seen with or starring friends: I went to see "my Mame" in her riveting performance in Edith Stein. it was such a moving production.  I also caught a performance at our Sunnyvale "home" of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, which I've seen before and love the show! Because Marcie placed my season ticket seat right in the front row center seat, I tend to get very-up-close-and-personal views of scenes played downstage-center.  This time, "Andrew" jumped right down into the aisle and straddled my knees and sang me his very stirring campaign speech song - - I would have voted for him right there! In the lobby after the show, I went up to him and told him how much I enjoyed his performance, and he bear-hugged me and thanked me for being in that seat! mutual admiration :-)

o c t o b e r

always happy when our birthday month rolls around :-)  this year, again, I couldn't be with my best birthday buddy, but we were texting each other again throughout Our Day.

took two weeks off from work and spent 7 days in LA-LA-Land, and 4 of those days in the Happiest Place on Earth! puttered around organizing the apartment for a few days, then flew South on Thursday morning, picked up a rental car (a zoomy red one!) and drove over to San Juan Capistrano to see the mission, then to the coast, Laguna Beach. wandered around town and had lunch at the Lumberyard restaurant - had a gargantuan burger and amazing garlic fries plus a rye drink called a Thyme Out. then I walked up Broadway to the Laguna Playhouse to catch the matinee performance of Billy & Ray, a comedy set in the 40's about Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler and how they wrote the screenplay for the movie Double Indemnity together.  It was very funny, and I thoroughly enjoyed being in a "new" (for me) theatre. by the time I drove home I was "done" since I had been up since 'oh-dark-thirty' to catch my flight. got checked in at the Doubletree by the Ducks stadium, then ordered room service - Mac&Cheese and beer - to eat while watching our boys play on Thursday Night Football. they didn't win.

  

the next morning I headed over to Hollywood, purposely leaving around 10 am to miss any commute traffic  - and ran right into LA traffic :-/  I guess there is no good time to drive there.  it took two hours to drive the 20 or so miles. but I lunched right next door to the famous Pink's hot dog stand (the line was too long to actually eat there) and then strolled along the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame. since the weather was hot - in the mid-90's - I could only do that for about 2 hours. then it was off to drive up Sunset Blvd, and then find the little playhouse where I would see my next stage show, recommended by our friend Aaron, called Going, Going, Gone. I learned in the few hours I drove there, driving and parking in Hollywood are extremely difficult and nerve-wracking, so when I found a metered spot right in front of the theatre, where I would have to feed the meter a dollar every hour, I considered myself lucky and pulled in. there was a tiny cafe right next to the theatre, so I spent the next three hours there - during their lull - eating dessert and drinking wine, feeding the meter each time it expired, until 6pm when it didn't require feeding any more. I also had supper there, a light greek salad with champagne vinaigrette. and more wine. Yum! the theatre was quaint, the people were lovely, and the show was just as funny as the previous days' comedy; this one was set in the sportscasters booth at a ballgame.  the playwright was there in the audience, and I met him and shook his hand, and told him how much I enjoyed the show!  the drive home took only 25 minutes thankfully, and I plopped into bed much in need of rest! what a great day!!

   

 

Saturday was the first day I spent in the parks. knowing it would be crowded for Columbus Day (long) weekend, I got there around 9 and went to California Adventure. this is the last year for Tower of Terror - they're going to build another "franchise" attraction hoping to get even more people into the park! (if you ask me there are too many here now - but they won't ask me.) I will need to work up the nerve to get on this ride, but with Joyce's encouragement, I will. eventually. this week. :-D  I got a fast-pass for the Carsland ride and started to stroll the park to see what has changed. as I walked past the theatre where they do live productions (previously Aladdin was there) I started a conversation with one of the cast members who was at the queue ropes. She saw it was my birthday, and that I was an Ana, and she arranged priority seating for me at the next performance of the new show Frozen!!! it was such a tremendous production. ever the theatre-geek, I would count how long quick-changes took - Anna's change from bed-head to ballgown took 65 seconds, and Elsa's coronation gown to ice-gown was one second!! on stage, during a black-out.  so amazing!! and of course I cried at all the same places I cry during the movie. the puppets for Olaf and Sven were a-dor-able!! as we were walking out of the theatre after the show, one of the other guests who knew this was my first time seeing it, told me I had just seen the best Princess Anna of the bunch who play her. BONUS!!  park-hopped to Disneyland for a little while too, but since there are Halloween festivities going on, it was more crowded than the other park. even saw Boba Fett in Tomorrowland! this first day I spent nine hours in the parks,  <whew!>  then took the hotel's shuttle back to the hotel, ate dinner at the bar with my new best friend Chris-the-Bartender, who was fun to talk to and made delicious refreshing beverages! packed it in early since I was tired, and sun-burned - especially my eyes - and knew I needed to be ready for Our Birthday on Sunday!

   

 

my eyes were so sun-burned they were painful to keep open when I woke on Sunday, so I kept them under cold compresses for a couple hours and felt human after that. no parks today. instead, I had lunch at the Starbucks across the street from the hotel - got my free birthday beverage with "happy birthday" written on the cup! - then went to the mall behind the hotel and to the AMC theatre to carry on another "Ana & Joyce Tradition"... I watched an action adventure movie! Joyce and I have seen two Bond films together on previous trips, but since she's not here and there is no Bond movie opening now, I opted to see Denzel's Magnificent Seven, which was magnificent.  then it was back to the hotel to get dressed up for dinner, even though I'm by myself. when we were kids our big treat would be an outing to Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor, which closed all it's restaurants in our neighborhood when I was still in my teens. there are now two locations open in Southern California, so a month ago I made a reservation at the one in Buena Park. my waiter was delightful, about my age, but a big kid at heart and thoroughly enjoyed "acting" throughout the evening, singing various birthday renditions of famous songs. mine was the Beach Boys' Surfin' USA. "If Everybody had a birthday...."  I had a BIG glass of wine (my waiter said "this isn't our 'standard' pour") and comfort food of "frickles" (fried pickles and ranch dressing), and a foot-long hot dog and fries. For dessert I had a Straw-Ana (no, not named after me) which is a strawberry and banana sundae with chocolate and strawberry sauces. scrumptious! the family dining behind me was from Oklahoma and celebrating their daughter's 9th birthday; we had fun chatting with each other through most of the evening. such lovely people!  I drove home by way of Knott's Scary (for Halloween) Farm and took a picture of Independence Hall all lit up for the evening. shades of 1776. it was a great day and a lovely birthday!

   

 

Monday and back to the Park! I got there early to avoid the heat and crowds, and got fast-passes for Soarin' Over the World, and later, the dreaded Tower of Terror.  Soarin' was wonderful, although I wanted it to last longer and to visit more places. the heat wasn't as bad as previous days so I spent more time wandering around California Adventure. I had to time it right but I finally got to have my picture taken with Woody from Toy Story!  my Tower fast-pass was for 2:15, and you don't go right onto the ride when you get there, even with the pass. you meander in a queue through a themed area that represents the subterranean parts of the hotel. already I was building up the anxiety. finally on the ride, they placed me all the way in the back in the corner. no way out from there. the ride was only about a minute long but it felt like hours of agony.  and I was so queasy when we got off I waited until everyone else was off before I exited. deep breaths.  get your land legs. I stopped in the gift shop and this time I did buy the T-shirt (when we rode the Florida ride we neglected to get the shirts there.) I had no desire to ride any other ride - except the shuttle bus back to the hotel. I took a nap for a couple hours and felt better. So I went back downstairs and had dinner again with Chris-the-Bartender who made me another magical elixir and witty conversation. that definitely made up for that horrible elevator! back to the parks tomorrow!

   

 

knowing that Disneyland would be filled with trick-r-treaters again, I headed over there first, early, and got right onto Small World. then I went into Toontown for the first time in years (when Joyce was younger) and stood in line for 30 minutes to get my photo op with Minnie. Pirates was always too crowded every time I passed by … well, maybe next trip. stopped for lunch at the Café Orleans where I dined on my traditional Monte Cristo and Mint Julep, then had Mickey beignets for dessert. with work being done on Star Wars Land, the train is parked in New Orleans Square and is a walk-up attraction. the Dixieland Band was playing there and the Conductor asked me to dance, wishing me Happy Birthday as we two-stepped! Then the band members sang me Happy Birthday too!! Tarzan’s Treehouse and the Tiki Room, and I hit all the fun Adventureland sites. I was still stuffed to the gills from my late lunch in New Orleans, but I still needed to stop by and say goodbye to Chris-the-Bartender, and have him mix me up one more delectible drink.  He shook my hand goodbye, not wanting to let go … I think he enjoyed my company as much as I his. 

   

   

   

 

woke up early one more time, packed up and checked out of the hotel. drove over to Downtown Disney to stroll the mall before the crowds hit. had breakfast at Tortilla Joe’s – chilaquiles and coffee – then rode the monorail - in the front car - into the park for a final few hours in the Happiest Place on Earth. but before I caught my flight out of town, I knew I wanted to stroll through the gardens of what I once knew as the Crystal Cathedral. the local diocese had taken over and was renovating and restoring, but the grounds were open to the public, and were well groomed and in bloom. it was so restful to just stroll through the nearly empty, peaceful place. then it was finally off to John Wayne airport, where I had early supper at the IHOP across the expressway, turned in the rental car, and then waited at the gate for my flight home, which would end up being more than an hour late due to an equipment problem on another plane. oh well, if that was the worst of my luck, that was fine. I got safely home late at night, with visions of Disney lands dancing in my head!

   

   

   

   

no sooner was I home than I had my season ticket to see one of my favorite musicals Memphis! I also won tickets at work to see the Disney on Ice show at the Shark Tank … how appropriate considering my recent trip! then that very same evening I saw our dear friend Aaron playing Harold Hill in Music Man; of course he was wonderful! it was such a wonderful birthday month! Joyce and I weren’t together in person, but we texted so much day to day, that we seemed to be as close as ever. 

s e p t e m b e r

started out the month laboring most of the Labor Day weekend, trying to finally get the last of our stuff out of storage. wow, do I hate moving!  but I did get to sing at Temple a couple of times so the laboring was balanced with joyous "rest."  at work, I did a fun volunteer activity where I read childrens' books into electronic e-readers, so that children (or adults learning to read) could have a companion voice while they are practicing. It was so much fun I actually read 3 times longer than the time I had originally volunteered.  when I attended the season opener party at my favorite downtown SJ venue (where I've been Elvis, and played a Founding Father) I ran into old friends from several of my performing activities, including a Glue Factory friend, and two of my kids when I played Miss Darbus in HSM2, so many years ago. Finished out the month at the theatre again, watching Spring Awakening at SCP.

a u g u s t

play time is over ... on to something new.

started out the month with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity ... got to see BARBRA in concert!  had an awesome seat in section 101 ... the only drawback was that I had to turn my head to look at the big screen over my shoulder - - but I could live with that.  it was tremendous!!


also, had another opportunity to repeat an historic activity that I missed out on last year. the Rosie the Riveter Trust needed to win back their world record for having the most women dressed as Rosies in one place at the same time. We broke the record, then another WWII group back east won it from us soon after. not to be outdone, we decided to win it back!

so 2,270 Rosies and Bro-sies (guys were invited to participate this year) gathered inside a pavilion (it was SO hot outside last year!) and we had music and activities - - oh, and we took back our record! what made it extra special was that I took the train up to the pavilion in Richmond, but I didn't want to change clothes up there and have to carry around a big bag all day, so I rode up in the train dressed as Rosie. I got looks, but I also got positive reinforcement and probably educated a bunch of young people in the process.  not bad at all!

got to attend another proximity event with a number of colleagues in other departments in our greater division, including someone waaaay up the food chain from me! that was exciting!  and got to attend the wedding of one of our dear friends, Ritchard, who was the reason Joyce and I got involved in theatre so many years ago. we are so happy for the two of them!

j u l y

started off the month joyously, singing at Temple with some of my favorite fellow musicians.

had Monday and Tuesday off for the Fourth, but didn't go anywhere special. just got more cleaning and organizing done, making my apartment a "home."

rehearsals all month in preparation for my first musical performance in over two years! so exciting!! "playing" with the kids is so much fun! I have a big song-and-dance number that was so exuberant, we had to scale back some of the choreography so I could finish singing the song; as the Caterpillar I sang "Zip A Dee Doo Dah." my other characters were a weed in the "Golden Afternoon" garden, a sea turtle in the "Caucus Race" and I held up the Rabbit's house (a la a construction worker) - all of this in Act I; in Act II besides being the Caterpillar and Mathilda, I was also a crazy guest at the Mad Hatter's Tea Party.  barely a minute here and there to rest up for each next scene! we had fairly good audiences with each performance, and each one was most appreciative.  for the meet-and-greet I even had one young patron, who as his mom said "doesn't talk to adults," chatting up a storm and hugging me!  ah, the power of the Caterpillar!

j u n e

first audition in almost 3 years, and I'm in a show again! I'll be playing older sister Mathilda and also the Caterpillar in Disney's Alice in Wonderland Jr. at Tabard where I was last seen there in 1776. happy to be back at one of my most favorite venues. I'm also there, by special request, to be a mentor to three young budding actresses - - so much fun!! two of my karaoke jocks have recently started shows at new venues, so I checked out both places this month. there is no such thing as too much karaoke :-)

I also had the joy of reading Torah and singing at one service this month - - such a blessing!

m a y

spent Mothers Day with my mom - Joyce was out of town. in the afternoon, Janet joined Mama and I, and the three of us had dinner at Janet's favorite watering hole. very delightful!

got to see our local soccer team play at their new stadium, as I joined my work colleagues for another after-work proximity event. and of course our team won :-)

went to see a band that I follow on FB at a local hotel.  they were very fun to watch, and during breaks the lead singer came over to talk to me.  since he's French, all I wanted to do was listen to him speak :-)  but halfway through their second set he asked if I wanted to sing along with them! don't have to ask me twice!  we sang a duet of Beyond the Sea where I sang harmony to his melody - - great fun!  also busted out some Elvis, which was very popular.

even though Janet wasn't playing - she was on a business trip - I went to see "our band" perform. I would have played this season if I hadn't moved right at the beginning of rehearsals.  awesome music, with a nautical theme.

watched the Indy 500 in my own living room for the first time in years. and it was so thrilling to see a rookie from California win!!  and all the crashes were spectacular and safe - - a good combination indeed.  and also for Memorial Day, I watched the moving and inspirational Memorial Day Concert from Washington DC.  a fine way to end the long weekend.

a p r i l

while a great number of our congregants were in Israel, I was asked to sing and read several times.

at work, we have activities called proximity events - our leaders trying to get us more closely aligned while working by giving us opportunities after work to gather together in a more social setting. we had one this month at a local wine-tasting establishment in Saratoga. it was a lot of fun having really good wine flights and good company

shows I've seen with or starring friends: at my high school, the students' Spring production was Les Miserables, and they were tremendous! very well acted, and of course I cried several times;  a staged reading of The Diary of Anne Frank with several of my friends in it, which was an emotional roller coaster - the wonder and exuberance of youth, and the horror that was to come; Crowns, which I've seen before, and will probably see again if it's staged anywhere nearby. it is such a glorious production. I also attended a matinee of Billy Elliot because my employer bought out an entire performance! every single person in the audience was from my company :-)

m a r c h

so nice to be in "my own place" ... cooking meat in my kitchen, doing laundry any ol' time :-)  it's a financial hardship but I hope/think it will be outweighed by the many other benefits.  out of necessity (it costs so much) before I even had my first load of possessions put in order, I had the POD full of stuff that I stored 3 years ago delivered, and had that emptied out over two days. whew! hard labor!!  last will be the storage unit that I've had access to since we all moved out of the house in san jose. When that is emptied, then I will be completely in!

read from the Torah, a portion that is new to me, and is usually only read in Hebrew on leap years. honored and humbled that I was chosen for this singular blessing.

 

at work, in celebration of Women's Month, we had a couple activities that were really fun. first, my friend Becca performed in a staged reading about Ada Byron Lovelace, as Ada - that was exciting! then, I had my headshot photo taken by a "celebrity photographer" after one of our Women in Leadership activities. go tech gals!

shows I've seen with or starring friends: I caught one of the final performances of "my kids" in a production of Mulan Jr.  so adorable, and wonderful to see so many of my theatre "family" too.

f e b r u a r y

found out that the restaurant I worked at when I was 18, just starting out on what I thought would be a restaurant career, has opened a new iteration right in my neighborhood! stopped in for a bite and to say hello to my old boss, who was more than delighted to see me too!! he even bought my dessert - said he had to since I used to make them when I worked for him, it was only right. :-)  there's a reason I loved working there when I did. followed it up with a fun night singing karaoke. ahhhh!

spent all of super football Sunday watching the pre-game stuff and then the game with Mama. they even had football food in the community room where the big-screen was, but we opted to take plates back to Mama's room .... which was smart because the community room TV for some reason wasn't receiving! not a good day to have cable issues. Mama was happy because her favorite recent QB was the winner (of course she'll always love "2 minute magic Joe" best.)

at long last my search for a place to move ended, and the move began. I rented a 9-foot cargo van and over four days packed and moved 4 loads by myself, and one more load of furniture with the assistance of "my son" Aaron, who could easily wrap his arms around things I struggled to drag.  I "heart" him! I am now 2 miles from work, a 5-9 minute commute depending on if I hit green lights or red. the first things I had to place to make it feel like "my home" were my 'welcome' flamingo and Audrey.

weeks before I knew I was moving I had made another painting night reservation to paint this "flamingo heart" painting. the originator of the art was the instructor!  now I have a companion piece for my "flamingo moon" painting!

shows I saw with or starring friends: I caught a high school production of Drowsy Chaperone - this is such a cute show, I would see it any chance I could!  Janet couldn't go to a jazz concert so she let me use her ticket, so I got to see 19 again - - they are awesome! Her seat is front row, at a cabaret table, and I got to "interact" with the musicians throughout the night. The lead singer even chatted me up after the show, and then we friended each other on FB! I love our local music community :-)  a couple weeks later I returned to this wonderful venue to see two of my theatre peeps in a production of  I Do, I Do - - so delightful. I'd never seen it before, but it was directed by my Mame director, so I knew it would be great.

2 0 1 6 - j a n u a r y

fresh starts. new beginnings. but still the past is important. spent a lot of time with my mom. her memory fades in and out, and her frustration at the forgetfulness gets more pronounced. my time is spent entertaining her and calming and redirecting her when she gets upset. luckily we had some football games to watch - playoff season; sadly our boys weren't a part of the activities. but it was exciting to watch both of the playoff games with her to see who would be in the super bowl.  brought her chinese take-out for the pro bowl game too, so we wouldn't miss a moment going down to the dining room. since it is back in hawaii, it's an afternoon game.

lots - way too many - celebrity deaths this month! we don't know them personally, yet they have woven their ways into our lives and we mourn when we realize we'll no longer see their brilliance shining on this earth.

Joyce is still on her sojourn south spending time with her dad. I keep up with her activities - and her new puppy! - on face book.

shows I saw starring friends - And Then There Were None, which was called Ten Little Indians when I performed in it in high school.  my friend Doug played the role I played so long ago. and my friend Larry played the role my friend Kermit played! small world. then caught the world premier production Swift Justice (my season subscription). tremendous true story of San Jose's darker history.