All booked up for the weekend, we were (cue Yoda voice).
Saturday was the day for the annual Music in the Mountains Brewfest fundraiser at the Fairgrounds. It's a time and place where, for one entrance fee (designated drivers come free), folks can mill around amongst the pine trees whilst tasting brews from 25-30 microbreweries. Unlimited. There's live music and food to buy, but, otherwise, that's the whole deal. As a person who doesn't care much (or at all) for beer, the attraction is a bit mysterious until I substitute the word "chocolate" for "beer". Oh. Now I get it.
We helped with the set up in the morning (already well underway from the day before), did our jobs from about 2 to 6:30, and helped with the clean-up--about a 12-hour day spent in the most beautiful fairgrounds in the state. Tom's job was to lead the team of people who monitor the gate--checking IDs, banding, line control, etc (he did that job last year while I was backpacking). My job was to sell tickets, which I think I handled with sufficient aplomb. Since we both worked at the gate, we were in the perfect location to observe how much, uh, happier folks were on the way out than on the way in. So far as we could tell, their DDs, the taxis, and shuttles all did their jobs to get everyone home safely (some people even camp on site), though there was one guy we weren't too sure about who took off on a bicycle. Nothing in the blotter, though. Too busy for pics.
On Sunday, we had been invited to San Francisco by Dylan and Emi to meet her folks, who were in town from Colorado. Rachel also joined in on the fun. There would be brunch at Emi's followed by a walk to the park where the San Francisco Symphony would be playing a free concert.
Michelle and Doug Hofmeister are delightful people, as we expected they would be. We learned a few things about them, among which is that they sing in a chorus there in Boulder. 
Their singing background is a bit different than mine, however, having sung mostly in Opera choruses in Chicago. In fact, I think it's how they met. Recently having moved to Boulder after 35+ years in Chicago, they live just a few miles from where we lived in the mid-seventies and frequently pass the hospital where Dylan and Rachel were born.
The concert was wonderful! It was part of a commemoration of the Mexican Bicentennial. In keeping with the theme, the conductor was Alondra de la Parra, an amazing 30-year-old Mexican woman who blew us away! 
She conducted several works by Mexican composers, all of which we loved, then followed them with Dvorak's New World Symphony and the overture from Marriage of Figaro by Mozart. We were all quite impressed! All outside on a beautiful day! No fog!
After the concert, Michelle and Doug left to catch a plane home and we hung out at Emi's for a short while to see their fabulous pics of Italy and have a bit of a munch before driving back to GV. Not content to leave well enough alone, though, we scarfed down some Swedish fish and Foster's ice cream on the way. One word: overkill.
The photos are all taken at the concert: Dylan and Tom, Emi (sitting behind her folks), Doug and Michelle, Rachel and Me, and Alondra de la Parra/orchestra.
So, Clay and Nathanael were in the midst of a whirlwind prospective-California-colleges tour last week. Lucky for us, they also included a minor detour to Grass Valley (wedged between Fresno State and Chico) for a fun evening.
Clay is a wonderful friend of ours from San Diego and my esteemed backpacking buddy. He plans 'em, I hike 'em. Most years, we manage one trip, the next one being scheduled for next month.
Nathanael is a senior this year, and he and Clay visited, oh, let's see, UCs Irvine, Santa Barbara and Davis, Cal Poly SLO, Fresno State, and Chico State in four days. Somehow, there was also time for quite a few miles driven and some visits with friends thrown in for laughs.
We did have time to hang out a bit, grab a bite at Posh Nosh, and eat some homemade strawberry ice cream. After dinner, Clay and I caught up with some chatter whilst Tom and Nathanael watched "Hurt Locker". It had come from Netflix some time before and I was glad for someone else to watch it with Tom. I just never seem to be in the mood for that sort of thing.
Then, in a blink, after a quick breakfast next morning, they were gone, down into the hot Sac Valley to catch the ambiance of Chico and then Davis, which was added to the itinerary at the last minute (when they were with us, actually). By means of Facebook yesterday, Nathanael told me he rather liked Davis the best. Funny
(his brother, Tyler, just finished his second year at San Francisco State as a film major).And since I only took the one photo of the Phillipses, I thought I'd add a few recent shots of my flowers for entertainment: the first is an ismene (new to me, too) that popped up a few weeks ago. I had forgotten I'd planted it last fall and had to go looking for the package to know what it was. A little surprise I gave to myself. The second is the third or fourth blooming of the oriental lilies that Dylan gave me for Mother's Day a few years ago. Amazing aroma! And the last photo is the disproportionate bloom of the succulent growing on a table in the patio. Also a surprise.
Hope everyone's keeping cool!
Sometimes, we just can't help ourselves. Sometimes a lot of a good thing is still a good thing.
We're long-time fans of Paula Poundstone (yes, we know about all that unfortunate business in her personal history). We enjoy her humor regularly on our favorite radio program, "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=35) and on TV from time to time. Last March, I wrote a little bit about our little trip to Sacramento to see her perform at the Crest Theater, downtown. We sat about two-thirds up into the sizable and sold-out audience and thoroughly enjoyed it!
A couple of months ago, we heard that she'd be coming to appear at Center for the Arts here in Grass Valley. Really. Little Grass Valley. 300 seats. Tom ordered tickets at 12:01 am on the first day they were available. That was probably unnecessary given the general admission seats and laid-back, circa-baby-boomer crowd, but just in case... About two weeks ago, I saw on Facebook that, because Saturday night was sold out, they were adding a Friday night show. We did hesitate. About last Wednesday, though, we caved.
(By the by, I saw that smirk when I mentioned that I saw the info about the second performance on Facebook. Yes, I'm an official PP FB fan. Many days, she posts little silly quips all day long. It's fun. Check it out.)
Anyway, last Friday night, we arrived early enough to sit anywhere we wanted and chose the third row, center, about 15 feet from the microphone. We laughed all night. You might know that she uses about 50 percent of her time on stage interacting with the audience members--usually twisting their words a bit to create something absurd out of the fairly mundane. She's a master. Plus, at intermission we each bought a cookie for a $1 each. Good ones, too.
Next evening, being fleet of mind AND feet (like little rats after the cheese), we repeated the timing in order to, again, have our choice of seats, ending up in the first row, near center. She used 30%-40% of the material from the previous night, but it was still funny. Mixed in with the new stuff, she also chose new audience members to pick on, including--ta da!--Tom!
Late in the program, she asked what he did for a living and he, with characteristic precision, told her about the little company that makes software to help groups communicate and organize. She asked him if it was what he dreamed of doing as a little boy, to which the answer, of course, was "no". She riffed on that a bit (little boy Tom tucked into bed and telling his mommy that he wants to grow up to make software to help groups communicate and organize...). We could see she was winding down for the night and she left it at that, but it was fun. And the cookies were still good.
She does an amazing job of weaving the different improv elements of the night together (Tom's was mixed with a woman who was a member of a wood-carving group, for example). It's so interesting to watch any performer work close up. Musicians, dancers, whatever. But I consider one of the most difficult jobs in the world to be a stand-up comic. So exposed. And humor style is so specific to each person. To observe a person alone on stage trying to make everyone laugh and glad that they spent the money and took the time to come is a remarkable experience (the folks next to us came from Reno, two hours away). I forget my own name if more than three people at a time are looking at me and right now I wouldn't be able to think of a joke to tell to save my life.
One of the perks of living here is that there are so many opportunities to attend live performances in intimate settings. Some are "names", like Ms. Poundstone, Kris Kristofferson and Smothers Brothers, but others, like Voco and Wailin' Jennies are also amazing and wonderful to watch up close.
And Taj Majal is coming in the fall...
It's been mostly about the music, the last week or so, which is OK with me, of course. The very end of our spring/summer choral season required our presence at three concerts and quite a few extra practices in between, mostly with the orchestra.
There's a lot of blah blah about all this--stuff that I could ( and usually do) go on and on about, but really doesn't interest anyone else. Example: Learning three songs by Rachmaninoff in Russian (for two concerts last Thursday) just about made my head explode--random syllables strung together at break-neck speed. We all decided that it was better that, though, than using the English translations, which featured, among other themes (we're told), a love-sick duck and a woman being chased around by her husband with a whip. The music is gorgeous, so it was best to let the imagination of the non-Russian speakers in the audience (the larger percentage, I would hope) soar to loftier subject matter. One more example: The last piece we sang for the traditional July 3rd concert is a compilation of the anthems representing the 5 branches of the armed services (I'll bet you can't hum the Coast Guard hymn). The only thing I'll say about that is that the words, all about the glory of battle, made me sad. Had to block 'em out.
But the part of the experience I loved most was sitting so close to (just behind) the orchestra, no matter the music, whether in practice or performance. The sound is electrifying, the percussion in particular! There's nothing like feeling the air vibrate during the 1812 Overture (parts of which we get to sing along)! I just floated around in it. Hungarian Dances. John Williams' Superman March. Many others. The only thing that can almost break the spell is watching the horn players empty spit on the floor. Really? That's the only way to handle that little problem in these high-tech times? Otherwise, glorious! Lucky me!
Most of the concerts were indoors, but the Happy Birthday USA is another outdoor picnic, which is where Tom took the first two pics. The chorus wore white tops instead of the usual black so as to set off flag-printed scarves we had to wear for the performance.
I will miss the music this summer, as usual. We won't meet again for two months when we'll jump right into Christmas music (which will feel like whiplash, I'm sure). But it's part of the rhythm. I'll adjust.
At the concert, we bought raffle tickets to support the kids' programs run by the Music in the Mountains. We actually won some prizes--gift certificates for local wineries, a Williams/Sonoma-type kitchen store nearby and a nice restaurant in town...
...which we used the next day, on the Fourth. We had a great lunch in a beautiful patio before driving to Malakoff Diggins State Historical Park for a little hike in the woods. Tom wouldn't let me take his picture, so here's a shot of Humbug Creek, along which we trekked. 
The Park, located about an hour north of Nevada City, preserves the little mining town of North Bloomfield and the legacy of the mining activity in the area, which employed the force of pressurized water to wash away the mountains to find the gold. The practice, called hydraulic mining, was outlawed in 1884, or thereabouts, but there's quite a bit of evidence left of its destructive power.
Next day, we had a fun visit from our niece, Lily--Terry and H's daughter--and her roommate, Talitha (Lily's on the left, Talitha, the right). Talitha's mom lives nearby and they were visiting here from Fresno for the long weekend. They weren't able to stay long, but we had a nice chat and the usual photo op in front of the house.
So, you got off easy. I didn't mention Goody Patrol, or the Veronika Kincses concert, or--ooh,ooh! I almost forgot. Go see Toy Story 3!! I mean it! We loved the first two, but this one blows even them out of the water! The 3-D is nice, but not necessary. Seriously, do it!
Their singing background is a bit different than mine, however, having sung mostly in Opera choruses in Chicago. In fact, I think it's how they met. Recently having moved to Boulder after 35+ years in Chicago, they live just a few miles from where we lived in the mid-seventies and frequently pass the hospital where Dylan and Rachel were born.
She conducted several works by Mexican composers, all of which we loved, then followed them with Dvorak's New World Symphony and the overture from Marriage of Figaro by Mozart. We were all quite impressed! All outside on a beautiful day! No fog!
