« Lazy Days! | Main | Back to My Faith Journey - The College Years #3 »
September 29, 2014
Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall
I can see that I have ignored this blog for quite some time. I don't remember such a glorious summer where I have done absolutely nothing of any importance other than my trip to England and finally, last week, my annual trip to Ashland, Oregon, to see plays with friends. Four of us took the trek down I-5 stopping in Portland at the wonderful Powell's Books, dinner at Cafe Mingo, overnight in Salem, and into Medford Airport to pick up a friend who had flown down. Then, on to the wonderful Rogue Creamery cheese and wine shop to pick up snacks before the short hop into Ashland and our beautiful flat we rent each year.
Barb and I saw six plays in four days, and the other three saw from three to four plays. We all took a wonderful backstage tour. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, a true repertory, runs several plays at a time -- often three using the same stage. Their actors may be in two plays each day and understudy a third. -- only some of them Shakespeare. They have a variety of offerings including one musical. Barb and I saw two comedies (Two Gentlemen From Verona and A Comedy of Errors), a new rendition of Madeleine L'Engle's "A Wrinkle in Time," the sequel to the play All the Way (that we saw two year's ago and that won the Tony's this year) The Great Society, a Groucho Marx play, Cocoanuts, and a contemporary play about cyberspace, Water By the Spoonful. All were quite wonderful. The joy of going to Ashland (I'm sure I've mentioned before) is seeing such high quality work time after time. Even if you don't agree with the way they have decided to stage a play, you cannot fault the performances.
We've had an exciting time at church. Our candidate for senior pastor was here for several days meeting people, answering questions, and generally preparing to preach her sermon. I was really impressed and pleased with our search committee. I loved her answers to all the questions asked during a lunch meeting on Friday, and was pleased that we extended her a call yesterday after she preached. She will be here in January. She has gone home to give her church her resignation, be with them for a time, and then take a month off between calls.
I have turned into a boarding house. Katie, of course, has stayed with me for several years. She is a voice teacher at the University and lives in Seattle where she teaches at Cornish and sings all over the state for a variety of orchestras and other gigs. She is in Bellingham from Monday through Wednesday. Jeni and Ron's friends, the Lintons, have a son finishing his degree in Geology this quarter and needed a place to stay. So, Peter has moved into my attic room for the duration. A nice lad. I wasn't looking for another roommate, but three months will go by quickly. Although I may pay him to stay on since he cleans the kitchen and is very quiet. It does ease the missing of James to have a big, strapping, lad on the premises.
James is launched into St. Olaf's College in Minnesota having a grand old time. He is surprising us by 1) boxing, 2) sewing costumes for the drama department, and 3) hosting a radio show. I don't know much more about these events and look forward to hearing about his experiences. Allie is living with several friends just up the street in a huge house. She has found a job greeting people at "The Little Cheerful" cafe and taking three classes at Western. Nicole is coming up in two weeks to stay with me and take the SAT -- she and Ron are going to go look at colleges for next year. Can my three oldest grandchildren really by that old? I don't feel old myself (most days).
The two little boys are growing too with Nico in second grade and Lionel finishing his last year in preschool. Not much more to recap -- I'm off to continue scraping paint from my dining room that got slopped over at one time. I'm on my third dishwasher full of glasses from last night's book group here. Life is great, weather is so so, leaves are beginning to turn into fall colors, and that's what news is like from Bellingham, Washington.
Posted by Marilyn at September 29, 2014 11:36 AM