Back again.
Let's do this in categories, shall we? Two theater outings in the last three weeks, The first, called the It Girl, was a wonderful little musical about, of all things, The It Girl. This was done by a small theater troop which does nothing but musicals - not one that I have previously told you about, but yet another one! Great production (although done on a shoestring), great choreography, great directing, great singing, acting not so great but, luckily, not much was required, young enthusiasm was quite enough. I went with Tom, my very favourite theater buddy, and we had a wonderful time. He actually called later in the week to see if I had time to do it yet once again and I was really sorry I couldn't.
The other bit of theater was at Jericho Beach, where something called The Slamming Door Artist Collective (I am not sure I believe in "woman's theater", but there you go) put on Ibsen's A Doll's House. I am sure I have told you the story of my father and Ibsen, so I will pass on that, and will only say 1) the Norwegians are very depressing, and 2) A Doll's House in particular is hard to watch. Nora is such a silly, awful character - until she isn't - and her husband is not much better. Don't get me wrong, it was well acted (too well, which is why she was hateful and hard to watch) and well directed and I was glad to have gone (which I did with Karen, a friend from bridge, a new theater buddy, and, as it turns out, Tom's cousin - check mark in the small world department), but another one where I can safely say I didn't really have a good time.
Okay, on to more cheerful things. Barbara Seagram, our very own Canadian bridge guru, who I love and adore, was back in Vancouver to do some teaching at a weekend tournament at out bridge club.
There's Diana, on the left, the organizational wizard, and my bridge partner Robin....
Robin and I were in charge of selling Barbara's books, and a great job we did too, if I do say so myself.....
.....anyway, Barbara (center) seemed happy - autographed my books and everything.....
On top of everything else, she is a great teacher, and I always learn so much (or think I do, anyway....if only I could remember it!!) Anyway, the classes were fun, and so was the bridge (the lessons must have stuck around for a few minutes - Robin and I scored points, at least on Saturday if not Sunday.
More small world stuff? Turns out that Tom (see above) knows Barbara from his graduate school days in Toronto, and she was over to his house for dinner the Monday after.
Brett, Tom's roommate, is a consummate chef, and outdid himself in the cooking department....
....and I think Tom was pretty proud of himself for the wonderful dinner party!!
Barbara will be coming back to Vancouver next year, and to the desert in March, and I am already looking forward to both...
As I am heading off for the desert shortly, it was a week of "goodbye" (for now) lunches.
Colleague Bea and former colleague Eric (formerly seen in these pages) had our usual good time at our favourite Japanese joint, whose name, after all these years, I still don't know...
And law school friend, acting lawyer and friend Richard did what we do twice a year, went for dim sum for his birthday and mine (this was his). We never run out of things to talk about. Maybe that's because we only see each other two times a year.....
Richard is a political junkie,so this was a particularly lively lunch, between the recent Canadian election and the upcoming American one....
Last item on the lunch department, a last lunch with Robin after bridge, for a while (she is headed off to the desert even earlier than I am....)
I do hate Halloween, and I do hate being told what to wear. But it was the bridge club, and they asked nicely, so here you have a sampling.....
It was a great game for my (seemingly obligatory) stupid error on one of the last hands, Oh well. We had a lot of fun (Robin being already gone, I played with Dyanne, seen with me above, and we get along famously. Hopefully, she will come visit to the desert.... )
What else can I tell you? I got reappointed to my job on contract for another three years, about which I am very glad.... (the only person who might conceiveably cared about this is David, so, of course, I cried when I got back to the office.)
I have put earnest money down for the trip to Antarctica, so it looks like Peter and I are really going (liftoff is January 17, 2017!!).....
I had friends over to my lovely kitchen...
...for brunch and bridge, and it looks like if I work at it, I can still entertain. It is a great place to entertain, too, and I am still very happy about the move...
Still going for walks in the neighborhood....
(those pictures were taken while it was still sunny. The weather has turned, my friends; the rain has arrived.)
Three books since last we spoke, Ian McEwen's The Children Act, A Serpent's Tale, by Ariana Franklin (a medieval, historical - ie., Henry II - mystery), and the start of a new series, The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra, by Vaseem Khan. The last takes place in Bombay, and looks to be a new First Ladies Detective Agency series except in India instead of Africa, a male inspector instead of a female detective - and an elephant! (New series are so exciting - it is all that happy anticipation of more books to come!!!) And, after all that fluff, I have just started Lawrence in Arabia, by Scott Anderson, about the infamous Lawrence, as well as three others, a German, an American, and a R0umania, who among them shaped the middle east we know today. I know a lot about that period before World War I, but from a Western, European, American point of view. This is from a very middle eastern point of view, and while I am not very far along in the book, I can tell you already that we are reaping what we sowed.....
Well, this Snow Bird is heading south on Monday, so the next post will be from Palm Springs. Talk to you then....
Let's do this in categories, shall we? Two theater outings in the last three weeks, The first, called the It Girl, was a wonderful little musical about, of all things, The It Girl. This was done by a small theater troop which does nothing but musicals - not one that I have previously told you about, but yet another one! Great production (although done on a shoestring), great choreography, great directing, great singing, acting not so great but, luckily, not much was required, young enthusiasm was quite enough. I went with Tom, my very favourite theater buddy, and we had a wonderful time. He actually called later in the week to see if I had time to do it yet once again and I was really sorry I couldn't.
The other bit of theater was at Jericho Beach, where something called The Slamming Door Artist Collective (I am not sure I believe in "woman's theater", but there you go) put on Ibsen's A Doll's House. I am sure I have told you the story of my father and Ibsen, so I will pass on that, and will only say 1) the Norwegians are very depressing, and 2) A Doll's House in particular is hard to watch. Nora is such a silly, awful character - until she isn't - and her husband is not much better. Don't get me wrong, it was well acted (too well, which is why she was hateful and hard to watch) and well directed and I was glad to have gone (which I did with Karen, a friend from bridge, a new theater buddy, and, as it turns out, Tom's cousin - check mark in the small world department), but another one where I can safely say I didn't really have a good time.
Okay, on to more cheerful things. Barbara Seagram, our very own Canadian bridge guru, who I love and adore, was back in Vancouver to do some teaching at a weekend tournament at out bridge club.
There's Diana, on the left, the organizational wizard, and my bridge partner Robin....
Robin and I were in charge of selling Barbara's books, and a great job we did too, if I do say so myself.....
.....anyway, Barbara (center) seemed happy - autographed my books and everything.....
On top of everything else, she is a great teacher, and I always learn so much (or think I do, anyway....if only I could remember it!!) Anyway, the classes were fun, and so was the bridge (the lessons must have stuck around for a few minutes - Robin and I scored points, at least on Saturday if not Sunday.
More small world stuff? Turns out that Tom (see above) knows Barbara from his graduate school days in Toronto, and she was over to his house for dinner the Monday after.
Brett, Tom's roommate, is a consummate chef, and outdid himself in the cooking department....
....and I think Tom was pretty proud of himself for the wonderful dinner party!!
Barbara will be coming back to Vancouver next year, and to the desert in March, and I am already looking forward to both...
As I am heading off for the desert shortly, it was a week of "goodbye" (for now) lunches.
Colleague Bea and former colleague Eric (formerly seen in these pages) had our usual good time at our favourite Japanese joint, whose name, after all these years, I still don't know...
And law school friend, acting lawyer and friend Richard did what we do twice a year, went for dim sum for his birthday and mine (this was his). We never run out of things to talk about. Maybe that's because we only see each other two times a year.....
Richard is a political junkie,so this was a particularly lively lunch, between the recent Canadian election and the upcoming American one....
Last item on the lunch department, a last lunch with Robin after bridge, for a while (she is headed off to the desert even earlier than I am....)
I do hate Halloween, and I do hate being told what to wear. But it was the bridge club, and they asked nicely, so here you have a sampling.....
It was a great game for my (seemingly obligatory) stupid error on one of the last hands, Oh well. We had a lot of fun (Robin being already gone, I played with Dyanne, seen with me above, and we get along famously. Hopefully, she will come visit to the desert.... )
What else can I tell you? I got reappointed to my job on contract for another three years, about which I am very glad.... (the only person who might conceiveably cared about this is David, so, of course, I cried when I got back to the office.)
I have put earnest money down for the trip to Antarctica, so it looks like Peter and I are really going (liftoff is January 17, 2017!!).....
I had friends over to my lovely kitchen...
...for brunch and bridge, and it looks like if I work at it, I can still entertain. It is a great place to entertain, too, and I am still very happy about the move...
Still going for walks in the neighborhood....
fo
(those pictures were taken while it was still sunny. The weather has turned, my friends; the rain has arrived.)
Three books since last we spoke, Ian McEwen's The Children Act, A Serpent's Tale, by Ariana Franklin (a medieval, historical - ie., Henry II - mystery), and the start of a new series, The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra, by Vaseem Khan. The last takes place in Bombay, and looks to be a new First Ladies Detective Agency series except in India instead of Africa, a male inspector instead of a female detective - and an elephant! (New series are so exciting - it is all that happy anticipation of more books to come!!!) And, after all that fluff, I have just started Lawrence in Arabia, by Scott Anderson, about the infamous Lawrence, as well as three others, a German, an American, and a R0umania, who among them shaped the middle east we know today. I know a lot about that period before World War I, but from a Western, European, American point of view. This is from a very middle eastern point of view, and while I am not very far along in the book, I can tell you already that we are reaping what we sowed.....
Well, this Snow Bird is heading south on Monday, so the next post will be from Palm Springs. Talk to you then....
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