I am going to lose my fan base if I am not better about writing, but really, one has to be in a certain mind frame to do this, and I just haven't been there. Actually, I am not there now, nor has the fact that I just lost two hours worth of writing into the ether is not helping. So, if I haven't lost you by now, here goes.
I have been working since I last wrote on June 11. I lived pretty much above my means last winter, and have to make up for it now. Working has been interspersed with the usual bridge, lunches and dinner and the occasional cultural outing, about which more below.
First, lunch with Kim, friend and former (now retired colleague).
Km is a meat and potatoes kind of girl, no ethnic food for her, so we ate at local (to work, in an industrial mall, in fact) restaurant, previously mentioned in these pages, Two Chefs and a Table. Real diner food (except, of course, being Canada, more expensive) like macaroni and cheese (cheddar, no fancy cheeses here), chicken and waffles, and pulled pork sandwiches with tater tots! The food is good, and it was nice to catch up. I was reassured that Kim hadn't murdered her husband in retirement!
The weekend of June 13th, I was meant to go down to Seattle to play with Arlene, but health issues (hers, not mine) intervened, so, weekend or not, more work.
Friend and colleague Lesley helped a lot in the whole stolen purse episode (sending original documents from Vancouver to Palm Springs, etc.) and I had missed her birthday while in Palm Springs, so a dinner was long overdue.
And there we are, at old favorite Trafalger Bistro, finishing off with some of their superb desserts which neither one of us needs but both adore.
Tom and I went to Bard on the Beach to see Midsummer Night's Dream, my first Bard outing of the season. It was moderately successful. Tom and I always enjoy our evenings out, and after over 40 years, still don't run out of things to talk about. We are, of course, creatures of habit; when we go to Bard we always eat at Corduroy, where both food and wine (in Tom's case, beer) are good, service is speedy and it is only a short walk back to the tent on the beach which houses the theater. So, why only moderately good? I walked out of the production 15 minutes prior to the end. Most of you know how I feel about silly: more is definitely NOT better, and although they had been doing fine, it just got too silly! Luckily, Tom is used to my (quiet) tantrums - it is why we sit on the aisle, after all, so there will still be more theater evenings.
More dinners followed, one with friend Dru (new friend from Palm Springs who also lives here part of the year), and two with friend Geoff. (more about Geoff anon. Right now, suffice it to say, he has moved from his apartment in the West End of Vancouver to Steveston, Copper Sky, in fact, the building right in front of mine and my former stomping grounds. I see many more walks and dinners with Geoff in my future). All three dinners were at Yokahama; everyone loves it, as do I, but even I have had enough Japanese food, for now.
Another dinner (no, two actually) during this period with friend Gerry (also known as the Juke Box Man). He came up my way (he lives in White Rock, about a half hour south) first, for fish and chips at Pajo's on the dock. Then, I went down his way and we crossed the line into Bellingham for dinner and a spot of shopping.
First, dinner at Red Robin...
I love Red Robin....it's so...American, what with its great (and huge) hamburgers, endless drinks, and kitsch! The shopping was, well, interesting. Gerry wanted some advice at a place called The Love Shop. He also thought I might be interested, as I have whined about the lack of, shall we say, affection in my life.. Too much information? Suffice it to say, the trip was a success. The rest I will leave to your imagination.
Then, another disappointment. The plan for the weekend of June 27th was a trip to Ashland, Oregon. I was to fly down to San Francisco on June 25th, Hank (who I haven't seen or talked about in these pages for ages and ages) and I were to drive up to Ashland, see five plays, have some nice meals, and drive back to SF, followed by my flight home, and work bright and early Monday morning. Well, on the 24th, I got a call from friend Pat; Hank's in the hospital with a blood clot on his lungs. Time for some broken field running (just about my only sports metaphor, and one of which I am inordinately proud, learned from Hank, as a matter of fact, at one of the University of Arizona football games, I am sure.)
I flew down to SF anyway, to be of whatever help I could, since I already had the plane tickets not to mention a reservation at the Chateau Tivoli, a wonderful B & B in Hank's neighborhood.
The b & b is, as you can see above, funky, and I had a third floor walk-up room with a shared bath, but it is convenient (half a block from Hank's, and their wine and cheese in the afternoon and breakfast in the morning are great, not to mention their great prices.
Anyway, the idea was to make lemonade out of lemons, and friend Peter was happy to help with that. He and friend Fay both give money to the Merola Program at the San Francisco Opera. That buys you some perks, including invitations to see Master Classes, where teachers of note teach the young singers who are part of the program. Peter and Fay were already going on Wednesday, and they managed to score a ticket for me. And who was teaching? Bass/ baritone Eric Owens.
fA fabulous voice, and a great teacher. Apparently, there are impediments to our marriage - I asked, much to his delight! The class was followed by a reception. Below, Peter and Fay....
.... as well as Fay posing with a young Polish singer she is sponsoring...
.
Below, another of the students (with a big-time donor). He is a baritone, with a glorious voice, but he might be more believable as a bad guy (you know that the baritones are always the bad guys) if he didn't look like Pee Wee Herman! Nice kid though, with a lot of aplomb!
This is the soprano we heard - great voice, lousy dress!!!
The three of us had dinner at Arlequin, a popular spot in the Hayes Valley, not far from the Conservatory of Music where the class was held, before hand. Altogether, a lovely evening!
Peter also reminded that the Wagner Society was meeting on Saturday. Peter and I are going to Bayreauth for the Ring in August, to that was a great outing option. I have probably mentioned this, but the irony is so great that it bears repeating; The Wagner Society meeting in the Jewish Community Center!!!! Anyway, Peter and I had a lovely brunch at Ella's, a local joint nearby which, for a change, had no line-up, and the meeting consisted of a speaker discussing (and playing) recordings of Wagner. It really got me excited about the trip (my reading is going on apace, see below), so a lovely afternoon.
Meanwhile, after 4 days, Hank got out of the hospital. He will be okay, if forever on blood thinners. Several pieces of good news, though. The clot went to his lungs, not his brain (where it could have made him a babbling idiot), or his heart (where it could have killed him). And since he had already gone cold turkey in the hospital, he has decided to try to quit smoking (and not a minute too soon!). So, wake up call heard!
Once out of the hospital, Hank and I tried to amuse each other, he because he was guilty about us missing Ashland, me because, well, I wanted to amuse him. So we had lunch at the Boulengerie(sp?) in the Atrium....
where we had our usual smoked tuna salad; our usual dinner at Alamo Square Bistro, where we had our respective usuals (creatures of habit, I tell you, creatures of habit), and saw a few movies (Fault in our Stars (romantic comedy cum coming of age movie about two teenagers who have cancer falling in love, surprisingly watchable, actually) and Jersey Boys (not as good as the Broadway Show, but, of course the music was great - the guy playing Frankie Valli had a fabulous voice).
Altogether, pretty good for a Plan B. The flight home was uneventful, and, as promised, I was back to work on Monday morning.
Back to Geoff. While I was in San Francisco, I got a call from an unknown number in Palm Springs. Noone calls me from Palm Springs; when I returned the call I thought for sure that someone was going to tell me that my house had burned down. But no; it was only Geoff's friend Tom, to tell me that Geoff had had a massive heart attack over the weekend and almost died. Fast forward, he is all right now, and will make a full recovery, but jeez, don't these people know that I am the one who is supposed to be dead?
Oh, yes, and two friends lost their respective mothers this month! I'm not like this part of old-age a lot.
I worked on Canada Day (of course, making up for lost time), but did get out for a walk later in the afternoon - we have had some glorious weather, interspersed with the rain) to see some of the festivities in Steveston.
The hokey part (like the parade) was already over by the time I got out!
So much for July 1. On July 2, a going away party. One of my colleagues, a relatively new one (I've been working here for 19 years, Trish has only been here for 2), is leaving for a better - or at least different - job; better for her, at least, as her mother is ailing and she will be able to work at this new tribunal totally at home).
Any way, she was up for dim sum, so our local dim sum it was, about 30 of us for lunch.
...below, the honoree herself....
God, I love dim sum! This place, a local dive whose name escapes me, if not my favourite, but still....
So, in between all this eating and drinking, the boys and I played bridge a few times, I played bridge with Robin a few times too ( we were really hot, and actually scored some points), and, a few nights ago, went to Bard on the Beach again with Tom to see the Tempest, this time, a wonderful production, well staged, wonderful costumes, and great acting. The Tempest is not one I have seen that often, and this was one for the books.
Finally, the new blog feature, What's Nora Reading? Well, at least I haven't wasted the whole month. For non-fiction, I've read David Sax's new book called The Tastemakers. The subtitle is "Why we're crazy for cupcakes but fed up with fondue", and it was actually as interesting as it sounds. Also, in preparation for Bayreauth, "I saw the World end' by Deryck Cooke, a study of Wagner's Ring. And, on a (much) lighter note, Armistead Maupin's newest (and he says last) book about the Tales of the City folks, this one called The Days of Anna Madrigal. For those of you not from San Francisco, an explanation is in order. Armistead Maupin used to serialize his books in the San Francisco Chronicle, and those of us, like me, who were addicted to it, would read Tales of the City first, even before Herb Cain, as he then was. Anyway, still love it. And last, just started a novel by Jeffrey Eugenides (who wrote Middlesex) called The Virgin Suicides. Book report later.
I was wrong. I should make myself write this blog when I am low - it always makes me remember how lucky I am.
More, soonest.
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