d e c e m b e r . 2 0 1 7

highlights of 2017

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

january

     sang and read at Temple, which is always a blessing.  met a Globetrotter who came to work on a publicity tour.  our Queen from Alice passed away from her illnesses, and many of us met again at her memorial service.  moved a lot more of my possessions from my large storage unit into the apartment, and have now only got one small storage unit with items that just won't fit right now.  saw on the big screen a marvelous space race movie called Hidden Figures. 

february 

     football wasn't super this year.  saw many of our friends in another gender-neutral production of 1776.  the Broadway production of Newsies has been released as a film, which couldn't make me happier!  got to see both casts in our theatre's junior production of Shrek.  

march

     saw friends in the production Cemetery Club.  Saw a new iteration of Shakespeare's The Tempest on the big screen.  Joyce said I had to see the new live action Beauty & the Beast at the movie theatre too, so I did.  made another Paint Nite painting, this time of a beach scene.  made a well received presentation to the admins of our executives.  sang at Temple twice.  Janet and I again started rehearsals playing our horns in our community band.  

april

     saw many friends in the musical comedy The Drowsy Chaperone.  Janet and I saw The Musical of Musicals the Musical and laughed uproariously throughout.  sang twice and also read at Temple.  had three admin professionals activities during "our week."  enjoyed the Easter meal with Mama at her facility.  

may

     also spent Mothers Day with Mama at her facility; this day is truly a parking nightmare!  but she's worth it :-)  our band concert went very well and Janet's solos were beautiful.  before our concert, I arrived early and got to watch Janet's symphony orchestra perform, she played her bass.  saw a live event called The Blues Sisters at our "2nd home" theatre.  also got to see Will Durst there on another evening, as Janet gave me her ticket when she had to go out of town.  

june

     painted a lovely impressionist scene at another Paint Nite session.  Mama had another fall, another severe stroke, and after three days she passed away.  Joyce was able to travel up and be with her during that time.  

july

     as is our tradition, I saw the fifth Pirates installment on the big screen.  it was my turn to read Torah one Shabbat, and I got to sing at another service.  these opportunities helped to bring me out of my sadness.  I wasn't going to participate, given all that has transpired, but my Alice director suggested I just come to the first rehearsal and see how I do.  the kids greeted me so warmly, and were so convincing, that I did say I would join them in A Year with Frog & Toad. 

august

     our performances of Frog & Toad were heartwarming and therapeutic.  one of the directors of our theatre's latest production of Fiddler asked me to make a very special prop, an hand-made doll, for this show.  Christian, Janet, Joyce and I gathered to celebrate Mama's life with many of her friends from work, play and Temple.  it was a tremendously uplifting gathering.  got to view the eclipse at work, through proper eyewear passed around among several people standing in the building's glass stairwell. 

september

     joined the cast of the local ballet troupe's Nutcracker.  my first time in a ballet since I was age five.  painted another Paint Nite painting, of wine in a vineyard.  my sabbatical had to be postponed as the two admins who would have covered for me left our division and now I have no coverage.  went to another high school reunion, combined with Christian's class since our numbers are dwindling.  at the theatre Janet and I saw many theatre friends in Peter & the Starcatcher.  I also saw the production with my doll, Fiddler on the Roof.  Janet and I started rehearsals in our community band.  

october

     Janet and I went to a concert by the USAF Airmen of Note.  my birthday was going to be spent attending a wedding, going on a safari and spending a little time in wine country.  then the Tubbs fire struck the night before.  I still was able to drive up to the wedding, in a very fancy rental car, and instead of the safari, I went for a hike up to the newly restored and opened "blue cube" which had been a secret cold war building most of my younger years.  participated in the Simchat Torah service.  Joy! 

november

     continued rehearsals for Nutcracker and also helped out the costumers with some sewing.  had an odd reason to go sing karaoke one night; a car accident happened in front of my apartment, and the wrecked car blocked my parking spot!  also sang at Temple.  Janet invited me to her church's Friendsgiving dinner, and I brought a big pot of Chicken Mole.  

december

     we opened our Nutcracker in the very large performing arts center, which seats over 2,000 audience members.  we had nine performances over two weekends.  I was in one of the photos in a Chinese language newspaper!  Janet and I performed in our band concert.  a co-worker gave me his tickets to our football team's home game, which they actually won (they'd been losing).  saw the latest Star Wars at the IMAX theatre downtown!  

     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 7

wow! the holidays crept up on me!! first weekend of Nutcracker was exhilarating and exhausting - we had five shows over three days!!!  the second weekend was only four shows over three days, with a closing - full house - matinee on Sunday!  our production was mentioned in a few local publications, including one completely written in Chinese! (that's me in the photo, on the left.)

Janet and I performed in our band concert, both playing our French Horns, and she was thrilling playing the solos in the star wars heros arrangement!

Janet again invited me to a singles group gathering of her church people, at her favorite restaurant - - a fun gathering with some lovely young folks.

our holiday gathering at work again had an ugly sweater contest, and again I came in second - - still no grand prize for me.  but I netted a sort of prize ... one of my coworkers at the party offered to give me his 49er ticket to the Titans game, since he has a new baby at home and he doesn't want to go (face it, we've not had a good season).  lucky for me this game we did win!

the day after Christmas I went downtown to see the new movie Star Wars: The Last Jedi on the domed IMAX screen at The Tech.  that is the perfect way to immerse yourself into a flight into outer space!

because I am interim-supporting an exec at work, I eventually had to start working overtime to catch/keep up. while it put a little holiday jingle in my wallet, it sucked the last little bit of energy I had so the season wasn't as merry as it could have been.  ah, what I sacrifice for the team! :-)

Blessings to all my family & friends around the world. I hope this holiday season finds you well,
in the company of those you love, and with enough to sustain you.  Too many examples of
gluttony and excess fill the news, and I'm grateful to have "enough."
Here's to 2018!!

n o v e m b e r

well into rehearsals for Nutcracker, and am getting to work on some costumes too. adding sparkling "dewdrops" to tulle Flower skirts, and trim to a prince tunic ... right there in my wheelhouse! I'm having so much fun in general on this show!  also went to see one of my fave local performers, Chaz, singing and sax'ing at a new venue I've not been to yet. crowds were light, but we made it lively :-)  a last minute plea from the producer had me volunteering to house manage a performance of Avenue Q.   as I'd not ever seen this show before, the producer let me watch instead of man the lobby. Janet and I were also busy with band practice for the holiday concert next month. and, I had the opportunity to sing at Temple, which is always a welcome blessing! I even made it out one night for karaoke, only because there had been a wreck in front of my apartment complex, and one of the wrecked vehicles was right in front of my carport spot ... I couldn't go home! until after the ambulance, fire trucks, police personnel and tow trucks were all done.  Janet invited me to her church's Friends-giving dinner (the week before the official) and I took off a half-day from work to prepare an international dish to bring - - chicken mole (which went over really well!) 

s e p t e m b e r / o c t o b e r

september

well it was supposed to be a sabbatical, but work got in the way...

the admin who was supposed to provide major coverage for me while I took four whole weeks off (!!!) took a new position in another division and left me and the team high and dry. since I have plans in October that cannot be changed, I shortened my time away from the office to just 9 days :-( ... not quite a sabbatical, but I really do need the R&R.

I saw an opportunity to fulfill a bucket list event! the local ballet corp needed an actor to play Grandmother in this season's Nutcracker! the last time I danced to this ballet I was five! I'll also get to help out with costumes as part of my volunteer contribution! bonus!!

since two of my paint nights were cancelled in a row, they gave me a "freebie" and I used it to paint this lovely work of art.

finally got to attend another high school reunion. our school event coordinators combined the class before us with ours, and I went with two friends I've kept in touch with all these many years, Joe and Eileen.

shows I've seen: Janet and I caught an exceptional production of Peter & the Starcatcher starring a number of my theatre friends.  I got to see my doll "perform" in Fiddler on the Roof. It was such a moving performance, and a sold out house on a Thursday night!

at Yom Kippur Yizkor service I got to share again about Mama.  her birthday is coming up. there will be a lot of "new normals" coming ....

october

birthday time of year! but before that, Janet and I started band practices again, in preparation for the holiday concert. we have a fabulous bunch of music so far. no telling what the final music set will be, but it will be great!

Janet and I got to attend a great jazz band concert at Joyce's alma mater; the USAF Airmen of Note played at Valley Christian. we even took the opportunity to greet the lead singer afterward; she was a delight and took great pleasure in seeing our appreciation of their performance. (she said I 'was glowing' throughout - but of course!)

birthday-day arrived

I had plans to attend the wedding of very  dear theatre friends in wine country, which also caught fire the night before. thank goodness for instant messaging ... I was able to finally communicate with some of the wedding party, and so headed up the road for the 3 hour trip to the venue. funny back story ... since my little beetle is very old and I don't make her drive long distances any more, I arranged to rent a small compact car to make the trip.  at the rental desk where I always go (they know me there :-)  ) I mentioned it was my birthday, so as a "present" the let me rent a beemer for the price of a compact! needless to say I arrived at the wedding venue in style! and such a dream to drive ... I could get used to this!

 

 
back to the wedding ... the venue was without power due to the fires, but was able to adjust things and provide a lovely - and safe - place to hold the ceremony and reception. because these were theatre peeps, the "crew" bought a generator and lots of lighting materials, and made the patio a fairy-tale dreamscape.

    

(I can be seen crying with joy in the picture on the right, upper right corner)

I had made a reservation to stay the night in Calistoga, but that area was under evacuation, so had to make alternate plans over the river and hills in Fairfield. I had a last dance with the groom, and then the bride, and left the reception to drive down the deserted highway whose traffic lights were all dark - an eery drive to say the least - as ash continued to rain down, as it had all afternoon and evening.

(I can be seen in the bottom-left quadrant of this photo, under the groom's left elbow, as we boogie away)

The next morning: I had prepurchased a ticket to go a few miles away to do a photo safari - it was something Mama had wanted to do, and we didn't get to it before she passed.  I was going to channel my "inner Nana" and take my camera and get a couple hundred pictures, as she would have done :-)

sadly they were also evacuating people from the fire, and had sent me an email saying they would refund my ticket price. guess I will have to do this at a later date (and hopefully it would be there for me to do that!)  instead of a safari, I changed my plan to go to the Jelly Belly Factory. Joyce and I did this one of our birthdays, so I knew it would be fun. when I awoke and turned on the news, it was saying there may be evacuations in Fairfield, so again I changed my plans, drank weak hotel-room-coffeemaker coffee, and scrammed out of the hotel to get home as quickly as possible. after a 3-hour drive through rush hour traffic and a really nasty (possible fatality) accident, I got to San Jose, and stopped to get breakfast - actually brunch - at a relatively new breakfast-only spot I've been wanting to try.  ahhh!  now to decide what to do for the rest of the day that was supposed to be a safari. the Rosicrucian Museum is closed Mondays and Tuesdays so that was out. ever widening the online map - aha! I want to do that too!!

I pointed the beemer south, and headed into the foothills (an hour-long drive over winding roads at 20-30 miles an hour the whole way). I had been driven up this road only one other time, by a classmate after our high school graduation ceremony. this place always held mystery to us. it was an air force base shrouded in cold war secrecy. there also lived a "mean old man" who would shoo people off the property.  now I can access it as an open park preserve. so here I am at the 'blue cube' after hiking up a mountain of stairs to get here.

from this vantage point you can see for miles. I could see the smoke from the fires I had just left. I could see lots of lovely hiking that I was not prepared to do (but I did bring water, so I wasn't completely daft!) after wandering around and reading some of the history and preservation information, I took "the long way back down" as recommended by Ranger Ted, and followed one of the hiking trails back to the parking lot. spectacular views everywhere! by this time it was time to return the rental car. to say the least these last two days would be an adventure I doubt I'll ever forget.

Simchat Torah - the Joy of having the Torah to guide, teach and uplift us. I wasn't planning on attending the service this year, knowing that I would be coming back from birthday activities (and I didn't want to over-commit and disappoint people). my plan however is nothing compared to His Plan. mid-afternoon of Simchat Torah I got a text asking me to read a verse - in Hebrew of course! so I looked up my Portion - thank goodness for the internet - and did my preparation with a joyful heart! I was needed! The service was lovely, the celebration was joyful, and I read from our older, smaller Torah (with extremely small print!) - this special Torah which was a Polish "refugee" from the Holocaust. a joy in itself.

 

Janet, Joyce and I made a quick trip up to the ancestral cemetery in Washington where we caught up with our cousins and aunt, as well as placed some of Mama's ashes with her parents.  

a u g u s t

summertime, and while living is easy, it's also busy!

we had our weekend of performances of A Year with Frog & Toad - Kids! and it was so much fun!

[our cast selfie during final dress rehearsal]

[a scene where we moles sing carols]

one of the directors of the current production of Fiddler at our theatre asked me to make a very special prop for the show. it's the doll that the youngest character carries throughout, and it's the last thing seen on the stage, sadly abandoned as the family quickly escapes, at the end of the show. I made it all by hand, as a doll of that period would have been.

Joyce, Janet, Christian and I gathered with a substantial gathering of friends at Temple to celebrate Mama's fairly long, really rich, joyful life. We were touched by the precious words and stories people shared with us. the people who attended were of course from Temple where she had worshiped most of the last 26 years, the "horse people" from the Stables where she spent so many happy hours riding and horsing around, and nurses she had worked with for many years in the public health department.  the Sisterhood at Temple was kind enough to provide a meal after the Celebration.

the day after that, at work, we gathered in a glassed in stairwell, and passed around a pair of eclipse glasses at 10:15 a.m. on the 21st.  I have friends who drove and flew up to Oregon and Idaho to be in the path of totality! Their view was more like the photo below, but our 75% obscuration was still pretty impressive to "see" with the proper eye protection.

j u l y

finally got around to seeing the fifth installment of the Pirates movie in the theater, on Joyce's recommendation. it was more exciting than I anticipated - extremely fun to watch!

while many of the regulars were attending a conference in Chicago, the music worship team needed me to sing, which was so uplifting to me, and brought me out of my "bleu's" ... the following week I didn't realize, but I was scheduled to read Torah; thankfully my calendar reminders gave me enough time to do my regular preparation, and our gabai told me afterward that it was a wonderful reading.

I was encouraged by my Alice director to join the fun again this summer, and will be again mentoring, and playing several of Frog & Toad's friends as they play and sing through a Year! the kids are so loving and welcoming, and their warmth is soothing to my aching heart.  of course, trying to remember dialog, lyrics and choreo is a completely different matter!  focus - focus - focus! but we're all having a great time putting it all together. one of my mentees from last year joins me again, and I have a new mentee who is just joining Tabard this year.

j u n e

started out the month painting again. my first choice was a painting called glam-mingo (a glamorous flamingo) but the session was cancelled. sadly. I replaced it with a lovely seahorse painting, because the ocean is also a great subject. that event was cancelled too, literally 3 days before the event. harsh words were shared with the event coordinators, and a third attempt succeeded ... I painted this lovely impressionist serene lake.

   I N   M E M O R I A M
after having a fall and having another pair of brain bleeds, my mom, who lived 86-and-a-half full, rich and blessed years, on June 18 went home to be with Our Lord to live eternally in a perfect form. While we will miss her, we know we will all meet again for eternity.  Her Celebration of Life will be held in August.

while it was a sad occasion that brought her here, Joyce flew up to spend time with her Nana during the last 3 days. and I got to see my baby again, after nearly a year and a half! it was so wonderful to have her stay with me Friday through Monday. hidden blessings among the sorrow.

m a y

spent mothers day with Nana, which made for some bad parking at the facility, but she's worth it. our band concert was the Monday before Memorial Day, and it went very well; Janet and I had a couple of duet-solos that - I must say - sounded awesome! [I took the afternoon off before it, and saw Janet perform with her string ensemble as well, which was lovely!] I saw three talented ladies at Tabard, The Blues Sisters. so tremendous to be able to hear great live music! also had an opportunity to brush with fame.... met the fabulously funny Will Durst, thanks to Janet since she bought the tickets before she knew she would be travelling during this time.

a p r i l

ready for spring and lots of outdoor activities! caught the Sunnyvale production of The Drowsy Chaperone with many of our theatre friends. always one of my favorite shows to see. Janet swapped her ticket and we both ended up seeing The Musical of Musicals the Musical together. my first time seeing this one, but it definitely won't be my last, as it is a very clever, very funny show! sang (twice) and read at Temple.  spent Easter Sunday with Mama, enjoying the specially prepared meal they had there. don't know how many more of these we'll have, so I take advantage. at work, I had not one but three Admin Week celebrations (a return to the old days!) my team took me out, our division did something for our larger group, and the site had a "tea party" for all the admins locally.  made us all feel so nice!

m a r c h

bad weather finally tapered off. got to see some shows too!  several theatre friends were in a production of Cemetery Club, a funny and moving play about tradition and the survival of friendship against great odds. my company was instrumental in creating some really amazing technical wizardry for one of the bard's best plays, The Tempest, and a performance of the stage production was filmed, and I got to see the film! which was tremendous!!  had to drive all the way down to Santa Cruz, which was the nearest venue for this one-night-only opportunity, but it was worth it. and Joyce told me I needed to see the newest live action version of our favorite movie, Beauty & the Beast, so I made a point of catching that in the theatre (in 3-D) before it had moved on.

had another opportunity to do a (discounted!) painting night, where I created this lovely, serene beach scene:

at work, one of the attorneys asked me to make a presentation highlighting the importance of one of my key daily tasks, and the presentation was to the exec admins who work in the C-suite!  I was nervous and excited to have the opportunity to address them, especially about something so critical to their work as well as mine.  gold star for the day!  I got to present it again, along with my coworkers, as a subsection of our greater work product to our attorneys.  that presentation was well received also. I got compliments from several people after each, which proved that those presentations were indeed memorable and useful.

got to sing at Temple twice; once was with one of my most favorite singing partners, who will be moving to Nevada, so this was a "last chance" worship service.

band practice started up again, and Janet and I will again sit side-by-side playing our French Horns! Yay!! was up for Jury Duty, but waited all week (literally until 11 am Friday!) to find that I wasn't selected. thankfully since work and the courthouse are so close, I was able to work the whole time - no time off necessary to make sure I make it in by the deadline. Hamilton is going to be performing soon in the City, and I can't afford a ticket, but there is a lottery going on that I definitely took advantage of!

f e b r u a r y

time for the not so super football weekend. not only did our team not make it past 2 and 14, but the rotten Cheat-riots are at this bowl. I'm only watching for the commercials.

got to see several friends in 1776 again, and like ours, it was cast gender-neutral, so some of their mens' roles were played by women. One of my favorite directors directed it, and he gave some familiar scenes some new staging so it was a joy to watch and see what would happen next!  also got to see the filmed presentation of a live performance of the Broadway musical Newsies which I just loved!!  if the DVD ever becomes available, I will buy it!  also saw - not once but twice (both casts) - the junior production of Sunnyvale's Shrek which was most adorable! tremendous performances and very cute costumes.

2 0 1 7 . . . j a n u a r y

and it all begins anew....

spent the long new years weekend moving more of my stuff out of the big storage unit, in hopes that I can knock that grande payment out of my monthly budget.  luckily one of my coworkers, who is a generous soul, helped me move the most huge boxes up the stairs.  before the end of the month it was all disbursed to my apartment, to good will organizations and to a much smaller/cheaper unit to be more easily financially managed going forward. whew!

in between moving boxes, I was able to sing one weekend and read another weekend at Temple. always a blessing!

sadly, our Queen of Hearts (who captured our hearts) from last summer's Alice passed away from the complications of her many infirmities. many of the cast attended her funeral/memorial which was such a testament to how strong her spirit was and how far her reach past the boundaries of her wheelchair.  so inspirational!!

at work, I had the opportunity to meet up with a globetrotter who is in town to play over the weekend!

#15

at the movies, I went to see the new movie about the Space Coast and the women who made it possible, Hidden Figures.  what an amazing story! I know I cry at movies, but this one is such a feel-good we-are-amazing well done presentation!!