Des Moines Art Festival

Last summer we gathered our children, met up with a sister and brother-in-law to descend upon parents and another sister in Des Moines. This year we were missing five of those people, but H and I  went for one more visit before we head off for sabbatical.

This time we braved the scattered thunderstorms and headed downtown to the Des Moines Art Festival. We were impressed with the variety and quality of art available. Artisans from many places showed their wares, and it reminded me of Art Fair on the Square in Madison during our grad school days. 

This reminded me of Art on Tap, the differences being the smaller canvases and no instruction. Paint what you like!

Woven aluminum

New addition to the Pappajohn Sculpture Park. It has photographic possibilities that remind me of The Bean in Chicago.

I really liked this booth and the pieces that reminded me of Frank Lloyd Wright.

Tell The Wolves I'm Home

Books make excellent gifts, in my opinion. I gave this book to my friend for her birthday. I took a gamble because I had not read it, but I really liked the title and the plot description.

After my friend finished reading it, she gave it to me, saying, "I liked it." Now that I have read it, I have to concur. It is the first novel I've read this year that I enjoyed. (It gets extra kudos for being a debut novel that gets a star on my list.) My favorite part is the 14-year-old narrator's voice.

Now the book goes back to my friend so she can pass it along to her mom. This is the advantage of real books over e-books.

The Radish

I do not know what triggered this thought in my head this morning, but I remember a piece of graffiti in the Carleton tunnels. 

Back in the day, when Americans were less lawsuit-happy, students used the steam tunnels that run underneath the Carleton campus to get from dorm to class to dining hall in warmth during the frigid Minnesota winters. When I was considering Carleton in high school, the tunnels were touted as being "student decorated." That meant graffiti. Carls, known for their/our quirky sense of humor painting such sayings as, "Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana." Here is a photo from the Carleton archives of the Twister board.

Back to my morning mind flash. I was thinking of the phrase, "We have all had the radish." I read that on the wall nearly every winter day as I went to class, and I never knew what that meant. When I asked others, they had no idea, either. Well, now we have the internet, and now I know! I found a blog called "Had the Radish," and this is what it said.

The unknown artist must have spray-painted that during finals.

Coffee, Chocolate, California

We checked on Google Maps, and the distance from 91711 to Nevada City said 7 hours and 11 minutes. We took the slightly longer route up the 99 and with a stop for gas and lunch (which we ate in a cemetery next to the gas station), and made it in 8 hours.

Coming home was a different story. We wanted to make better time, so we opted to take the 5. I'm not sure why it took 9 hours to get home, but maybe it was the few stops we made. The first was for gas in Auburn where I spied a Dutch Bros. coffee. Lynn had never heard of this Pacific Northwest chain, so we had to try it out.

Then we had to stop at the Ghiradelli Outlet just south of Stockton on the 5. I know that we did not spend an hour there, but we sure had fun.....

Nevada City

Sierra Fiddle Camp is not all work and no play (and really, all the work IS play - literally and figuratively). On Thursday afternoon we had free time. Many people went down to the Yuba River, some went down to Shady Creek. A Prius-ful of women took a little trip into Nevada City (in California), just 12 miles from camp. One of the original Gold Rush towns (like nearby Grass Valley), this place has retained the charm of yesteryear. We spent several hours in the shops and drinking coffee and asking each other, "What tune is going through your head now?" 

Looking down the main drag

This building reminded me of New Orleans architecture

As seen on one bumper in Nevada City

Toni Carrion

Village Dance Arts has been the second home of our youngest daughter since she was five. After graduating from high school, she went off to study dance and now, for the past few years she has had the privilege of teaching alongside her mentor, Toni Carrion. Back when she was in high school, we kept telling Toni not to retire until our group of daughters had made it through her fabulous program. Toni has been a gracious, loving and encouraging with high standards for her dancers.

Now it is time for her to retire (although, really, she seems the same age as she did when we met her over 20 years ago), and on Saturday she was in charge of her final VDA recital - The Snow Queen. 

Here is a short video of some of her former students who spoke eloquently of their love for Toni. We will miss her terribly, but we wish her all the best that retirement can give.

Fiddle Camp

I just returned home from a transformative week at Sierra Fiddle Camp. This post cannot do justice to the amazing time we had, but I will try to cover the highlights.

For about 6 years now, my friend, Lynn, and I have been playing around with Celtic fiddle music. Inspired by the Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser and his cellist partner, Natalie Haas, we have attempted to play tunes. You can listen to samples of their playing on their websites. I knew that we needed a step up in our playing, and Lynn had casually mentioned something about fiddle camp, so I looked it up online, and pretty soon we were registered, paid and ready to go.
            

In a small nutshell, about 200 or so campers of all ages (about 3 and up) descend upon the Shady Creek Outdoor School and Conference Center for 8 days of immersion in not only Scottish fiddle music, but other folk traditions. People bring cellos, mandolins, guitars, keyboards, harps, and even one set of bagpipes. I had three classes every day: Scottish, Swedish and USA music. The cellos (and others) attended these classes, and then we had two more classes. Cellos had their own class and I chose to go to singing. We chose our own level of playing based on how well we could learn music by ear. I chose the Moderate group which ended up being perfect for me.

Alasdair teaching the Moderate Class

To round out our days, we went to a forum to listen to one of our teachers talk about a subject near and dear to them, jammed, had morning yoga (some did Beyonce dancing for their exercise), and evenings were filled with dances, concerts, a talent show and singing.

What did I like the best? Well, I have a hard time choosing, but what comes to mind is that I loved having all the kids there. In the Moderate class we had about 50 people, and perhaps 30 of them were between the ages of 8 and 12. I loved learning the same stuff in the intergenerational setting. The kids impressed me so much with their long attention spans, love of learning music, energy and spirit.  I loved finding out that I am capable of learning music by ear! Being training in the classical tradition is one great way of learning music, but aural learning opens up completely new sections of the brain.

I also loved (loved, loved) singing. Our teacher was Moira Smiley who I heard at the 2013 Claremont Folk Festival with her group VOCO. We sang a Swedish song called Visa fran Jarna which you can hear a sample of here. Also Old Timey songs Leather Britches and Lazy John and another song which I don't know the name of.

Here is a plug for the banjo teacher, Jayme Stone, who has a Kickstarter project to record and bring to life songs from the Alan Lomax recordings. If you love American Roots music, you should at least check out THIS PAGE and watch the video. 

I am sad to say that Lynn and I had to leave the camp on Friday (she had to get back to start teaching at the National Cello Institute today), so we not only missed the Friday afternoon class, but also the big concert on Saturday. Now that I know people are leaving camp, I am less jealous, but also a bit sad that it's all over anyway.

We met some great people, made some new friends who I am sure we will see again since we definitely plan to return to fiddle camp in the future.

Moira Smiley leading us in singing

Yoga by the pool in the morning before breakfast with a little music

Fiddles waiting around while campers ate lunch

A Tomato Yard Sale

This way to an Hierloom [sic] Tomato Yard Sale!

26.2

If you enlarge this photo, you can see that the little oval sticker on the right-hand side says 26.2. I have noticed a few of these stickers recently, and one of my friends had one on his car, so I could ask the significance. Obviously, I am NOT a runner. It is the distance of a marathon.

Public Sculpture

A few weeks ago my friend asked me if I was going to blog about the sculpture at Harrison and Indian Hill. I told her she should go ahead and write about it since I hadn't made it to take photos of it yet and I didn't know anything about it. Here is her blog post about it. I'm not sure how she got the information about this sculpture since I couldn't find anything about it online. One thing she told me was that the red section is in the shape of a C and the two silver parts look like Ls. For CLaremont? 

This sign does not tell the artist nor name of work.

The white arrow points to the angel sculpture that was moved across the street. I had to cross the street to get a closer view of it.

Purging

It's been interesting with L here and going through stuff, trying to clean out ever more stuff. I seem to be the one in my family (both my current family and family of origin) that is the most interested in family history. So I have kept all kinds of letters, school projects (the flat kind). I just knew that my daughters would be so glad to have all those special items to remind them of their school days.

I guess not. After pulling out some postcards and a few other things, they declared that I could throw the rest of the paper items into the recycling. Bolstered by their actions, I became brave and looked through a box of their baby clothes, showed them to the girls, put them back in the box and added them to the Goodwill pile. 

The question is: if/when we move, would I take this with me? If the answer is no, then why am I hanging on to it now?

An "Official" Little Free Library

So, the other day I was looking at the Official Website of the Little Free Library (to see where the closest one to Zürich is), and I noticed that the only "official" one in the 91711 is in way north Claremont - on La Junta. Of course, I had to go by and check it out. This is a pretty big outfit with the regular little house, a bench behind it with children's books, and a table next to it with "beach reading" books. It's a little out of the way, but if you are like me, you need to check it out. You can read about other book sharing free libraries here.

Choosing a Book Club Book

We have chosen July for hosting book club, the last one for us for the year before we head off to Zurich. I think that cleaning the house and getting ready for company is easier than choosing the book to discuss. I think the host should always pre-read the book before choosing it, otherwise you run the risk of a real dud.

Thinking about perhaps a Swiss theme, I thought I would peruse books about Switzerland or with a Swiss author. Know of any off the top of your head? No? Me, neither, but I discovered Max Frisch, a Zurich author. His most famous book is I'm Not Stiller. The pages number under 400, but the font is small and the lines close together, so it took awhile to read. Although I thought that the book would create a great discussion, I don't really want people to have to slog through the novel, so I returned it to the library upon completion. 

Then I tried Burial Rites by Hannah Kent. It read much, much faster, but I don't think it would lend itself to very good discussion.

I have to make up my mind in the next few weeks. During that time I have to read the book we're discussing in June. I may just have to go through my past book lists to find something suitable.

Hancock Fabrics

With Party City in Upland gone, it seems that a Hancock Fabrics will open in its space near Michaels. I always find it interesting that stores selling similar types of items are close to each other. 

Birthday Dinner

How to choose where to celebrate C's birthday dinner.

1. Ask C where she wants to go.

2. C says, "I'll tell you when I wake up in the morning."

3. Keep asking throughout the day. Still no decision.

4. Walk downtown.

5. Try to have hoppy hour at Eureka! Burger, but bar is full.

6. Walk back into the Village and head towards Back Abbey.

7. Find a nice table and enjoy dinner outside.

Homeoblock

A few years ago I noticed that my bite had changed. I couldn't chew with my front teeth, but I didn't think very much about it. While at a dental cleaning a few months ago my dentist told me that if I didn't change my bite, I would probably have to have surgery to fix my mouth. Well, who wants surgery? He told me that an alternative would be to be fitted for a homeoblock appliance - sort of a retainer on steroids. One for the top teeth, one for the bottom. 

The upside, besides fixing my bite, is that it might actually straighten my teeth, and, at least straighten and strengthen my facial muscles. I will probably wear this device at night for the rest of my life. Today I got the device, tried it on in the office, and brought it home with a list of instructions. I can tell that it is going to take at least a few weeks to get used to it. Time will tell.

Gifts for Travel

Daughter L is visiting for the week for a bachelorette party, so she brought my birthday gift with her to keep the celebration going. Both daughters thought to give me something useful to take to Switzerland. C found this adorable purse for me and L brought at moleskine notebook - one that has all kinds of information about Zurich (including maps) as well as places to write. I feel as though I am ready to jump on a tram right now!

Beach Birthday

Second year in a row that my birthday fell on a weekend. A lovely June weekend. With temps promised in the low 100s (which never materialized), I thought that an escape to the beach would be the best way to relax with H, C and B. These days we tend to head toward Laguna and try out any beach where we can find parking.

While on the road, we decided to stop off at 85C for sea salt coffee and then yelped where we could find Mexican take-out in Laguna. Papa's Tacos came highly recommended, and that's where we ended up. The proprietor/chef/server was very friendly and when I told him it was my birthday, he threw in a bag of chips with some salsa. We took our food and ended up at Aliso Beach. The parking lot was full when we drove through, but I spotted a street space across the busy PCH which was still there after we rounded back. Luckily there is a tunnel under the highway for pedestrians.

We enjoyed people-watching while we ate our burritos, which we ranked very highly. Then we read a little, chatted and near the end of our stay we watched a pod of dolphins frolicking in the waves. That was certainly a highlight. 

Back home, after showers and a little phone chat with L, C treated us to a homemade peach and almond cake with vanilla ice cream. 

A most excellent way to celebrate.

Ordering at Papa's Tacos.

Food Trucks for Lunch

We have seen one or two food trucks outside of LACMA before, but this was our first time there during the work week, and we counted nine trucks lining Wilshire. After perusing the options, we split up and H bought lunch at the Thai truck and I got a falafel sandwich at the Kabob Express. 

While waiting for my food, four people dressed in Honda blue polos (you know the ads on tv), came around offering people hand sanitizer and a small tissue pack. When people took one and said "thank you," the Honda people said, "It's our job to be helpful."

This woman was actively hawking her truck's wares, taking orders on her iPad and touting the fact that their truck had a gourmet chef and had been featured on CBS. Maybe next time, Street Kings.

Birthday Trip to LACMA

Last year I joined LACMA for my birthday, especially to see the James Turrell retrospective. It was a deal to join since membership included free tickets to the special exhibit. Little did I know that I would return four more times to get my money's worth for the $110 "Dual Membership". If you are interested, here is a link to my year at LACMA. 

Yesterday we saw Van Gogh to Kandinsky which opens to the public tomorrow, but members got a special preview.  In this exhibit we were allowed to photograph a number of the works with a little sign next to the ones we were not allowed to shoot.

Paul Klee was a Swiss painter. Looking forward to seeing the Klee museum in Berne where he grew up.

I got in trouble for taking this photo. See the gentleman in black on the right side? He came over to me to explain the photographing rules. I just wanted to show the scope of the exhibit and how many people were there. It's a terrible photo, but I thought I'd post it anyway.

So, while I was pleased that our $110 membership had gone so far this year, we had to add an additional $58 to the total spent while going to LACMA this year. We parked on the street to save the $10 parking fee in the lot, and after 2 hours and 10 minutes in a 2 hour zone, we were awarded this lovely ticket from the City of LA. I guess that $168 is still a good deal for 5 trips to the museum for 2 people....

Apricots and Squirrels

Those awful squirrels are at it again. My apricots are NOT QUITE RIPE, and yet, they are being demolished by those terrible demons! ARGGGGGG!!!!!

Summer Swim

This morning I went swimming at Haldeman (at Pomona College) instead of the gym. While I was swimming laps, I was remembering all the good times I had at the side of this pool (as well as at Pendleton, also at Pomona) when my girls were growing up. After a spring of dusty softball fields, I always appreciated the cool blue of the pool, the soothing sound of the water while I watched swim lessons. Then when the girls were older, they were on the summer swim team. After a few years of practicing as a swim team, the coach organized a friendly swim meet with the Mount Baldy Aquatics.  We got the dads to run stop watches, we organized relays, and at the end of the meet in the dark we had a big potluck. Great memories.

Here is a photo from the swim meet in 2002. That was just a couple of years ago, right?

Multicultural Day 2014

Another Multicultural Day has come and gone at Vista. As I have blogged before, my favorite part of the day is when the whole school gathers at the end with all our flags and we sing three songs together. This year we threw in Pete Seeger's If I Had a Hammer. The Kinders made up motions to go with the song and everyone sang it with such gusto.

It occurred to me that we should incorporate singing into other assemblies for the whole school, not just for Winter Sing and MC Day. I will be thinking about what songs those should be and when we can sing together when I come back.

I loved these photos of the kids in Room 4 - looking all Italian!

ARTstART

Another brief, but worthwhile exhibit in the Ginger Elliot Hall next to the Garner House in Memorial Park. This exhibit showcased art from students at Vista, Oakmont and Sycamore. These upper grade students were part of ARTstART sponsored by the Claremont Museum of Art. This program works at many levels starting with college students who mentor high school students to lead the elementary children through three art lessons. 

The Courier's lead story on Friday led me to the exhibition. It gives a more fully detailed explanation of the work that is being done with this exciting program of arts integration across the curriculum, and leadership training for high school students. The exhibit will be open once more - this Wednesday from noon - 4, and if you are free then (and the exhibit is also free), I highly recommend a visit!