OCO Holiday Concert

The Oakland Civic Orchestra had our holiday concert at St. Paul's Epicscopal in Oakland. We played the concerto for violin and oboe by Bach and Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite and Handle's Royal Fireworks Overture. It was a lot of fun. Dahin and the boys sat through the rehearsal the day before the concert. I am so glad the church has a playroom! The day of the concert, Dahin opted to go to a birthday party instead of the concert, so it was just me and the boys. They were so good; eating crackers and cheese and coloring. The concert went very well and it was a full house; packed to the max! The audience was so appreciative and you could feel such a positive energy in the air. Kendolyn from knitting circle (a jazz pianist) came to the concert and told me, "It was absolutely delightful!" I was nervous about the Tchaikovsky, especially the first movement since the violins are divided into 4 parts. There are 4 stands of 1st violins and, because I am sitting on the outside, had the highest and most audible part of the strings. Very nerve-racking, but all went well and there were no audible squeaks or audible mistakes. If I can make it work, I will post some video from the performance soon. It was sad, because this is my last concert with them (for now) and the last time I can play with Meredith, my stand partner. As teenagers, we attended Sewanee summer music camp together and it was so cool to discover that we were both living here with our kids. She's pregnant and expecting her third in January. Sigh...I know we'll meet up again someday soon.

Cozy Evening

It's been so cold lately. Those of you from places where the temps dip below 30 degrees will laugh, but here 40 degrees feels frigid. Combine that with winds whipping off the Pacific and rain/hail and it's freaking cold. We've been trying to create warmth at home through fires in the fireplace and our own little knitting circles and tea time. The other day, Dahin was feeling a little under the weather, so I had her sleep on the futon near the fire while I knitted. We watched ghost stories on the Travel Channel together. It seems Dahin shares my propensity for ghost stories and trying to guess whether the silly boys on the true ghost stories show are just acting (and laughing off camera) or really experiencing supernatural phenomena. It was a very nice, cozy evening.

Dan Zanes Concert

Perhaps the best singer, songwriter, arranger of children's music these days in Dan Zanes. A lot of people might recognize him from Playhouse Disney on which his short music videos, called Dan Zanes House Party, show him and his band singing and dancing with friends and kids. I have a lot of respect for Dan Zanes. He's performed with the likes of Natalie Merchant, Joni Mitchell, and others. This concert in Herbst Theater was Dan Zanes and friends special Holiday House Party and they premiered it in San Francisco. Dan Zanes and Friends are based in Brooklyn, NY and they delivered a few holiday messages to us from the East Coast. The concert featured guests artists who are specialists in Chicano music, Hasidic music, shadow puppetry (from Manchester, England), tap dancing, old tyme music, and more. It was a fabulous concert and he invited people to come up before the stage and dance. I was able to take some great pictures. The photo directly below is of the group performing the Korean New Year's song. The woman playing the guitar is Korean American (she was born in Oak Ridge, Tennesee!). She's a violinist (amazing skills) and a trumpet player. It was such a treat for the kids to here the seollal song and to see a bit of Korean culture and music celebrated in front of a San Francisco audience. Dahin has become a huge fan of the violin eonni (as you can see from one of the pictures below). The kids rushed to get her autograph after the show. Meeting Dan Zanes was a close second : ). The best part of the concert? It was FREE. Not for everyone, but a parent at Dahin's school works for San Francisco performances. Right before Thanksgiving, she sent out a message asking if people wanted to go to the concert since she had free tickets to give away. I had enough money to buy Dan Zanes's "Catch That Train" cd and a poster for the artists to sign after the concert. Rock on!

Frisco Kids

San Francisco has got to be the most beautiful city in the world. In addition to the mild climate and abundance of recreational opportunities, it is just gorgeous with the most impressively designed buildings. When we go there, crossing the bridge from Oakland into "the city" (when we first moved here, it took me a while to figure out what people meant by "the city," but now it's become a regular part of my 'local' lexicon), I am always in awe knowing that these landmarks are world-renowned places. For example, the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House houses one of the world's best opera companies, perhaps the world's best childrens choruses (both boys and girls choruses will be performing at Obama's inauguration on January 20th), and one of the world's best ballet companies. The San Francisco Ballet's Nutracker was the first Nutcracker performed in the U.S. City Hall, as well, is one of those places where so much has gone on. The site where so many same-sex couples rushed to tie the knot just months ago became the same site of despair over the passing of Proposition 8, a proposition banning gay marriages in California. While I am, obviously, not gay and have a hard time understanding it, I fully believe everyone has the right to marry. I love that people here are so openly political and opinionate, despite that fact that, admittedly, it gets on my nerves sometimes. It's refreshing coming from a place where speaking about one's political leanings is a no-no. Here, it's really out in the open, but a negative is that many left-wingers (the majority here) tend to shut out right-wing opinions. It's assumed here that everyone is liberal and shares the liberal viewpoint. I am not super conservative, but believe everyone should have a voice. While I can get annoued at some of the things about life here, I just look around and know I live in a beautiful place. This morning, on my morning run, I watched as the sun rose over the lake and the stars slowly faded in the morning light. Seagulls were doing their thing as the midnight blue of dawn gave way to the brilliant blue skies that are the norm here. I am amazed that, even in such a densely populated area, I can still see the starts at night. Despite San Francisco's many problems (mild tolerance of panhandlers and a seeming over-abundance of crazies roaming the streets), the positive aspects certainly trump the negative.

Crazy Beach Kids

Ok--I know the ending of the phrase, "You know your kid is a native San Franciscan when..." The ending is most certainly, "...your kid insists on dipping their feet in freezing Pacific waters and stripping down to their naked selves despite 50 degree temperatures and frigid winds." Yes, I spared you the naked shots. Actually, Ronan was the only one who got naked, but it still counts. My friends Rebecca and Jun looked on in horror. But hey, they're L.A. folks.

Roasting Marshmallows

One of the joys of having a fireplace is that camping is always in season. It was Jack's idea to roast marshmallows and while, at first, I thought it was a little wierd, the kids sure didn't. We went through a whole bag of marshmallows in one sitting. Jack cleverly joined two wooden chopsticks togther and roasted away.

Me and Rebecca

Rebecca's my oldest friend. We've known each other for almost 20 years now. Wacky, huh? We've grown from thrift store wearing, coffee house performers and eclectic band members to moms who, admittedly, still wear thrift fashion but spend more time focusing on our kids. We both have kept up the music. Rebecca does studio sessions and records, and performs in a women's choir, while I do the orchestra and play regular jam sessions with the parents on the music committee at Dahin's school. I am so grateful that they live in LA, though, of course, wish they lived closer. Although, I think, if we lived in the same city, we'd see each other about the same frequency as we do now. As 'grown ups,' we have such busy lives. I've totally had a blast spending the last two Thanksgiving holidays with her and her family. It's so fun to get a fellow Southerner's spin on this California adventure we're both on.