This Morning 12/26/14

Out of sync, I'm sure, but I just felt I had to post it...for me.

In bocca al lupo.  m (no v)

This Morning 12/13/14

Well, this morning is last night.  I had the pleasure of, once again, photographing the winter concert for one of the local community college bands.  And he's holding my (this year's) favorite Christmas music.  I look at this shot and think about the fact that just about everywhere, at least in the Western world, there are people coming together for celebrations of one holiday or another.  A very fragile blanket of peace.

In bocca al lupo. m (no v)

This Morning 12/09/14

In bocca al lupo.  m (no v)

This Morning 12/02/14

In bocca al lupo.  m (no v)

This Morning 11/30/14

In bocca al lupo.  m (no v)

This Morning 11/29/14

In bocca al lupo.  m (no v)

And Why Not?

Well, we didn't do a lot of decorating, but we did some and the place looks Christmas-y.  v has been up and down.  He was so happy to have his daughter here for the holiday, that was lovely.

It does seem that as we slay one dragon, another will rise up to take its place.  He's lost a dramatic amount of weight and has been complaining of the taste and texture of food.  He's been dealing with a sore throat for several weeks (he recently admitted). He was afraid that his throat cancer had come back.  We were so overjoyed to find that he had an infection (which could have been treated all along!).  Just as that was beginning to clear, and food was becoming enjoyable again, he now is suffering stomach pain from the antibiotic.  It's just a vicious cycle. We just move forward.

Every year, for the past several, we've been having a few friends over on New Year's Day to share black-eyed-peas and rice for a prosperous New Year.  We debated over having the gathering this year, but then we found ourselves mentioning it to one friend, and then suggesting another join us as well, and...well...It looks like a few people may indeed be coming by for that bowl of peas.  And why not?

In bocca al lupo.  m & v

The Rush at the End of the Year!

It's really late, I know, but I just put in the garlic.  More of a token planting than anything really substantial. I just had to get them in before the winter solstice so they'll be ready by summer solstice.  We shall see.

I'm also working in our workshop trying to figure out what to have for our friends this Christmas.  No matter how many months we ponder and urge ourselves to get going on the planning, it always boils down to the last week, with distant friends knowing that gifts will be "off-season".  Oh why do we feel locked into this gift giving only at one time of the year??? Not everyone, of course, but my oh my it's like a freight train is barreling down on us. v laughed when I told him I used to start in June getting ready for Christmas.  He's finally understanding why.  So, we do have some things tucked aside to fill packages with. It's just that the season being upon us throws so much more inspiration our way.  It's hard to imagine bright packages of red, green, gold, and silver under a sparkly tree when your watching for whales across the bay in July, really.

Happily, however, the shop is painted its bright and cheerful colors.  That's one package already wrapped.

Oh! and another, surprise, gift!  My photo of v on the trail in Elkhorn Slough was chosen to be featured in their 2014 calendar!  My first published image! (that I know of)

We are September!

In bocca al lupo.  m & v

Winter Concert

I can't play a note, but I find these instruments works of art. I can't resist if one is resting long enough for me to take a picture of it!

In bocca al lupo.  m & v

Still Christmas

Christmas day may have passed, but Christmas is far from over for us.  The workshop is still in production, or maybe even more so.  Then there is the preparation for our New Year's gathering.  It's one of those events that start small and grow by accident.  Many years ago, when I was caring for my father, I started fixing black-eyed peas and rice for New Year's day to bring good luck and prosperity for the year to come. It became a ritual for us, something he remembered from year to year.  I introduced it to v.  We now crowd far more people around our kitchen table on New Year's day than should be possible.  It's an extremely casual event.  I may be sitting here, a week from today, reporting our quiet evening around a large pot of black-eyed peas and our after dinner activity of packing the leftovers away in the refrigerator and freezer.  We only give a start time.  The entire event is just to wish all a happy new year and to have, at least, a ceremonial tasting of the dish for the magic of prosperity and good fortune in the year to come.  The outcome is always subjective.  No guarantees, but it's a nice way to start off the year and to see some of those closest to us.  

In bocca al lupo. m & v

Getting Ready

Getting ready. (This could be for you)

In bocca al lupo. m & v

Walking along the river

The other day v and I took a wintery walk along the Little Sur river in Big Sur.  The sycamore trees still have most of their leaves, but they've finally turned to rust and bright yellow.  That warm autumn we enjoyed delayed the visible changes of the seasons.  My mood, however, drew me to the blue-greens of the cedars and the redwoods.  After all, this is December and evergreens are the stars of the moment.

Despite the recent rains the river isn't running high at the moment.  It makes for a more contemplative walk.  We don't have white Christmases here, they're more of a mossy green and gray.  It's cold enough, though, to appreciate a cozy cafe and a hot cup of tea or coffee at the end of the day.  And warm, thick socks with slippers.

In bocca al lupo.  m & v 

Another Update

Chemo update. 

 v has begun the third round of chemo.  Last round they added an additional chemo drug which he continued this round.  He'll be having a scan at the end of this round to determine whether he continues, or (hopefully) if he can begin what we've been told would be maintenance. He still has his hair, though it's a bit thinner.  We are encouraged by his continued gain of strength and endurance.  His appetite is good and he has no difficulty with eating and swallowing.  

Yesterday we joined our shift at the aquarium for their weekly update and education.  Everyone was very happy to see him after so many weeks away.  He was greeted with hugs and claps on the shoulder.  We took an abbreviated tour of the aquarium itself for v to check his energy level to see if he might be up to a return.  Not yet.  A lot of walking is involved. It's a large facility.  

Last night he accompanied me to a performance of the Monterey Peninsula Flute Choir.  I'm doing some photography for them. They were performing at Asilomar as part of the annual Christmas at the Inns event in Pacific Grove.   We're planning on joining them for another performance this week, Friday, December 7, at the Monterey Museum of Art in downtown Monterey for another great annual Christmas event: Christmas in the Adobes.

The Inns event features the Victorian Inns of Pacific Grove and the Adobes is a gorgeous tour of the old adobes of Monterey dating back to 1756.  Some of these adobes are only opened to the public for this event, others are in continuous use as commercial establishments.  They are all beautiful.

Early December is the time to visit the Monterey Peninsula and join in the festivities, and always leave time to travel up Hwy 101 to San Juan Bautista for the pageant at the old mission put on by El Teatro Campesino.  We do Christmas pretty nicely here on the Central Coast.

In bocca al lupo.  m & v

Tradition!

The image above is this year's poster for El Teatro Campesino's production of La Virgen del Tepayac in San Juan Bautista, California.  We, v and I, just came home from today's performance. They do two on Sundays and the next show begins at 8 p.m.  

The Christmas pageants put on by ETC are the kick off for our Christmas season.  La Virgen is the story of the  four appearances of the Virgin Mary to the Aztec messenger, Juan Diego, in the year 1531.  She is most widely known as the Virgin of Guadalupe.  

These performances are stirring, they move you with the color, the music, and the dance.  It is really hard to stay seated when your feet just want to join in with the brightly costumed cast who are twirling and stomping in feathered headdresses, shelled breastplates and anklets.  Their ages range from very young children to men and women old enough to have been retired for a time. 

The performance is mesmerizing from the first sounding of the conch shell blown to call the four winds to the unfurling of the image of the Virgin by Juan Diego. Although the dialogue is entirely in Spanish the actors and the action keep non-Spanish speakers on line with what is happening throughout the play.  There are no actual sets only props and costumes with the backgdrop of the 215 year old church. That is enough.  v and I leave each performance choked with tears brought on by such beauty and passion.

El Teatro Campesino has been putting on the Christmas plays of La Virgen del Tepayac and La Pastorela in San Juan Bautista since 1971, mainly under the direction of Luis Valdez (of Zoot Suit fame).  For the past few years he has stepped aside and his son Kinan Valdez has been directing.  Every season brings a slightly tweaked version of the story which keeps the plays alive for those of us who come back year after year.

We came late to the discovery of ETC and their Christmas shows.  Five years ago v was teaching at a high school down the Salinas Valley.  There was no drama department, or class, at this school so v pulled together a small group of students for an after school drama program.  He chose for their first production a play written by Luis Valdez, Los Vendidos.  It was when he was tracking down permission to perform the play that he discovered ETC and was able to speak with Luis Valdez who in turn invited the kids, and the two teachers, v and a colleague, to come see that year's production of La Virgen. We haven't missed a season since. And in praise of v: although he no longer teaches at that school drama is now an established part of the curriculum. 

Christmas, most welcome, has come upon us.

In bocca al lupo.  m & v 

Warm Thoughts Blown in by a Storm

We're having some down time today.  The morning was stormy with the wind howling and the rain thrumming against the window sounding for all the world like gravel being tossed against the glass.  Hanging above our porch we have a set of wind chimes with the big tubes that sound more like church bells than the tinkling of the wind chimes heard more often.  At night I tether them so we don't keep the neighbor closest to us awake all night, but during the day I let them loose and they are glorious.

Tonight is a full moon and the clouds are scattered.  The wind is calmed, no clamoring from the chimes for the moment. Our friends are flying to Germany in the morning so we are hoping the storm holds off until they are safely away.  We have no television so we spend the evening playing chess and listening to our radio programs on the public radio station KUSP out of Santa Cruz. 

Yesterday our friends came by and helped get our Christmas garland hung around the house's exterior. It was a job well done.  Not one pinecone or ribbon came loose. The moonlight  glints off the glitter on the pinecones, but they are mostly a daytime display.

This weekend we'll bring down some more decorations from the attic.  We'll hang wreaths in the windows and our huge glass Christmas orbs from the porch ceiling. Christmas music will start sounding through our days and we'll feel warmer even as the weather cools off outside.  And we'll try to keep some eggnog on hand for when a friend, or two, drop by to say hello.

In bocca al lupo. m & v