Parlor concert

Last night we attended a parlor concert in the neighborhood. Dmitry Rachmanoff presented an All Russian Program. He was in Russia adjudicating the first International Youth Competition for Amateur Pianists to be held in Moscow. Here is the information: www.claviarium.com/ While he was there he was invited to perform in China the latter part of June performing recitals in southern China as well as being a visiting artist at the Shanghai Normal University. They asked for an All Russian Program. Dmitry and our neighbor Mark have been friends since Dmitry arrived from Russia to attend Julliard and Mark was at medical school. Mark is an accomplished pianist in his own right as well as an opthamologist. They had spoken of having a parlor concert for quite a while. I think Dmitry played this concert as a kind of dress rehearsal for the China trip and what a performance it was. He is a skilled and gifted performer. His program included:
Tchiakovsky's - Two Morceaux, Op. 10, Nocturne in F Major and Humoresque;
Rachmaninoff's - barcarolle, Op. 10 No., Prelude in B-Flat Major, Op.23 No.2, Prelude in G major, Op. 32 No.5, Prelude in G Major, Op. 32 No. 5 and Prelude in G-Sharp Minor, Op. 32 No. 11
Medtner;s Two Fairy Tales, Op. 26, No. 2 in E- flat major and No. 3 in F Minor
Scriabin's Etude in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 9 No. 2, Etude in B-Major, Op. 8 No. 4, Prelude in G-Sharp Minor, Op. 22 No.1, Etude in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 42 No.5, Sonata No. 4 in F-Sharp Major, Op. 30
Prokofiev's Sonata No. 6 in A Major, Op. 82

He played it all from memory and at times almost appeared to be in a trance. It was a very entertaining evening. There were about 50 guests in Mark's house and everyone brought a treat and they had wine and other beverages. A great time was had by all.

Beautiful glads

We received these glads as a hostess gift last weekend. I am truly appreciating them as the week has passed. They have been a great harbinger of spring and summer.
At the dinner that night I made a Chocolate Almond Raspberry Torte that also got better as it aged although it was pretty awesome the first night as well.

Festival Mozaic

T and I attended the closing performance of this year's Festival Mosaic. The festival used to be called the Mozart Festival and they renamed it Festival Mosaic about 3 years ago to try to appeal to a younger audience. This festival has been ongoing since 1971. In recent years, like many classical music venues the funding has been difficult. They gather musicians from all over the world. There were 16 concerts in different venues from the Performing Arts Center to vineyards. Many of the concerts were sold out. If you've patronized the arts, you are very familiar with the fact that ticket sales alone do not cover the costs and with the economy this past year, it was a difficult season. The program this Sunday was familiar, fun and well played. There was no dancing with the Appalachian Spring piece but it was very enjoyable just the same.

Aaron COPLAND
Appalachian Spring (orchestral version)

Edvard GRIEG
Piano Concerto in a minor, op. 16

Ludwig van BEETHOVEN
Symphony No. 6 in F Major, op. 68 “Pastorale”

Glenn Miller Orchestra

Last night T and I ushered at the Clark Center for the Glenn Miller Orchestra. I've always been a succor for the movie "The Glenn Miller Story" and since I don't like movies as a rule, that says something. Every year I watch it and have a good cry. My favorite song is "Little Brown Jug".

There was only one performance and it was a sell out. The average age must have been well into the 70s. What a difference it makes to usher with a mature audience. No reminders necessary about gum, food and drink in the auditorium. No texting, cameras, feet up on seats. Of course there is the added task of transferring people from their wheel chairs and telling them they can't keep the wheelchairs and walkers in the aisles (fire safety guidelines).

The performance was really terrific. They played many familiar tunes. The average age of the orchestra was mid 20s with a 70+ year old conductor. Lots of fun.

A CAbi party

I went to a CAbi party today. I'm not sure if this is a true California experience but it sure was a first for me. CAbi stands for "Carol Anderson by invitation". It's a direct marketing sale of a designer's clothing line. Carol Anderson used to market her things through Norstroms and Neiman's. She has a fall/winter and a spring/summer line each year. This was a little like a Pampered Chef and a little like the real Filene's Basement. There was a party aspect in that the hostess had a wonderful spread of wines and foods. I didn't know this was the practice and the party was at 1:30 so I ate before! Who knew. After some socializing with the other guests, most of whom I didn't know, we got down to the show. Everyone was encouraged to model clothing from the racks. The consultant had a variety of sizes of the pieces in the fall/winter collection for folks to try on. After some initial modesty, women got a lot more comfortable just swapping pieces and ohing and ahing over what others had on. I "modeled" a pair of casual pants and a reversible vest. The pants were very comfortable and flattering so the technique worked. I probably wouldn't have bought them if I hadn't tried them on. So now I have to find something to throw out once the new pants arrive. We are still trying to stick to the one thing in, one thing out rule.

I couldn't believe how much people were ordering. I guess I'm just not the right type of consumer. The designs are very flattering on. One of the other guests was also a "color me beautiful" graduate and she cornered me and asked for my opinion on colors. She already knew what she should wear but others were telling her how great things looked on her and she trusted another cmb's opinion. Often the color wasn't right - she's a spring and many of the colors were for winters so they just didn't look good on her and wouldn't have fit in her wardrobe. She did end up buying quite a few items that were in her palatte.

Dinner with friends

Last night one of the neighbors hosted a big dinner party at the Pavillion that is part of the development. There were 16 people in all. I had met everyone before and enjoyed the chance to get to know a few people a little better. There golf course has a small restaurant at the pro shop but it closes at 6. There is no separate restaurant in Cypress Ridge. The chef at the Pavillion (which is a conference/event place) loves to cook and wishes more of the residents would use his services. It was like a very private party at a resort area. The hostess picked a salmon and a steak choice, both of which were prepared very well. There was a cocktail hour before and a delicious chocolate flourless torte for dessert plus after dinner drinks. Terrific evening with new friends.

Bonnie Raitt at Avila Beach

Yesterday we went to see Bonnie Raitt live in concert at the Avila Beach Golf Club, the same place we went to the San Luis Obispo Pops concert on Labor Day. http://www.avilabeachresort.com/events/upcomingevents.php The venue doesn't allow food or alcoholic beverages or opened bottles of water. T discovered this when he went online to check out the show. We went with our realtor and his wife, my cousin P & S, and another couple. The man in the other couple works as a stock broker with Waichovia Securities and the wife is a family counselor who writes a column for the local newspaper. The stockbroker was pretty down given the news about his company and the stock market.

When our realtor first organized this outing he invited everyone to bring food for a potluck meal that we could share at the venue. Of course we had to change plans. Our realtor is a member of the Avila Bay Yacht Club and he was able to arrange for us to use the premises for our pot luck indoor picnic and we could watch the boat races at the same time.

The lunch was terrific and we enjoyed meeting another couple from the area. They live on some acerage in the Edna valley near San Luis Obispo. The concert was also terrific. Bonnie Raitt is a very talented musician and her music spans from country to mostly jazz and R&B. We had a really good time watching the crowd. People were dancing all over the place and with more and more wine and beer, more and more people were dancing. I think folks looked a lot better doing the same dances 30 to 40 years ago than they do now doing the same dances but we were all having a great time.

Pops by the Sea

T and I went to the Pops by the Sea concert yesterday. Entrance and egress were surprisingly smooth and easy. We took our new fold-up chairs, sunscreen and water bottles and headed to the Avila Beach Golf Resort. They had a ton of volunteers working the parking which was on one of the golf fairways! I hear it was 108 degrees last year! Yikes, I'm sure we wouldn't have gone - tickets or not. We had to pay $5 for parking since we didn't have 4 or more people in our car. We got a great spot. After we sat for a few minutes a man sitting beside T, leaned over and asked if I was RC and I looked up to see M and J, new people I recently met on one of my walks around the neighborhood. P&S were there in the expensive seats with a tableful of people. T went looking for them before the concert and they came to find us at the intermission. The program was numbers based:“Pops by the Numbers!” Spanning the entire musical spectrum, Maestro Nowak led the orchestra in such classic numerically-themed music as Dave Brubeck’s jazzy Take 5, Broadway’s 76 Trombones, Hollywood’s The Magnificent 7, the Beatles’ When I’m 64 and of course, Tchaikovsky’s immortal 1812 Overture and many more. There was an auction of the conductor's baton to support the symphony. This fetched a bid of $10,500 and was purchased by the symphony's executive director and given to her husband. I hear that a number of people pooled funds to be able to make the bid. He also had the privilege of conducting the next piece. There were also prizes for those who biked and also a raffle for prizes including day spa visits, weekends at the golf resort and at a different area spa. The temps were in the 70s and the concert ended just as the sun was going down behind the big hill at the resort. Perfect!

Pops by the Sea

Today there is a pops concert by the San Luis Obispo Orchestra at the Avila Bay Golf Resort. Last year they tell me that the temperature was in the low 100s. I don't think I would have gone even if I had tickets. Today it's in the 70s but not sure what it will be in Avila. Avila is a south facing beach area and the micro climate there can be deceiving. When the rest of the shoreline is in the 60s it can be in the 80s there.

There are many ways to get there - either drive yourself, take a shuttle bus (I called and there weren't any seats left), carpooling with 4 or more people per car (gets free parking), bike or walk. It's a bit far to walk about 15 miles and we don't own bikes. So it looks like we'll be driving ourselves and pay for parking. You can't take in any alcohol but they will be selling it as well as picnic-style foods. You could order picnic basket meals ahead of time. There is lawn seating (which we have at $15 a person), and various other classes of seating including tables and chairs for $80 a person.

It reminds me of Sunset Sounds at Connecticut General back in the 70s or 80s (I can't quite remember when that was). It should be fun.

California Mid- State Fair and the Mozaic Festival

The California Mid-State Fair starts today and runs through August 3. T and I are deciding if we want to go to see what a California state fair is like and if so when. The fair is being held in Paso Robles. It's a pretty big deal. I'm not sure if it's as big as the Big E but from all the descriptions it's large. They have attracted some music acts some of whom I'm familiar with and others I've never heard of. Here's a sampling of some of the acts performing: Stone Temple Pilots, Toby Keith, Rascal Flatts, Godsmack, Stevie Nicks, Bangles, Rod Steward, John Mayer, Boz Scaggs, Hoobastanks and Chubby Checker. We haven't been to Paso since we moved west. Paso in the summer time can be very hot and it's predicted to be in the low 100s for the next week. I'm not a big one for large crowds or your typical "fair" activities or hot temperatures, but I am a believer in seeing things for yourself at least once if possible (especially if it's relatively convenient). Paso is only 50 miles from us so it's relatively convenient. So I guess we'll watch the weather reports and go the next day it's expected to be a little cooler.

The Mozaic Festival is also in SLO from July 13 to the 27. It used to be called the Mozart festival but organizers changed its name to the Mozaic Festival this year because it now offers more than just Mozart. The name change was intended to try to attract a more diverse audience by not limiting its audience to "Mozart" people only. The festival has expanded over the last 40 years to different venues and music from Mozart to many other composers and modern music as well.

What a difference a day makes

After 4 days of sweltering heat the day dawned absolutely beautiful. We're heading to the beach in a few minutes. The temperature is in the low 70s with a slight breeze and sunny skies.

Last night T and I ushered at the Clark Center for a community event put on by the local Sweet Adelines group. It was very well done with a western theme - "How the West Was Sung". Lots of songs from "Annie Get Your Gun". There were 3 barbershop quartets, 3 adeline quartets, one instrumental group and a whole bunch of women. The event was well attended with over 350 people in the audience.

Aida at the Clark Center

Today T & I ushered for the second time at the Clark Center. We received a desparate plea for volunteers to usher for the Sunday matinee show of Aida. I'm not a big opera fan, so we had not signed up for that particular show intentionally. I did wonder at the time that it was a pretty challenging production for a high school to put on. Nipomo High School was created in 2002 with grade 9 and 10. By 2004 they added the 11th and 12th grade. It spun off from the AG High School and now has over 1250 students leaving about 2500 students in AG. Turns out this show was not the opera but Elton John's and Tim Rice's musical "Aida", a rock musical. The show was very well performed and was a challenging production for a high school to put on.

Fun in AG

Friday was another day at the thrift store. A few weeks ago the store was in dire need of stuff to sell. Lots of people did some praying and they must have been very powerful prayers because the place is overflowing with things. In April the church's rector blessed the thrift store. Most of the volunteers showed up for the service which took place at the thrift store. I'm not sure if it was coincidence, good karma, answers to prayers or what but for the first time in months the store is back to its previous level of sales. We have so much stuff that there are no more hangers to hang priced items. So, I spent my time organizing the back room instead of pricing.

T and I went to P&S's for dinner last night. They are getting ready to head to Ireland for KT's graduation from medical school. He's graduating with honors and has received an excellent residency placement in Dublin for the next year.

R's brother MS and his wife OS have arrived safely in Wlft from FL. They took 4 days to make the journey stopping in NC, MD, NYC then onto Wlft. They saw daughter ES in Brooklyn and took in an artshow and dance performance at the HS where she teaches.

R's niece, TS, is graduating from nursing school in a few weeks. Her sister, SS, is transferring to a 4 year college in the fall. We're very proud of them. R's nephew, EA, has been accepted by the Aspen Orchestra to perform for the summer. His brother, EA, will be attending a debating camp in LA this August.

Today T & I went to the AG Strawberry Festival. It started as an ice cream social about 25 years ago and has turned into a huge, robust festival with countless vendors selling all kinds of crafts, paintings etc and food of every description and all foods Strawberry. I think there was a "fair" set up somewhere as well with rides etc. but we didn't come across that during our wanderings today. I think it was about twice as large as the Celebrate WH in CT that takes place in June.

Guitar, Spanish and T'ai Chi Chuan lessons

I started the second session of guitar lessons with the adult education program in our area. The five (down from the original seven) students in my last class all returned. I guess our little group is doing really well. When we ended our last class, we played through the piece we worked on - "Brown Eyed Girl" by Van Morrison at full tempo. The next level class was waiting to start their lesson and were there for our run through. When we left they all asked how come they weren't playing like we were! Pretty funny. We started a new piece last night - "Don't Think Twice" by Bob Dylan. We learned 2 new chords - Fmajor and Aminor. Our practice is to work on smooth transitions.

For studying Spanish, K told me about this really neat book called "Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish" by Margarita Madrigal. The technique she uses smiliarities in language and allows the student to participate in creating the language you are learning. It builds vocabulary very quickly and you start speaking much faster than using the more traditional methods I have tried.

I started the second sesson of T'ai Chi lessons about 3 weeks ago with all the graduates returning to fine tune their skills. I've tried to make the classes more drop in friendly. I've developed a short introductory form that students can learn and practice that introduces a few of the more recognizable movements - earth rooted hands, push hands, shifting weight and breathing practices. Each week any student can join us to learn the forms I am teaching that day. The more advanced students can practice the complete form and the students dropping in can practice the forms they have learned. In time hopefully they will learn all 24 forms and be able to string them together.

Free Range Chickens in AG

Arroyo Grande has a different take on free range chickens. The police officer in town tells us it started many years ago when people who received baby chicks at Easter didn't know what to do with the chickens when they were full grown, and they started to drop them off in town. Depending on the time of year there can be just a few to a huge flock of these chickens roaming around all over downtown. They seem to like to congregate in the parking lot behind the town hall buildings.

Yesterday and today there was a mini-carnival fair in a field near the ocean in Grover Beach. There were a number of rides for young and old, a climbing wall which was very popular and of course the ever popular Ferris wheel. There was plenty of food with representatives from a few of the local restaurants and the ubiquitous kettle corn and cotton candy. Interestingly they sold beer and wine. There was even a small "flea" market which was very busy.

Volunteering at the Clark Center

We joined a group of about 20 people last night for volunteer training at the Clark Center. The Clark Center was built in Arroyo Grande about 6 years ago with private donations (over $18 million). The town donated land from the high school. After it was built the Center was turned over to the school and they are responsible for maintaining it. The Center was built as a combination performance space for the schools in the district as well as a place for the bringing in the touring companies of shows and performers. They host about 25 to 30 major performances and 150 to 160 community performances a year - very busy place.

They measured us for vests - uniform is a green vest, white shirt, black pants, shoes and socks. They ask that each volunteer sign up for a minimum of 3 shows a quarter, I think. In return you get to see the show you're volunteering for and you get a certain number of passes for every 6 or so shows you work.

Craicmore

The Clark Center in AG is the town's performing arts center totally built with private donations. Tonight they brought Craicmore to town. Craicmore doesn’t do rebel songs or drinking songs. Instead, they draw their words and music from the traditional music of Ireland and Scotland while claiming influences as diverse as the Afro Celts, Chieftains, the Pogues, rock, and Australian indigenous music. They may be singing “Cunla” in Irish, but they will also be delivering “Mairi’s Wedding” complete with electric bass solo, and featuring conga drums in their show-stopping “Cape Clear Set.” They are from all over but Ireland now mostly from LA - they were very good.

SLO International film festival

This is the 14th annual SLO International Film Festival. I'm not a big fan of movies - actually I don't do movies at all. However, this festival has brought some great tourism to SLO for the past decade. This year they broadened the event out to the rest of the county with films shown in 5 different cities in the county. They have created a great link with the wines and vineyard business called Hollywood and Vines Series combining movies and wine. There are about 120 movies being shown throughout the week's festival. One can buy individual tickets or get a week's pass. Hopefully some of my movie loving friends will come to take advantage of this festival in future years. Here's a link to the SLOIFF Hollywood & Vines Series
http://www.slofilmfest.org/2008/filmsnew.shtml

Self-indulged

Today was a very fun day and super self-indulgent. Started off with a great spinning class, followed by a wonderful 6 mile walk on a warm sunny day. Worked on the agenda and budget for the A Hand Up board meeting tomorrow evening; made some yummy chocolate meringue cookies http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/10336523 (recipe by a low fat, lower calorie cook book writer) for a birthday party tomorrow; practiced guitar; finished another valance for over my desk and went to a guitar lesson - learned the D chord and the E minor chord and how to strum. We're trying to learn all the chords to play Little Brown Eyed Girl in 4 weeks. We're down one student already, but the rest of us are having a ball. Lots of fun!

I've got a Nano!

Yesterday I received a fully loaded little red Nano in the mail from Kay. She loaded it up with over 1400 songs! It's awesome. She hid a song she recorded in the middle of the huge list of songs and I found it as I was going through the names of the songs. It was so great to hear her singing and to hear her voice. Very cool - nice touch. I have charged it up and read the manual and I think I'm good to go. It will make my walks so much more enjoyable.

I have been practicing tuning my guitar and practicing the 2 chords we learned during our first lesson. I think I have both of them down now and they actually sound right - pretty amazing. I'm ready for lesson 2.

I've also been studying my Spanish every evening - it's still a struggle to memorize the vocabulary and of course all the verbs they throw at me are irregular. Like English the irregular verbs seem to be the ones we use most often especially in simple language - to be, to have, to go etc. I'm having fun with it.