onto year nine

Today is the eighth anniversary of this online diary,or blog, or whatever it is.

Laguna Beach - Santa Monica (July 31 - August 4)

Hard to believe, but this was year #4 visiting Laguna Beach and year #3 visiting EPG in Santa Monica.

Wandering the coastline for a few miles (Laguna Beach).

We like it well enough such that the trend will continue.

On the walk up to Griffith Observatory.

Part of the charm in Laguna Beach at this point is simply familiarity.  We know the town, we know the walking tours we enjoy taking (both in-town and on-beach), we know the restaurants;

From Griffith Observatory . . . Hollywood sign on hill in the distance.

Griffith visitors

 you get the idea.  The weather and overall scenery are dramatic changes of pace from Phoenix, so - even for folks who are big fans of summertime in Phoenix - that part is nice.

Easy drive over on July 31; had lunch at our favorite lunch stop (Nick's) all three days; dinners at Watermarc and 230 Forest; Starbucks breakfasts-and-coffees carried beach-side in the mornings.  Nice as could be.

Beautiful views at Griffith Observatory.

Nicole and POC joined us in Santa Monica - a few days late, but we were celebrating EPG's birthday.  EPG continues to identify excellent stuff to do and interesting restaurants for our food-stops.  On Friday night (8/2) we took a road trip to the Griffith Observatory - this is a very interesting place that we need to visit again when we have some more time.  Great views out over the city even if we were a few minutes past sundown.  Dinner that night at "Red O" - the suckling pig meal was most excellent.

Birthday boy at Red O.

Breakfast on Saturday at Clementine in Century City, then onto the Getty for a delightful walk-around.  Finally had a chance to eat at Father's Office - that was lunch.  Relaxed at EPG's apartment; dinner at Nook, a nice local place; Nicole downloaded to her iPad some crazy game that kept us going all evening.

Getty garden area.

Had the good fortune to make a return trip to the local market for Sunday breakfast, then an easy road trip back to Phoenix.  Another delightful trip.

Getty museum.

Chicago - South Bend

PJ and I had a fun, funny, memorable (if somewhat short) trip to Chicago and South Bend (on July 5-9).  Prompted by an invitation from Voe and Karen Zintak to the wedding of their son (John) in Chicago.

Voe & Karen Zintak family, right after wedding ceremony.

Flew into Midway, then started the trip with a visit with John, Ping and children (Patrick and Serena) - I hadn't seen their home before, very nice area (Woodbridge).  It was fun to catch up, and they were gracious enough to treat us to a fine dinner at a Korean place they'd discovered (near Patrick's school).  So that was nice.

Sampling of the fine bikes that (with owners) provided some real character to our chain-hotel experience.

Then over to Voe's place - beautiful backyard - beers, food, conversation, hospitality ++.

Then over to our hotel shortly before 1a.  At check-in learned that the hotel had been mostly reserved for a local motorcycle club - the Ruff Ryders - plenty of interesting bikes and bikers in evidence throughout our stay.  (Some must have been night owls based on all-night hallway shenanigans.)

Wandering around St. Mary's Lake.

Wedding was Saturday afternoon; beautiful outdoor ceremony followed by reception at Janosik Banquet in Hickory Hills.  First-gen Polish bride, which was neat.  Much enjoyed entire event, very nice to catch up with Pat and Nancy (and their son David), Rita, Jan, etc.

Where we officially got started  on May 24, 1980.

We had decided to extend the trip by a couple days for a quick visit to South Bend, and we were glad that we did.  Our last visit, described here, was back in 2006; campus continues to change, particularly on the south end.  There is something entirely new since 2011 - "Eddy Commons" - we stayed at a Fairfield Inn that is part of this development.  Nice shopping and restaurants - you guessed it, "there wasn't anything like this when we were in school."  A big improvement.

Attempt at panoramic view inside Sacred Heart Church Basilica.

Weather very hot and humid.  Lots of walking, per our usual style.  A great time of year to be on campus - pretty much dead - without the jumpiness of a football weekend, it was possible to dredge up something of the "old days" feeling (a little bit, but nice). Wonderful dinner (and lunch subsequent day) at Cafe Navarre in downtown S. Bend.   Met Joe and Jackie Gales for a drink on Monday night - just delightful to have a chance to visit with them.

Wrapped up things on Tuesday, and back to Phoenix - a fun time with my excellent traveling companion.

anniversary #33

PJ and I took a quick trip to familiar places to observe our 33rd wedding anniversary.  Two overnights May 24-25) at La Posada in Winslow, two overnights (May 26-27) in Flagstaff.

PJ on right side of picture; this is the end of the creek-hike at Tonto Natural Bridge.

Started off in Winslow; enroute we stopped at the Tonto Natural Bridge and hiked all the way through the creek; then lunch in Pine.  La Posada really works for us; great dinners (and breakfasts, and lunches) at John Sharpe's Turquoise Room throughout.  We took a room in a different area than prior visits; looking across the south lawn right toward the train tracks.  We thought this was great, though also learned that this room was the manager's suite back in the day (hotel guests - almost always train passengers - preferred not to have the trains so "present" on their stop-over, it seems).

Our room was on second floor - with turquoise-colored triple-doors opening onto south lawn.

We did something different on May 25 - took a short day trip up to the Hopi reservation.  This part of the world resonates with us.  Hadn't been there since a memorable trip with the kids in the early 1990s.  The drive alone is stunning - amazing, wide-open countryside between Winslow and Second Mesa.  We drove over to Third Mesa; hadn't really contemplated shopping, but saw some delightful silver bracelets for PJ at a tiny building/shack there (and ended up buying a great one).  I haven't spent time in third world countries but think there must be some overlap; little kid (a charming little hustler, actually) runs out and offers a walking tour of Third Mesa; we end up walking ourselves, but do go into his house, talk to the family a bit, and bought a $5 beginner/primitive version of a kachina from the kid.  Which was neat.  I have no idea what the economy is like up there - but the houses/shacks don't look promising at all.

from our room at La Posada . . . 

Lunch at Second Mesa (Hopi Cultural Center); then drove over to First Mesa, which is where we had the fine adventures on our 1990s trip.  First Mesa is a rather eye-popping setting; its history also is hard to beat (one of the villages has been lived in continuously since around 900; two other villages were founded after the 1680 Pueblo Revolt, how cool is that?).  Go to Google Earth and just type "first mesa arizona" in the search bar and then move around for views from different vantage points, this gives at least some sense of how this is set up.  Bought a most interesting kachina from some local artist, and we were truly happy to do it - his explanation of the various decorative elements was priceless.

That's Third Mesa in the middle distance.  We (mostly) honored Hopi no-photography practice.

Most of our Flagstaff dining was at Criollo Latin Kitchen - we continue to have great luck there.  Took a hike up the beginner portion of the Humphrey's Peak Trail on a gorgeous day (May 27).  Breakfasts at Macy's per usual.  We continue to much enjoy Flagstaff visits, wandering the downtown areas, etc.  Stopped through Sedona on the way home for a delightful creekside lunch at L'Auberge.

Most of all:  it's quite a lucky thing for me to be observing #33 with PJ.

Driving toward Second Mesa from Winslow.  We love this type of landscape, for  whatever reason.

My v. cute little wife; we are heading back to Winslow from Second Mesa.

Humphrey's Peak Trail - beginning stages (we are returning to trailhead here)

Creekside at L'Augerge.

From a cottonwood root.

lancaster518

 As described in relation to part one of our trip in the post immediately below, PJ and I were on a pretty magnificent two-part trip.  Our adventure now advances to Thursday, May 16 - chauffeured by KHG in her fine little Civic, we headed up to Lancaster, PA for the much-anticipated wedding of Kate Gales (my illustrious god-daughter) and Patrick Schaeffer.

Tried to capture the three-generation photo here . . . I liked the thought.

And what a fine time we had.  Evidently:  meticulous planning every step of the way.  Charlie  & Beth spared nothing in making sure everyone had a great experience.  Kristen, Michael and Mark incredibly helpful, accommodating.  And I was proud but not surprised that we had 100% attendance among the now-nine of us.  (Which I suppose was the least we could do given the support Charlie, Beth & family displayed for our recent Arizona weddings (though I suspect we would have turned out in force anyway just for the fun-potential here in PA).)

With some of the more notable guests, and host.

Most everyone arrived on Thursday (including us), and after checking in at the Lancaster Marriott (conveniently located in downtown Lancaster, as one might say), we headed over to Charlie-Beth's place for a backyard cookout.  Lots of just-right food and drinks, perfect arrival event for everyone to catch up with each other.  My parents showed up with their helpful escorts, so that was nice to see them.  The evening of course ran on pretty late . . . but then we later gathered at the hotel bar at the Marriott (thanks, EPG) . . . and even our hosts from earlier in the evening (that would be Charlie, with Michael) joined us for a bit.  So that was a delightful evening.

I like this photo of our delegation.

Friday - not tightly scheduled, which was extra nice.  PJ and I found some good coffee and breakfast at an Italian-type place a couple blocks from the hotel.  She and the girls went to lunch with the bridal party, I caught up with some work stuff (and then, unfortunately, missed the cue for an Amish-country tour (though at least I had seen same a few years back)).  Met up with various folks at local bar, got ourselves organized, walked over to the rehearsal dinner at a private club a couple blocks from the hotel.  Very nice event, including a chance to catch up with Romie & Joy a bit.  Duckpin bowling (with Yuengling) followed the rehearsal dinner - my skills have not advanced since trying the duckpins on Glee Club tours in the late 1970s.  But it was fun to try.

It was obvious:  they owned the dance floor.  Lime Spring Farm.

Beautiful wedding Mass on Saturday.  (Including a good-faith performance of Franck's Panis Angelicus).  Followed by reception out at "Lime Spring Farm" - which turned out to be a great venue.  Yup, a good time was had by all (per a couple clips below).  Maybe the sunglasses had something to do with this?  One of the better wedding bands we've encountered.  Charlie gave a fine speech (per clip excerpt).  A big chunk of the group later reconvened at a downtown Lancaster bar and this continued for quite awhile, pleasant as could be!  

After the reception, with my godfather and Joy (Guinness-equipped, both); PJ, Cecilia, Jeremy.

Later that evening . . . with Jim, Barb, Charlie, Carol, Therese.

We gathered at Charlie & Beth's house one last time on Sunday morning and were quite sorry the weekend was already over.  Kerry drove us back to the DC airport - it was now day nine of our trip, hard to believe how fast it all went, and how much fun we had.  The car ride gave us a good opportunity to recap all of the fun with K.  It's an understatement to remark that we were sad it was time to say our goodbyes.

Even later . . . a photographer appears in mirror at right . . . capturing the very fine next-gen. 

(A final thought:  for me, it was nice to have this wedding event to get together with everyone a relatively short period of time following our February get-together in Iowa - which was right after we lost Mary.  Everyone was thinking about this at one or more points throughout the weekend, to be sure.)

Visiting KHG

PJ and I had the nicest trip to Virginia to visit Kerry.  (The visit was part one of a two-part adventure; part two will be described separately).

Attending Handel performance - National Cathedral

Successful shopping at Eastern Market.

Here's how the visit came down:

Saturday, May 11 - long-ish but easy flight; K and Luis met us at Reagan (airport); they hosted a delightful dinner at K's apartment.  Steve and Carrie Jackshaw were integral to planning, shopping and execution of the meal, plus we much enjoyed catching up with them.  And I didn't have to do anything other than enjoy, plus provide some token assistance with the pasta-making process.

National Gallery 

Sunday, May 12 - breakfast at "Eastern Market" - a return trip from our 2011 visit (summarized here).  Crepes are as good as ever.  And a local crafts-person was selling ducks (per photo).  Kerry and Luis had arranged tickets to a Handel performance at the National Cathedral - just the sort of outing we enjoy.  Great setting, excellent performance.  Dinner followed at Belga Cafe - another great choice as we much like this kind of food.  I'm pretty sure I've never seen such an impressive list of beers (with emphasis on Belgian beers, naturally enough).  I can highly recommend the slow-cooked rabbit roulade (accompanied by a "Rodenbach red ale sauce" that tasted as good as it sounds).

We were well treated at Old Ebbitt after our National Gallery tour.

Monday, May 13 - we headed down to the National Gallery; I was excited because these were the very final days of a highly touted exhibition (per article below) of works of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood - I keep seeing references to these folks in various things I read, but really didn't know much about them.  So this was helpful - just a delightful exhibit.  PJ, K and I also enjoyed just touring around the rest of the gallery for a while.  Then to our traditional lunch at Old Ebbitt, where the staff appeared to be in a competition to give us free stuff.  Which always is nice.  Some work in late afternoon, K and PJ did some shopping to get her set up with a herb garden (or large pot, let's say).  Luis and I eventually went out and retrieved some Peruvian chicken.

Monticello

Tuesday, May 14 - Luis took the day off, and drove us down to Monticello - beautiful weather, very fine drive through the Virginia countryside - my first time in this area.  Monticello much worth the trip, it is very well laid out for visitors.  In addition to the house itself, I liked wandering around the garden area (and the grounds in general).  As a bonus, Monticello is near some wineries and even a fine brewpub (where we had lunch and tested their work).  Then did a quick stop at the Veritas winery - enjoyed a nice sitting area there. Hit the road back to the metro area, it was a nice day.  PJ, K and I finished with a bit of supper near her house (Rustico).

Monticello

Wednesday, May 15 - continuing our string of interesting touring - PJ, K and I visited Mt. Vernon.  I didn't know it was basically right in the metro area.  I think it was a good idea to do Monticello and Mt. Vernon so close in time, interesting comparisons.  Huge grounds here with nice views over the Potomac.  Huge crowds (though they handle them well).  After our tour we went into "old town" Alexandria - very nice lunch at some converted firehouse, then walked the area a bit.  Dinner at Lyon Hall - Richard stopped by, also got to meet one of K's pals from work.  A fine game of "Five Crowns" capped the evening.

Veritas winery.

My excellent traveling companions - Mount Vernon (Potomac in background)

Thursday, May 16 - got ourselves organized, and K started driving us up to Lancaster for the big wedding . .  . which is a separate story.

Mount Vernon

To wrap up this one:  I'm sticking to my story about our visit to K:  don't know how it could have been nicer.  (Not surprisingly,) she had a great feel for the kinds of things we were interested in seeing, the kinds of restaurants we would like, etc.  (Not surprisingly,) Luis and Christina were gracious and fun throughout.

Five Crowns battle royale (with K, Luis, PJ, Christina)

Most of all, PJ and I just enjoyed having the time together with our little daughter.

Pre Raphaelite

Faure's Requiem

Way back on April 5, CPG 'n me appeared with ASU Choral Union (and the ASU symphony) (and the Barrett  College Choir) in a performance of Gabriel Faure's Requiem.

For obvious reason, the Requiem liturgy is a great source for composers, and we have benefited from participating in several:  Brahms; Verdi (here and here); and Durufle.

My thoughts on the work are in the emails copied below.  I like Faure's stuff in general.  I very much like this particular work.

We appreciated an extra-fine turnout of our fans, including Patrick (visiting for the weekend primarily for his mother's birthday but showing up for the concert as well), Nicole (who arranged things so she would get back from a CA business trip on time); PJr; Tom & Kim; Ray; MB, Thomas and Amy; and #1 fan PJ.  Made our way over to La Bocca afterward for a nice after-gathering.

Did not arrange photos or videos (my bad); though PJ did snag a few minutes at the outset of the concert before her phone's battery expired (movement 1 plus a snippet of movement 2, below).  You might (unlikely, I know) think it's not worth watching (or at least listening to) because CPG 'n me are pretty much unfindable; that would be a mistake.

Another most fine evening.

From: Paul Gales
Sent: Thursday, April 04, 2013 11:24 PM
Subject: RE: Faure's requiem

Back from tonight’s rehearsal with the orchestra – very encouraging, this will be quite beautiful. 

Specifics I’d listen for in the seven movements (a more general overview is in the email below):

1. Introit and Kyrie – opening theme – you will hear this reappear late in movement 5.  After the first few lines, Faure starts featuring individual sections of the chorus – you will notice this right away, he continues this approach pretty much throughout.  Starts with tenor/baritone section.

2. Offertory – CPG pretty much identified right away that this is probably the most interesting movement.  You’ll notice that Faure starts here with two lines – the alto section, and the tenor/baritone section – they criss-cross occasionally, quite beautiful (and a cappella for awhile).  Baritone soloist joins.  The last section – with full chorus – a favorite part.

3. Sanctus – this and movement five are the most beautiful of all, I think (though it’s not an easy call).  Here, listen for the sopranos and the tenor/baritone sections passing the melody line back and forth, with a beautiful, simple accompaniment pattern from the orchestra running below.  I find this delightful.

4. Pie Jesu – performed entirely by soprano soloist – and it’s just wonderful – you may recognize the melody as it’s performed separately from the Requiem in soprano recitals (and I think some movie soundtracks).  Pie Jesu (sweet/blessed Jesus) . . . dona eis requiem sempiternem (grant them eternal rest).  “Of all these [Pie Jesu settings], by far the best known is the Pie Jesu from Fauré's Requiem; Camille Saint-Saëns said of it, "just as Mozart's is the only Ave verum corpus, this is the only Pie Jesu".”  Can’t disagree.  (Even better, the student soloist is actually pretty good.) 

5. Agnus Dei – if you only remember one thing to listen for:  please remember to pay attention to the orchestral lead-in to movement five – then listen how Faure reworks it underneath another beautiful melody line in the chorus (again featuring tenor/baritone section).  Probably my favorite movement, if I had to pick just one.  The movement ends with a short reprise of the opening theme from movement one, then a reprise of that wondrous orchestral lead-in.

6. Libera Me – baritone soloist does first part – then full chorus – this is the closest Faure comes to a fire/brimstone feel (and it’s not very close at all).

7. In Paradisum - chances are you will recognize this melody (if for no other reason than it’s used in soundtracks such as 28 Days Later (yes, the recent apocalyptic movie) and The Thin Red Line.   If I do enter a heaven anything like what was taught in 1960s grade school, I only hope that the music of the angels will sound like this.  Mostly led by the soprano section.  Quiet, hopeful finish; consistent with the old liturgy, where this was more part of the burial than the funeral mass.  Chorus angelorum te suscipiat (choirs of angels sing you to your rest); et cum Lazaro quondam paupere aeternam habeas requiem (with Lazarus, once a poor man, may you have eternal rest).  Etc.  Wow.

Still working out our after-get-together but we plan to find something right in Tempe.  Much looking forward to this one.

From: Paul Gales 

Sent: Saturday, March 30, 2013 6:11 PM
Subject: Faure's requiem

Reminder that CPG ‘n me are appearing in a performance of Gabriel Faure’s Requiem at Gammage Auditorium on Friday, April 5 at 7:30p (free admission on this one).

The major composers seem to love working with the “Requiem” concept – many of you have already heard us do versions by Durufle, Verdi, and Brahms.  Faure’s is quite different – beautiful; lighter; ethereal almost; belle époque French; he doesn’t go for the fire and brimstone approach; often showcasing exposed lines from individual sections of the orchestra and the chorus.  Also quite compact, coming in at 40 minutes or less for the seven movements.

It’s quite wonderful, actually.

Let us know if you can attend; we’ll happily buy a round after, likely somewhere right in Tempe. . .

Nicole b'day!

Wishing Nicole a happy birthday today . . . she is observing the date over in San Diego courtesy of POC (with celebratory support from CPG and EPG).  Diamondbacks have a three-game weekend series over there.

Photo is from her fourth birthday - May 5, 1985 - taken in upstairs bedroom in our house in Roseville, Minnesota.

"Care Bears" apparently were the rage, including the jammies and the watch (among the cards atop the bookshelf).

Here's hoping they had at least as much fun in San Diego as we did in Roseville that year . . .

First house

There was a pretty big event in mid-April that was rather glossed over - I think because so much other stuff was going on right then.  PJr and Nedda closed on the purchase of their first home!  (And moved in just a few days later (April 13 weekend).)  (Roommates Nadia and Pumbaa followed along in a few days.)

kitchen crew in action in new house

PJr and Nedda found a really lovely place about three miles west/southwest from "Village Fairways" - a neighborhood we always liked (and actually looked at several places with a realtor during our wandering-years).  House is pretty recently constructed, in great shape, beautiful yard, mountain views (will stop since am sounding like a listing agent's ad).

Competing events that very weekend included a CPG birthday celebration in California (that included Nicole and EPG), Diamondbacks homestand keeping POC tied up, and a trip by the Reghabis.

kitchen crew posing

So that left Patricia and I as pretty much the only family members in town to assist with moving.  We had dinner with the housebuyers on Friday evening.  Then we helped them, after a fashion, for parts of Saturday and Sunday.  There is something tremendously exciting about the moving process, I never get tired of it. (Recalling the fun associated with the 7th/Washington move-in, discussed in the middle of this post.)  PJ seems to thrive in kitchen packing and kitchen set-up modes.  Nicole brought over lunch on Sunday (before going to another kickball loss), then we also had dinner there Sunday evening.

This will be a good place to gather.  First house = important marker.

(We did a lousy job of taking photos, so I'm just including the few cell phone shots that I have.)

Day two business:  new ping pong table (after hours of assembly work with Pat H)

Early season baseball

In addition to access to tickets via POC and the general fun-ness of being at professional baseball games, we have an additional reason to head down to Chase Field:  as mentioned midway through this post, we have a great place to stop off on game day.

Opening Day 2013

Opening Day 2013 was back on Monday, April 1, 2013.  The crew at 7th St & Washington outdid themselves with game-day hospitality on a perfectly beautiful evening.  Tickets; parking; pre-game drinks, appetizers, grilled chicken sandwiches; opening day win over St. Louis Cardinals in front of a sell-out crowd.  Hard to beat, a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

Then back to the ballpark on April 9 to observe CPG's birthday.  Though oops, Dbacks lost pretty convincingly that evening.  But PJ and I had fun with CPG, and POC was able to stop by for an inning or so.

CPG birthday

CPG birthday!

I like this photo of CPG with Kelly.  Photo is from March 1993 - taken in kitchen at the house on Claremont Ave.

We were taking a batch of Kelly pictures that day (and  perhaps it was getting a little old from her perspective).

Happy b'day to a v. good son.

My Mom celebrated her 85th birthday today

The milestone-ish birthday took place on Easter Sunday (March 31).

No new concepts here - I just will note, again, that it's among the very, very finest things in one's life to have a loving, supportive mother.  I've benefited from this for many, many years now.

We had such a fun time at her 80th birthday (described here, and also here) - hard to believe that was five years ago already.  (Not to mention these few remarks from seven years ago).

Happy birthday to a great Mom.

with my mom at Nicole's and POC's delightful wedding reception (ASU) (3/25/11)

Spur Cross 2013

PJ and I do not get tired of hiking the Elephant Mountain Trail up at Spur Cross (north of Cave Creek).  (As also in 2009, 2010, 2012.)  The trail route that we prefer measures out at 6.6 miles, guesstimating 1500+ foot elevation change.  Enough to be interesting, not so much to be exhausting.

We much like the trail under any conditions.  With 2013 turning out to be a great year for desert wildflowers, we can report that it looked significantly better than normal.  Tremendous conditions on Saturday (March 23) - sunny, high of 75, flowers most everywhere (especially poppies, lupine, globe mallow, brittle bush).  We finished up right at sundown, which allows us to do the last half of the hike in the best light of the day.

We typically try to find a local restaurant after these hikes - in this case something called Amaro's, which we enjoyed more than expected - food and drink good, even the live music was very nice.

Another fine day.

Click photos to enlarge . . .

Globe mallow (orange) and saguaro.

Brittle bush

PJ, brittle bush, Elephant Mountain in the distance.

Mexican gold poppies, lupine, teddy bear cholla.

Nearing the Elephant Mountain pass; Indian ruins atop the bluff just to right; beautiful late afternoon moonrise. 

Globe mallow.  Looking especially good in very late afternoon light.

Hard to capture the effect of the poppies and lupine decorating the trail.  Late-day lighting = very nice.

Nearing home stretch.

Last daylight . . . 

Crossing Cave Creek.  Just a few minutes to trailhead.