Nancy’s blog

I took my parents to the SF Symphony today.  We had a wonderful day.  The weather was perfect.  The program was excellent.  The violin soloist was beyond outstanding.  And we got two encores - one from the soloist and one from the orchestra.  The tickets were my mother's Christmas present.  She loves classical music but has not been to a live symphony performance in many years.  My dad said it was his first ever.  They both loved it.

There was a little event during the Beethoven symphony in which Thomas got so carried away with his conducting that he actually bumped the music stand for the first cellists on his right and had to reach out to stabilize it.  We were sitting about 5 rows from the stage just a little to the conductor's right side as he faced the orchestra so we were able to see the exchange that followed.  As he held the top of the music stand he grinned at the cellists and they grinned back - all amused about the near disaster - never (of course) missing a beat.

Somehow, it made the performance and the performers more human.  I spent so much time in my formative years on stages and in concert halls performing myself.  Not that I was anywhere near a professional level of proficiency, but in that moment it all came rushing back and I felt a kinship with them.  It makes me grin just thinking about it.

GilShaham

We are 10 days away from our big release, the architect is here this week, and there is still much to do - but I took a day off on Sunday for a belated Valentine celebration.  JB took me to Postino in Lafayette for a lovely dinner.  I have wanted to go there for years but never seemed to get around to it.  My sweetie is something of a wine connoisseur and they had one of his favorites on the menu.  It was certainly the best bottle of Pinot Noir I've ever had.  (I can't tell you the winery because it's already tough to find and he won't be happy if I turn even more people on to it.) Between that and the champagne, I overindulged a little but that is a pretty rare thing for me and we had such a good time that I didn't regret it - even when nursing a slight hangover on Monday. 

Sigh.  Let the decadently lazy Sundays continue.

I got the email from my dad while I was at work this afternoon.  My favorite uncle passed away last night.

He was such a wonderful man.  I can never think about him without smiling.  He was so smart and gentle and kind and always had a smile.  He worked for Lockheed and was part of the team that put the Hubble telescope in space.  I actually owe my career to him as he is the one who encouraged me to get into this new field of "computers" before anyone had ever heard of a PC.

In recent years, he sadly developed alzheimer's disease and we gradually became strangers to him.  I think he always remembered my parents because he had known them so long.  (He was my uncle by marriage, so not a sibling to either of my parents.)

I feel tremendous sympathy for my cousin, as she is my closest relative other than my parents, and she has now lost both of her parents.  At least she does have her own family.  She and her husband have been married many years and have a terrific son who is just graduating from high school.  I'm still trying to get a hold of her, but I don't think she was able to be with her father at the end.  I hope I will be with my parents when the time comes.  Somehow, I always picture it that way.

I must try to find a good photo I can scan and add to this.

Mom & Dad at the dog show

I took my parents to the dog show today.  We weren't sure what to expect - not having been before - but had a wonderful time.  It was wonderful to see my mom really enjoying herself.  There aren't too many things that really excite her any more so I always feel a wonderful sense of achievement when I find something that does. 

We spent some time watching the judging but the real treat was going around and visiting all the dogs and their owners/breeders.  The SF dog show is one of the few "bench" shows in the country where it is a requirement for any dog that is entered in the competition to remain on display (or "benched") throughout the entire show.  Most breeders will have one or two dogs out of their crates at a time for people to visit with while the others rest in their own little space.

The big highlight of the day was the flyball demonstration.  It's a relay race in which a series of dogs race through a set of hurdles, retrieve a ball, and run back through the hurdles.  Just as each dog reaches the original starting line with the ball, the next dog on the team is released.  The team with the fastest total time wins.  You can't imagine how much the dogs love it (not to mention the crowd).  It's amazing to see the tiny dogs jump hurdles as tall as they are.

Of course, I had to visit the collection of Chesapeake Bay Retrievers but couldn't stay long.  They reminded me too much of Molly.  I now have a couple of new favorite breeds.  The first is a Gordon Setter.  I had never seen one before.  They are so sweet and gentle and beautiful - what a wonderful breed.  The second is - to my surprise - a Bassett Hound.  I have never gravitated toward Bassetts before but I think it's because I have never had a real personal encounter with one.  I was so surprised how much they seem to really connect with you.  So many dogs just look at you as a possible food dispenser, but these dogs really stare you in the eye.  It was amazing.  You look at them and really feel someone looking back.  The owner said he has 10 of them and they are all like that.

Sigh...now I want one of my own.

Been in the mood to bake lately.  It's a good sign.  It means I'm feeling more like myself than I have in a while.

Homemade pizza dough, chewy oatmeal cookies with chopped Scharffenberger bittersweet chocolate, bran muffins with golden raisins and walnuts.

I have never been very comfortable with being lazy.  I always feel a little bit guilty - like I really should be doing something at least mildly productive.  I do watch some TV, but I'm always exercising or ironing or making a grocery list or giving myself a much-needed manicure while I do it.

So, one of the good-for-me things that have come with my new-ish beau is that Sundays have become our lazy day.  I still struggle a little bit with a guilty restlessness, but I'm making progress.  We both work like crazy all week and really need the down time.  It helps to have someone else encouraging me to give myself permission to slow down and remember that I am doing something good for myself by doing nothing.

After many months of long, start-up days - what I really need is a vacation.  But for now, a weekly day of rest is the next best thing.

Klimt_GardenOfSunflowers

2 comments

Every year I do a jigsaw puzzle around Christmas time.  It is something that my Mom and I have always done together over the holidays.  Usually, the bigger/harder the puzzle the more we like it.  This year's puzzle image is a painting by Gustav Klimt called Garden With Sunflowers.  I especially like working puzzles with images of art.  Some art lovers might roll their eyes - but it's not about whether the image on the puzzle provides a true life experience of the original piece.  I mean, it can't possibly.  But in working a puzzle, you examine every square inch of the image and by the end you are initmately familiar with every brush stroke.  It makes me enjoy and appreciate the original so much more when I have spent time getting to know it in this way.  It becomes mine.

I have the gift neither of the spoken nor the written word, especially if I have to say something about myself or my work.  Whoever wants to know something about me ought to look carefully at my pictures and try to see in them what I am and what I want to do.  ~ Gustav Klimt