And no, I'm not happy about it. The season seems to have flown by - it feels like I just got here - the weather is just about perfect, and aside from a few opera opportunities, which I am really looking forward to, and a bridge tournament, there is nothing drawing me to Vancouver.
Immediately on my return from the Galapagos, Sue called to remind me that I had signed up to go to the Metropolitan Opera in the Movies to see Wagner's Walkure. I was tired, and almost bagged it, but decided to go anyway. I am so glad I did. Some people (read friend Peter) think Greer Grimsley is getting too long in the tooth to sing Wotan, but I (and apparently the rest of the audience, both at the Met and in the movies) loved him, and Christine Goerke as Brunhilde and Eve-Maria Westbrock as Siglinde (and Jamie Barton as Fricka) were grand as well. The five hours flew by - as is now usual for me, it ended too soon....
The following day, I had a new - and very Palm Springs - experience. Dale, a friend from Zumba - had invited me, and several of our classmates, to lunch at Smoke Tree Ranch, an old, private club in Palm Springs. Very old money (no Jews, blacks or Mexicans allowed until recently), great service, great food, great location. ...
......sorry, guys, invitation only.
My friends the road runners haven't forgotten me while I was gone...
.....and the three classes I was able to sign up for were all wonderful, in very different ways. The Man Without a Face was about Putin, his rise to power and his absolute control of the Russian State (scary); The Desert encompassed geology, water, Native Americans, and our Pioneers (very informative - the desert is a very special place); and All Ashore Who're Going Ashore was about the glory days of trans-Atlantic travel. The instructor, Vinnie Stopia (previously mentioned in these pages, Vinnie lives just down the street from me), is always a showman, and dressed for the classes.
Very entertaining...
As happens every year, there has been a round of going away dinners (and exhortations to live here year round). One night it was Thai Smile with friend Chaya, another it was Greek, with friend John and his new beau Tom...
.....at one of my new favourite restaurants this season, Yianni's...
....and, finally, dinner at my friend Sue's place, the first time I have seen it. And, of course, lots of hugs and kisses all around, at the bridge club, the gym and zumba.
So, I thought I would show you my new ride....
The Audi is still alive, but on its last legs, so I thought I would be proactive. Besides, these don't come up all that often, and bridge partner Alex thought it would be fun to have matching cars.... (2000 Chrysler Sebring, don't you know...)
....that's him, below, my bridge partner, that is, although he is much handsomer in person....
Immediately on my return from the Galapagos, Sue called to remind me that I had signed up to go to the Metropolitan Opera in the Movies to see Wagner's Walkure. I was tired, and almost bagged it, but decided to go anyway. I am so glad I did. Some people (read friend Peter) think Greer Grimsley is getting too long in the tooth to sing Wotan, but I (and apparently the rest of the audience, both at the Met and in the movies) loved him, and Christine Goerke as Brunhilde and Eve-Maria Westbrock as Siglinde (and Jamie Barton as Fricka) were grand as well. The five hours flew by - as is now usual for me, it ended too soon....
The following day, I had a new - and very Palm Springs - experience. Dale, a friend from Zumba - had invited me, and several of our classmates, to lunch at Smoke Tree Ranch, an old, private club in Palm Springs. Very old money (no Jews, blacks or Mexicans allowed until recently), great service, great food, great location. ...
.
......sorry, guys, invitation only.
My friends the road runners haven't forgotten me while I was gone...
.....and the three classes I was able to sign up for were all wonderful, in very different ways. The Man Without a Face was about Putin, his rise to power and his absolute control of the Russian State (scary); The Desert encompassed geology, water, Native Americans, and our Pioneers (very informative - the desert is a very special place); and All Ashore Who're Going Ashore was about the glory days of trans-Atlantic travel. The instructor, Vinnie Stopia (previously mentioned in these pages, Vinnie lives just down the street from me), is always a showman, and dressed for the classes.
Very entertaining...
As happens every year, there has been a round of going away dinners (and exhortations to live here year round). One night it was Thai Smile with friend Chaya, another it was Greek, with friend John and his new beau Tom...
.....at one of my new favourite restaurants this season, Yianni's...
....and, finally, dinner at my friend Sue's place, the first time I have seen it. And, of course, lots of hugs and kisses all around, at the bridge club, the gym and zumba.
So, I thought I would show you my new ride....
The Audi is still alive, but on its last legs, so I thought I would be proactive. Besides, these don't come up all that often, and bridge partner Alex thought it would be fun to have matching cars.... (2000 Chrysler Sebring, don't you know...)
....that's him, below, my bridge partner, that is, although he is much handsomer in person....
......taken yesterday, at our last hurrah at the bridge table for a bit (although, he lives in Vancouver as well, and we will be playing throughout the summer after he arrives back next week). We did pretty well, coming in third overall and scoring some master points.
What else? I have months of books to catch you up on, and it has been good reading recently, so here goes (in no particular order):
The Great Believer, by Rebecca Makkai, about the AIDS crisis, but from the point of view of Chicago (as opposed to San Francisco or New York, which we usually read about). A good book, and a good reminder of the fear and dread of those times.
The Lamorna Wink, by Martha Grimes. Found it on my book shelf, and realized I hadn't ever read it Grimes never disappoints; in fact, this may be the best of the lot, as it goes into the psyche of the main characters.
Behold a Fair Woman, by Francis Duncan. This is one of my library finds, and as good as the other three of his that I have read.
On my trip, I read All my Puny Sorrows (depressing, about the effects of suicide on a family); The Magpie Murders (I had read it before, but it was the only thing in the ship's library left to me, and it was worth re-reading); Darwin's Finches, about two researchers (studying, interestingly enough, Darwin's finches, and more fascinating that you might imagine); and, finally, The Mapmaker's Wife, by Robert Whitaker, based on a true story about one of the early explorers of Peru (now, partially, Ecuador) and his native wife - amazing how much world history I don't know. I liked it.
And, since I've been home:
Lethal White, by Robert Galbraith. Apparently, everyone else in the world knew that this was the pseudonym for J.K. Rowling of Harry Potter fame. Just as well I didn't know; I'm such a snob, I wouldn't have read it, and it was an amazingly good read.
The Family Tabor, by Cherise Wolas. This is a novel which takes place mostly in and around Palm Springs, which is always fun, about a rich Jewish families and the lies they tell themselves, and each other. I was gripped by it. Ending a book is tough - often, I don't think the authors have got it right - but this one was perfect.
And, last but not least, The Silent Patient, by Alex Michaelides. This was billed as a page-turner, and it was. I don't usually go for thrillers. Murder mysteries, yes, but of the gentle, Miss Marple variety. This one, though, sucked me in, and I literally didn't put it down until I finished it. This is a first novel; this guy's got a future, I think.
Well, that's it folks. Sue is picking me up in an hour, and we are off to breakfast (destination unknown) and then the airport. When next heard from, I will be in Vancouver. Talk to you then.
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