Back, so soon.....

Well, it remains to be seen for how long.  I'm not in a very good head space.  For one thing, the internet is not working in the house, but seems to work outside.  The problem with that is glare.  You would think that they would have figured out how to eliminate glare from the screen....  On top of that, I haven't yet worked out editing my pictures, and I don't want to bore you all out of your wits with pages and pages of unadulterated text.  And, finally, I am just feeling totally incompetent.  At everything.  At bridge.  At Scrabble.  At Word Blitz (yet another addiction).  At my computer.  At friendship.  For that matter, relationships of any kind.  You get the drift....

Well, so far, so good.  Managed to upload an image from my phone.  I'll try some more from the computer, and fill in the text...

....friend John and his new partner Tom, dinner at John Henry's...

....and Tom and I having breakfast at Don and Sweet Sue's, an old favourite...

.....okay, the picture thing isn't working for me.  Not only can I not edit on my new computer yet, but the glare is such out here that I can't see.  (I am aware that those of you mired in rain and/or snow do not feel in the least sorry for me, so I will just go on.)

I think I had gotten us up to 2020, and I was going to talk about friendships and deaths...Fist, let's do the day to day.  In terms of musical outings, not so many  - just Wozzeck, from the Met.  What a strange opera, and I spent a lot of time trying to make sense of the staging.  In the end, though, I was sucked in by both the staging and Berg's music.  (The singing was glorious!)

Lots of bridge classes, on things like Smollen and Lebensohl and defense.  It does not seem to be helping me much - I don't seem to be getting any better.  I spent the better part of the day (when I wasn't trying to figure out how the computer works) contemplating quitting bridge altogether.  I'm so tired of feeling stupid...) 

On the brighter side, winter classes are starting, with two one-off classes this week, the first on Fairy Tales (new instructor, yet another fabulous one - he had a room full of adults mesmerized as he read and explained fairy tales - the Grimm version, not the sanitized one), and one on the Wannse conference.  As most of you know, I'm sure, this was the conference in 1941 with Eichmann and crew, eating and drinking and planning the elimination of the Jews from the European continent.  Talk about the banality of evil!  We had a discussion, then saw a film which had been made for HBO a number of years ago, with Kenneth Branaugh and Stanley Tucci, called The Conference.  It was a fabulous - and chilling -  film.  One of the revelations of the afternoon was, however, more personal.  The instructor, Butch Epps, has taught many of the film courses I have taken.  I've mentioned that he always has a spiritual bent to his take on films, and had always indicated that he was Catholic.  Turns out, he has recently found out that the name was shortened to Epps from Eppstein, and that a grandfather (or great grandfather) was Jewish - enough to have sent him to the camps had he not escaped!!!  I may have given up my Jewish card, but nonetheless...

Friendships first, and then deaths.  There have been renewals of several (but not all).  Judi and I met at the gym many years ago, but our attempts at maintaining the friendship, in spite of vigorous protests that we would do so, have been spotty.  No particular reason - we always seem to enjoy our time together - it's just that life gets in the way.  She called - the first time this season - and we did our usual Starbucks thing.  We talked and talked, and - once again - vowed to keep in better touch.  

Friend Sue arrived from her home in Michigan.  She is here for the season now, and will join me for a number of upcoming classes - as she did for the two noted above - as well as bridge and other outings.  And I reconnected too with friend Chaya, who was seriously injured in a fall, and although help was offered, was loathe to take it, so I hadn't seen her in probably three months.  She is still frail, but on her feet, and I was thrilled to see her.  And, finally, a new addition, Deanne.  I met her at bridge, but we discovered a common interest in theater and opera (it was she who urged me to join the opera guild), and we decided to deepen the friendship with a dinner.  We went to Bernie's - at my suggestion, I am sorry to say - and had what may have been the worst meal I have had in the Desert.  However, the conversation was great, and we are doing dinner and the theater in a few weeks.  I'm pleased as punch.

All right, the sun is going down - let's try again with the pictures...

 .......this was our aforementioned outing at Woodie's

......and an outing I forgot to mention, our neighborhood get together for the holidays

....and our zumba group...

...Peter and I at Miro's, another old favourite (this one did not disappoint...)

......... and the other zumba class....

.....alright, enough of that, until I can get the editing sorted....

And how about the deaths, you ask?  On December 30, Michael, who I had known for 45 years, made the decision to die (as we can do in British Columbia now).  He had been suffering from pancreatic cancer, and was in considerable pain.  As some of you know, Michael and I had been estranged for a number of years.  He was brilliant, but arrogant with it, and had beaten up on my poor husband until he vowed never to enter Michael and Barbara's house again.  I had recently seen Barbara at her studio (recently being October, just before I left Vancouver), and at least she had I had reconciled, and she had told me that Michael was dying.  I didn't see him; nonetheless, I wouldn't wish that death on my worst enemy, and it is hard to imagine a world without him in it.  Michael was a big part of my world, and larger than life.  

A number of bridge acquaintances died over the summer.  And, finally, Kathleen, Ted's wife.  She died in November, but friend Bill (who went to school with Ted and Kathleen didn't find out until recently, and forwarded the obituary.  Ted went to school with Hank (also now dead), and I met Ted when Hank and I visited Egypt a number of years ago.  Ted and Kathleen also joined us on a subsequent trip to Rome.  Kathleen was another of the many people I know who were larger than life.......

Well, enough for now.  We are almost up to date - only the long list of books read to add, but many were so interesting that I want to spend more energy talking about them than I have left tonight.  So, I will leave that - and the rest of the pictures - for another day, shall I?

I'll just close by saying that. all in all  (in spite of my previous grousing), my mood is good.  My life is on an even keel, and very, very full.  I am happy to be among the land of the living, still, and to be back with you, my faithful friends...