Easter Weekend

 I'm not religious however 3 different faiths were practicing important rituals this weekend. 

For me, the weekend covered a bunch of things that were small things on their own, but made it a particularly good weekend and reminded me of much to be grateful for.

On Saturday, we didn't have family Zoom because Mei was in Boston with Neve and Mason checking out colleges for Neve. During the week, I had gone to Home Depot to pick up some stuff for Christie to paint the hallway and while I was there asked at the blinds shop about their top down/bottom up customs. I returned on Friday to pick up one to replace the broken shade in the bedroom. First job is taking the old one down and patching the nail holes. When I tried to install the new ones, I found I was trying to drill into a metal piece. Luckily, Chris to the rescue, he provided metal drill bits. I also spent some time patching up paint dings around the place, almost had a paint spill mishap, cleaned up and ended up running late for my shift at Stray Cat.

After a few hours of playing with the cats (here's Wren)

I went home and decided to tackle the shade situation. Took a little more arm and shoulder muscle to get the screws in but they installed beautifully and the new shade clipped right in! I love being able to let some light in from the top while still maintaining privacy in this very large window.

I definitely felt a sense of accomplishment getting this taken care of. The old shade has been slowly deterioriating over time with the broken cord and getting this additional functionality is fantastic. This also makes me feel like I can manage the issue of running into metal again when I finally get around to installing a new curtain rod in the living room (with Chris' help, of course).

Sunday was a dance filled day. Since it was also Easter, a bunch of us had bunny ears (thanks to Kelly for getting me a pair) in class. It was a full class, really fun combos and ended with some fast pique turns which I love. 

Dash out of class and home for a quick shower and change so we can carpool to Orange County to see Ballet de Monte Carlo. Kelly, Hiromi and I were supposed to meet Joyce and Donna at Donna's house, but Hiromi was running late so we just met them in OC .

The theatre was very sparsely attended (sadly for the dancers) but this was a stunning performance! They did their version of Romeo & Juliet from the late 90s. The sets were very sparse, consisting mainly of a ramp and large white panels, some of which were curved and moved around. The Capulets and Montagues were distinguished mainly by dark or light clothing. The Friar is the character who carries us through the story, almost as if what we're seeing is him remembering the tragedy that he set in motion with his ill-advised actions. This was a piece that felt very much like theatre without words. The traditional Prokofiev score is still in place (one of my all time favourite pieces of music) and the choreography is contemporary but rooted in traditional ballet technique. The dancers all were required to convey much more with their faces than traditional ballet and they were spectacular. This was such a moving interpretation of this well-trod story that I got all verklempt at the death scene, despite no sign of poison, daggers or other means of taking one's life.

 

 My seat neighbours were there to see one of the performers, Benjamin Stone/Benvolio, who had danced with their brother/son. They were so enthusiastic and it was fun to sit next to them.

After the performance, we all went to Silver Trumpet for dinner. We had a fantastic meal, served by a wonderfully attentive server and we had time to talk and eat in a relaxed fashion without feeling the need to hurry along so we could get to the theatre. We were home before 7 for a relaxing evening, culminating in some home made chocolate chip cookies delivered by Christie (Elyana went on a baking binge). 

Before the pandemic, it may not have occurred to me that a weekend like this was so special, but I'm feeling it now and thought that through every accomplishment and event.

Ballet day

This past Sunday was non-stop ballet! 

Started the morning with my usual 9a class with James. The usual gang in class included Yuki, Yuri, Aileen, Michael & Hiromi, Callan, Evan (Yi-Wen), Jenny, Joyce, Kelly. Suzanne came up from OC.

After class, 6 of us went to Le Petit Mimi Cafe up the street for a bite, then we headed home to freshen up before carpooling our way to the Music Center to watch Hamburg Ballet.

Suzanne, Joyce, Kelly and I along with Donna S has seats in the loge while Michael, Hiromi, Yuki, Yuri and Aileen were in the Orchestra. 

Before starting their program, the orchestra performed the Ukrainian anthem. It was extremely moving. The company performed Bernstein Dances, a full length ballet to Leonard Bernstein's music choreographed by John Neumeier. There were some brilliant parts, some kind of slow but overall I enjoyed the performance. The section to Wesr Side Story was particularly moving with the dancers ending the section by surrounding the piano on stage. For the bows, the company came out and reprieved sections of the ballet. It kind of reminded me of musical theatre. It was an exuberant way to conclude a dance performance. 

To be able to take class and then watch a wonderful performance all on the same day is truly a gift.

Joan Bayley

One of my first ballet teachers, Joan Bayley Weamer, passed away on January 6th at age 101. 

She lived an amazing long life, spanning the early years of ballet in America to the golden age of Hollywood. She worked with Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye (on White Christmas), Marilyn Monroe and many more. She lived to see her great grandchildren grow to be teens and became friends with and bound her adult students together.

I started taking her classes when she was already in her late 70s.She taught until her physical health deteriorated in her late 90s.

Last year we were able to celebrate her 101st birthday with two parties. There was a small tea party for the people who helped carpool her to class in the last 14 years. I found a place that did a take away tea set which turned out to be terrific. There followed a larger garden party in her yard bringing in her local family plus a larger circle of her dance students. 

I also know a few of my non-dance friends enjoyed meeting and talking to her at my holiday parties over the years. 

While those of us who knew her will miss her, we have great memories.

Holiday season

The year that started moving at a snail's pace now seems to be rushing headlong into 2022. 

It was a very strange year, starting with continuing fear of COVID, which eventually morphed into little bits of hope with the vaccine. I started off wary of the new mRNA technology then couldn't wait until I was eligible.

As the weather warmed, it started to seem like things could slowly open up, and we could slowly all start getting together again. Ballet classes continued with masks, first in small groups and only outside or in the large back studio. Eventually, classes all moved indoors, got bigger and expanded into all of the studios. 

I found myself talking to my fellow students more, including people I'd been in classes with for years and never bothered to say hi. A few of us started going to coffee after class, first at Blueys and then when they became too busy, at Cafe Ruisseau. 

It started to feel safer to meet people for meals, first outside, then slowly indoors. I am so grateful for the creativity it took for my neighbourhood restaurants to stay open. 

I got back on a plane in May to spend the weekend with Mei. We didn't do much but it was mostly about spending time together after over a year of Zoom only. June brought a welcome invitation from Mei to join them on Maui. Again, not a trip full of ticking off things to do, but we were all grateful for time together, eating good food (although super early) and basking in the HI sun. The stress of testing to go there was totally worth it.

My ballet friends and I went to Napa for a Roberto Bolle & Friends performance thanks to Kelly's initiative, driving up together. Another dance focused trip followed to Vail in August. These opportunities to see live dance really felt so special. While the weather in Vail was not great, we rejoiced in being back in a place we all love. 

We were supposed to be going back into the office in September, but Delta put a stop to that. We could choose to go back if we want but we had to be vaccinated to do so. I went back a few times but it was rarely worth the commute and only to see colleagues.

Thanksgiving was a return to the Bay area but without the large family gathering due to a non-vaccinated family member. Most of us got together for an easy outdoor hike followed by tacos, which was a great way to see everyone safely. 

Just when we thought this would be the first 'normal-ish' holiday, along comes Omicron. With all of the stress of worrying about what's happening, I am looking forward to finally seeing Ma and D's family in person. 

I also did some holiday baking for gifts. Since one of my ballet teachers is vegan, I set a challenge to find recipes with those limitations but which were just as tasty. The first one I tried was from LA Times recipe writer Ben Mims. His cherry-walnut fudge looked really good. However I used an old candy thermometer which caused the fudge to not set. After an informative Insta message exchange, I redid it and it worked like a charm! Super delicious, too! Definitely worth doing again, although expensive with Luxardo cherries. The second recipe I found was for lemon sugar cookies. I had a bunch of lemons left from various HelloFresh meals so wanted to use them up. The recipe called for vegan butter and silken tofu, which didn't feel like too much of a stretch (since I love tofu). These turned out so delicious! The texture is light but flavourful and definitely better than regular sugar cookies. I love that these experiments led to two new recipes to add to my collection.

International Nights

Friday and Saturday are the International Nights performances. This year, on Saturday they scheduled two shows and we are going to the early show. Originally this was designed to allow a bigger audience assuming the need for spacing due to COVID. They didn't end up needing to do that as the local authorities allowed for full capacity and no masks. In fact, despite all the talk of the delta variant in the news, there was not much evidence of people taking precautions at all. We saw handfuls of people in mask, sometimes families with kids masked but the adults not. Public transport was fully masked but that was due to federal orders. Luckily Vail is a very outdoors oriented town, but it's confusing trying to figure out what is the right thing to do for yourself.

On Friday morning, I joined Suzanne and Ben for a hike up the mountain and over to Lionshead. I got off to a bad start by forgetting my water. They had mapped out a hike with the help of the local maps and guides starting at the gondola in Vail Village. Luckily the trail was dry after all the rain we had. I went about 20 minutes with them and decided I wouldn't do well the whole way so turned back while they kept going. Once I got back to the village, I joined Joel and Joyce at the pool. For lunch we checked out Joe's Deli for sandwiches and ice cream. Their sandwiches were huge and delicious and they had some great ice cream flavours.

Dinner tonight is at El Segundo. They have a variety of tacos, bowls and burritos. My boss hog taco was delicious along with a side of black beans. Dessert was strawberries with a cream/yogurt mix and their churro donuts were perfect.

This year's International Nights are a little less star-filled, a little less action packed than before. I'm sure the planning and programming must have been a challenge, trying to book dancers and repertoire in ever changing circumstances. The highlight of the first night was the performance of Who Cares, dedicated to Jacque d'Amboise. Many dancers from both ABT and NYCB performed in the roles and many of them were debuts. This was a fun way to end the evening.

On Saturday, we started with breakfast at Ludwig's in the Sonnenalp. Joyce, Joel and I had gone their our first year and we loved the glass dining room. This time, there is no buffet and our bigger table was inside but the food was just as good as we remembered. After breakfast, Suzanne and I walked to the amphitheatre to watch rehearsal. This was definitely a highlight of the trip-the dancers did a combination of marking and dancing full out for their pieces, some in parts of their costumes, so in their regular dance clothes. 

The Int'l Night performance was at 5p so we went early to grab a bite at the amphitheatre. We saw several pieces that were created for the dance festival in previous years, some previews of pieces that will be performed on Monday and Calvin & Unity performed the pas de deux from After The Rain, one of my all time favourites. 

While the festival may not have been able to be as full programmed as in past years, we were all very grateful for the fact that we had live dance, new partnerships and new pieces. The audience was super appreciative, as almost every piece got standing ovations from a good chunk of the crowd.

Dancer interviews and creekside walk

In the middle of the week, we have a couple of non-performance days. On Wednesday morning I met Suzanne and Ben at Manor Vail Lodge to listen in on an interview for the podcast Conversations on Dance with Herman Cornejo and Tiler Peck. The room and audience were very small and so we saw Tiler and Herman beforehand, just hanging out. The interviewers for the podcast are former Miami City Ballet dancers. It was really special to be able to see the dancers in this setting, talking about how the pandemic affected them and other aspects of their careers. We were able to say a few words to them after the interview.

 After the interview, I joined Joel and Joyce at the pool. I sat and read while they bounced from jacuzzi to pool. For lunch, we got a table at Fall Line and I had a delicious tomato and goat cheese salad.

We had a later dinner tonight at La Tour, a French restaurant that we've never been to but had eyed the menu before. The restaurant was able to completely open their front wall so that there was a nice feeling of outdoor dining even inside. I had a delicious duck breast and we admired their desserts.

On Thursday, we went for a walk by Gore Creek. There is a nature center and the trails leading from there are marked with a written guide to explain some elements of the ecosystem. 

Tonight, we are heading to Lionshead for a jazz performance. Dinner is at Tavern on the Square. They have a huge outdoor patio with umbrellas which was perfect for today's sunny early dinner. I didn't end up loving the performance. However, after jazz night we always go to Rimini for gelato. 

BalletX and Matsuhisa

The last couple of days have been quiet ones. The rainy weather has not helped. Really the only things we could do involved walking around town and shopping when the rain would occasionally let up.

Yesterday morning, Suzanne generously led us through a workout class consisting of some stretches and some pilates. It felt good to move a little like that. 

The rest of the day I just took it easy in my room. I was super tired from not sleeping well the night before so this was about all the energy I had. 

Our late lunch/early dinner was at Up The Creek, which is right next to my hotel and right off Gore creek. I had shrimp and scallops which were nicely done and delicious. The food overall was quite good although Ben's trout was not to his liking but they replaced it. We had a nice view of the creek.

For this evening, the dance performance will be Ballet X's Sunset 0639 hours. It was previously performed at Vail shortly after premiering in Philadelphia. The piece describes the story of the first mail flight between New Zealand and Hawaii and the tragic explosion that killed the crew on their return. 

We decided, given the rain, to take the bus to the theatre. I discovered that there was an express bus directly to the auditorium. It turned out to be super easy and not at all crowded. The performance was amazing! At the beginning, I wasn't sure what to make of it. The movements were sometimes quite classical and other times very modern. The company were all extraordinarily talented. As the piece progressed I came to appreciate the extremely creative use of sound (invented sounds, bird calls, recited letters as well as mechanical noises and music) to fill in where movement couldn't go. And the costumes while simple really began to help place us in the different settings of the story. By the end of the piece I was choked up near tears. The nearly full house gave an extended standing ovation.

Today was even more rain! I met Joyce and Suzanne at their hotel and played a card game called Spite and Malice. It's a fun game using two decks of cards, a little bit of strategizing and luck. About mid day, I ordered a veggie pizza from Pazzo for the group, with Ben and Joel joining us. We just needed a light meal to tide us over until dinner at Matsuhisa.

In the afternoon, the rain had let up so we strolled through the upper part of the village. I then spent a couple of hours back at the hotel before meeting the gang to walk to dinner.

We have gone to Matsuhisa every time we are in Vail. We love the food and the service. This time was no exception. Our waiter was friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. The support staff made sure we had water, fresh plates and cleared off service items almost instantaneously. We always have edamame, the black cod, a couple of sushi rolls (the seaweed is so good) and tempura veggies and the shaved ice dessert. This time we added shishito peppers, sea bass with a black bean sauce, and a miso chocolate bar dessert. I had the passion fruit Matsutini cocktail (shared with Joyce). Every single thing was out of this world. 

After dinner we went for a short walk towards the residential area and then turned around to head back.

Vail Dance Festival

A week after returning from Napa for our first live dance performance in 1.5 yrs, Joyce, Suzanne and I, along with their partners Joel and Ben, headed to LAX very early for our flight to Denver and a shuttle to Vail in pouring rain. 

By the time we got to Vail the rain was reduced to light sprinkles. The others are staying at Austria Haus Hotel, but because I joined them late, I am at a different lodging- Hotel Gasthof-Gramshammer. It's quite a complex with a sporting goods store and restaurant attached. The room is comfortable and quaint although a little noisier than Austria Haus due to the location.

Our first dinner was at La Bottega. I had prosciutto and melon and lobster ravioli. We all shared two wonderful desserts (of course one of them was tiramisu).

Our very first performance was the same day we arrived. NYCB Moves is the touring arm of the company. They performed 3 pieces, all of which were new to me:

In the Night (Robbins)

Sonatine (Sonatine)

Pictures at an Exhibition (Ratmansky)

I loved all of the pieces and I thought the dancers (combination of principals, soloists and corps) performed better than I've seen them in awhile. There was a feeling of joy that really made the night special.

After a good night's sleep, I picked up some breakfast from my hotel (hard boiled egg and some pastries with mediocre coffee), then met the others at theirs. Today is a large farmer's market so we spent the mornings checking out the stalls. I picked up a beautiful banana leaf hat.

Tonight's performance is early so we had a late lunch/early dinner at Sweet Basil, recommended by the Austria Haus concierge. It was so good! I had an amazing snow crab pasta but everyone raved about their food. After, we had ice cream at a new place called Sundae. Their chocolate orange tasted exactly like the treats that Mei and Stephen put into Xmas stockings every year.

The performance tonight is an UpClose highlighting Calvin Royal III who is the Artist-In-Residence this year. They discuss different aspects of his career and his experiences at Vail. He performed pieces with Isabella Boylston, Mira Mason, Unity Phelan, and worked on new pieces with Tyler Peck and Jamar Roberts. This series is such a special part of the Vail program and even more so with such a special dancer as Calvin is. We also ran into Boise, who used to take Joan's ballet class! He now lives in NYC and was there with his partner and his mom. 

Joan's 101st birthday

We managed a year of this crazy pandemic. Several of my fellow ballet peeps are vaccinated now and it's time again to celebrate Joan's birthday. She looked amazing, her hair done up, beautiful outfit, jewelry. 

Margie made her a crane lei which ended up going beautifully with her outfit.

I've seen Reenie, Peggy and Margie around the studio. Kay, Sandy and Ye Rin I haven't seen in over a year.

I found a place where we could order a to-go tea service, Sugarbird Sweets. The food ended up being really good and plentiful! It was such a delight to be with everyone around a table, safely outside unmasked and to be able to celebrate Joan and all of us getting through this past year. 

Last weekend's Joan celebration was limited to those of us helped chauffeur her to the studio and back in the last few years of her teaching. 

This weekend a larger crowd, including her family (daughter, two grandsons and their wives and children) gathered again in her backyard for appetizers and a toast to Joan. We were able to be unmasked with permission from her family. There were many people I hadn't seen since last March and we have more time to catch up. Again, Joan looked terrific.

Glimmer of normal?

This weekend, the weather started to warm up. While it doesn't get very cold here and we're certainly not dealing with the terrible storms hitting Texas and parts of the midwest and east coast, temps still drop and our homes are not well insulated.

After Sunday morning ballet class, Gigi and Yuki asked me to go with them to a local coffee shop that was around the corner. We got our coffees and sat at a curb just to chat. 

Afterwards, I felt a lightness that I hadn't felt in almost a year. And I realized that it wasn't just meeting and catching up with friends. It's also the spontaneous nature of our coffee meeting. Those kinds of get togethers are the small but vital activities that we lost in the pandemic. 

As we start to see the light at the end of this long dark tunnel, and as we mark 500,000 deaths in the US, I hope we can get back those small things as much as the big ones.

Ends and beginnings

The whole idea of the new year as we celebrate it in the west is fairly arbitrary. I mean, why not on the solstice? What meaning does this particular day have tied to anything going on in the real or natural world?

As has been the case for the last several years, our company was mostly shutdown between Xmas and New Years. Because we are being switched to new email addresses, we received new laptops and new phones just before the break. Not surprisingly, the instructions we received for switching over were pathetically inadequate so I did spend some time on the phone with tech support staff. Still lots of problems so that's going to be fun to deal with on Monday.

Xmas was spent alone. I ordered a meal from Casa del Mar/Shutters which was delicious and the family Zoomed in the morning but it was even more depressing than other years when I have chosen to stay home for whatever reason. 

I did plan an excursion with Ferreby to Huntington Garden which was supposed to be Monday, then was rained out by torrential thunderstorms! She worked a miracle to get us in on New Year's Eve. Ferreby has been a godsend over these past months. When people I thought were close friends have never bothered to reach out (despite my doing so), she's someone who has consistently found ways for both of us to get out safely and spend time together. The Garden was beautiful and the weather was perfect. We mostly stayed in the Chinese Garden, which had recently been expanded and reopened. While the plants in Winter are muted or dormant, they still add a beauty to the paths, water, and the backdrop of the San Gabriel mountains.

During the week, I saw an article about things to do on New Year's Day and it mentioned a horse ride through the Hollywood Hills. This was something I always thought would be fun but didn't really ever get around to. Perfect time and perfect excuse to get myself out of the house. Our group was just me and another couple. Again, the weather was perfect. The skies were really clear all the way to the ocean. Lots of people were on the trail, but most everyone wore masks plus being on horses, we were well above people's breathing zone and they also kept us safely 6' from each other. 

We rode up to My Hollywood (with a view of Griffith Observatory) and also right under the Hollywood sign. Although my butt is still sore, it felt really good to get outside this way.

The bonus of heading to this part of town is being a few minutes from Steven and Rob's house. I stopped by after and because they have a beautiful wide sliding door, we could be inside and still have an amazing cross breeze to keep us all safe. We still kept our masks on. I so thoroughly enjoyed just hanging out, no agenda, catching up with old friends. It really made for a nice start to 2021.

While I have no illusions that much will change by the turning of an artificial calendar, I do hope that with a new administration in DC we will at least start to have sane, scientific responses to this pandemic and that we will eventually, slowly (and maybe with some backsliding) start to find our way to our new future, whatever that may look like.

Lockdown again

CA and LA County are going back into lockdown. The COVID positive test rate is sky rocketing again. Curfew is in effect from 10p to 6a. Restaurants will need to close outdoor dining starting Wednesday. 

Meanwhile millions of people are traveling for Thanksgiving despite the fact many of them probably are carrying the virus but are asymptomatic. 

The amount of anger I have towards people who are not behaving for the good of the community is unspeakable. 

I'm taking the week off because work is exhausting and I won't be able to have a proper vacation this year. 

On Thanksgiving morning, I will drive to Project Angel Food and pick up meals to be delivered to people who are too ill to feed themselves. In the afternoon, I will heat up my to-go meal from Pasjoli, a fancy restaurant that's fairly new, was getting a great rep but I didn't have a chance to try before the pandemic started in March. My neighbours M and J had to cancel their trip to see family. So we three will meet down in our back area with our individual meals and share thanks for having good people for neighbours. 

Almost normal

There was a lot going on this weekend, after a rather exhausting week of work. It started with learning of the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She made my life as a single woman possible. This is a huge loss and many of my friends and acquaintances are feeling it. 

And yet, so many almost normal things happened this weekend. My friend Amy had returned from summering in Minnesota and we planned a 'spontaneous' safely distanced afternoon meet up at Superba. I haven't seen her in real life since March and it felt so good to catch up and not have a screen between us.

I also figured out how to change out my air filters. Just one of those home maintenance chores that I had no understanding of and took forever to Google what to do. But with the poor air quality from fire smoke and the amount of time I have on the weekend to figure stuff like this out, no better time.

I almost messed up my Sunday morning ballet class booking but learned last minute that I got in, but even more special was that Gigi was coming to class for the first time and Yuki would be there as well! We haven't all been in class together in ages. Prior to the pandemic, our class schedules were just not the same. All three of us promised to have Chiyako in our thoughts during class. Ballet is the one thing that gives us a sense of our full selves. Aside from the masks, we have to work just as hard in class and focus just as much. It's such a gift. I think we all appreciate it more now than ever before.

After class, I hopped on an IG Live sale of crystals for a designer who I was introduced to via a work friend. I started out just wanting to lurk but it turned out to be super fun. By the end, some of us were chatting over the live comments and joking about doing a WLA meet up. 

Finally, the pandemic Emmys was Sunday night. It was a strange broadcast with everyone at home and some random bits happening in the studios. (Alpacas are cute with their moptop hair, but that was a lot of work for an Al Pacino joke.) I'm thrilled for Schitt's Creek winning so many and landing all 4 acting Emmys, and for the Watchmen wins. Schitt's Creek helped get me through pandemic spring and I'm so thrilled for this talented group of Canadians.

Rest in peace, Chiyako.

Yesterday, Gigi called to tell me that she had recently learned that Chiyako had passed. All she knew was that she had been hospitalized for pneumonia and had been poorly of late.

This was shocking news to all of us who knew her. It's been 10 years since she'd returned to Japan and it had not been possible to really keep in touch. She would drop a note for holidays and birthdays but I could never get a correspondence going. 

We originally met at Westside Ballet taking class with Aimee and then Joan. We, along with Yuki, shared a birthday month and year.  This picture was from a gathering at Joan's house in 2006, around Christmas. 

Nature as a restorative

I took a half day on Monday and met Gigi at Huntington Gardens. It's been so challenging not being able to think about or plan travel so I was excited when Gigi suggested the Garden which had recently re-opened. The Library and other indoor spaces are still closed. 

It was a hot day in San Marino but I so needed the time in this beautiful garden. One of the silver linings from this pandemic is that open public spaces are more sparsely populated. The gardens are still beautiful despite the terrible disease ravaging humanity and the ridiculous way that the federal government is NOT handling it. 

It was nice to have extended time with Gigi to just chitchat and shoot the breeze.

This is an art piece by Lita Albuquerque in the bamboo grove of the Japanese Garden.

Balancing risks

As the city and state have started to allow places to open (hair salons, gyms, restaurants etc), we're also hearing that the number of COVID cases has risen sharply. I've been wearing a mask everywhere, and limiting the indoor places I'm going to, but it's hard to know where it's worth engaging again and where it's not. 

As the ballet studio has been starting in-person classes, I've been realizing how much I hate taking class at home. It has rarely felt like I'm getting any kind of work out or maintaining any kind of technique. This week I took Veronica's class, which like Chasen's also was online. Again, only 3 people (one of them was Allegra) and I didn't mind the slower pace required for the teacher to manage the online group. James' Thursday class was the first in-person only and full 90 minutes. My balance needs to be strengthened again among other things, but it has felt so good taking these classes that I can't bring myself to take online classes right now. It's not easy wearing a mask the whole time but it's something you get used to.

This weekend I checked out an AR performance by Heidi Duckler Dance at LA State Historic Park. This is a park located north of Chinatown that I've never been to. I was required to install an app that will allow me to interact with the on-site material. There were a decent but well scattered population of people using the park. Seemed like most of them had no idea what the various art posters were about. I had a hard time initially figuring out how to work the AR app. Eventually, an email to the company led to instructions and it turned out to be really cool. The company had scattered random plastic things sitting or hanging on the lawn or plantings in the park. In two locations there were small posters stuck in the ground. When the app was used to capture the image, a video played. In one location, the videos were of dancers performing in different locations. In the second location, they were of reef and other sealife. Not only was this a great way to present dance, but I also explored a new park for the first time 

On Sunday, I took a class with more than 3 people! It still felt safe and everyone kept their distance properly. After, Joyce and I met Kelly and Margie at Rustic Kitchen's outdoor patio. It was so enjoyable to catch up in person, share a meal, and feel a little more normal. We kept our masks on while speaking, only taking them off for eating and drinking. We all put our masks back on after eating without even having discussed it. 

It still makes me anxious to dip my toe into the world like this, but the rewards are so huge right now. 

Life both in person and online

Working online makes the week seem very long and the weekends very short. However some things are starting to open up, the most exciting for me is the return to in-studio classes at Westside School of Ballet. 

I wasn't sure how I'd feel but for my first class, there were only two other students. Chasen was teaching online at the same time so his attention was often focused on the computer but I didn't mind as it was just such a pleasure to have a proper barre, good Marley sprung floor, and space! Since the class was sparsely attended, it felt safe. It's not easy taking class with a mask, but it's a small price to pay. 

On Saturday, I met two business friends at the LA Arboretum. It's in Arcadia, so normally quite far to get to, but with reduced traffic, it was worth taking the time to spend in a beautiful garden and seeing people I hadn't seen in a long time, talking like old times. It's peafowl mating season so the resident peacocks were in fine form, displaying at the least provocation. The peahens seemed not to be taken in by the ostentatious displays. 

The garden is quite large with a lot of unusual plants, water features, and paths. We ended up spending two hours walking around without even realizing the time. It was a little more crowded than I would've preferred however outdoor activities seem to be the safest at the moment.

I had to rush home to get online to watch my neighbours youngest daughter become a bat mitzvah. They were online from grandma's house with the guests logging in from all over. Mattea did an amazing job, the whole family looked so proud and happy and it was very special to be able to participate.

The other milestone of sorts this weekend was my first fill up at the gas station since mid March. 

After such a busy day, Sunday was definitely a day for rest. 

Most exciting weekend!

This weekend has been monumental for me! On Friday, my condo neighbours did our usual Friday Happy Hour but with the addition of Gil's smoked salmon, which he made for all of us (we contributed to the cost). Liz and Jon made Hawaiian style dinner rolls (so good) and banana bread, Michael and Jasmin brought vegan potato salad, I brought a bottle of wine, Bryan brought the twins. It was like a real dinner party. 

On Saturday, I had my first hair appointment since before the shut down. It's such a small thing, but wow it felt so good! Sandra trimmed and reshaped my hair, coloured my roots and add violet highlights. It required wearing our masks for the whole time but so worth it!

That evening Chris got a few of us together in their backyard to celebrate Pam's 50th birthday. He ordered in Dear John's TV dinners and a cake from Victor Benes. Becky was there and Jenny brought her new puppy Major who is seriously the cutest puppy EVER. 

Today, was more like a regular pandemic Sunday (James's ballet class in the morning, grocery shopping, etc) but Bryan's twins turned 2 and he invited us all to join him in the back to celebrate. He had some friends over, dressed the twins up in their fancy duds and had Hot Cakes cupcakes.

So much fun being with people in real life, and exhausting.  

Celebrating and remembering in a pandemic

It's been a couple of weeks and I can't believe May is closing out shortly. Today is Memorial Day. Usually I don't do much aside from have the day off. I don't know anyone who would invite me to their picnic but in a typical year, the rest of my weekend would probably be more packed with activity so I'd enjoy the downtime.

This year, obviously, it's all downtime. However this past weekend was cause for some celebration. My ballet teacher, Joan Bayley, turned 100 on Saturday. We haven't seen her in person for awhile as she had to stop teaching about a year ago due to balance and strength issues. Her daughter and one of her grandsons lives on the same street as she does and they organized a Zoom party online with our studio, Westside School of Ballet and a separate car drive by party. This also gave the studio a chance to highlight their fundraising campaign to get them through the pandemic closure. 

Joan looked great in the Friday video call and we all got a chance to say some words to her. Quite a few people were getting a little mopey and it started to feel less positive so I stuck to remembering our good times and anticipating when we would all get together again in the studio. 

On Saturday, we met before 2p to do the drive by. I had arranged for balloons and some decor for my car at Party City (thanks to curbside pickup) and was leading the southbound side while Margie planned to lead the north side. The family had decorated her lawn and set up a beautiful backdrop for her chair on her patio. The LA times sent a photographer and reporter to cover the event and they put out a lovely piece. 

The other great thing about this event was for a lot of us to be able to see each other in person for the first time in ages. Many of us stayed after (I wanted to leave my balloons for Joan) and it felt good, even with our face masks. We may have not kept 6' consistently but we were outdoors, didn't touch each other and yet got a chance to hang out and honour a woman who has meant to much to so many people. Here's some pictures from me and friend Mark Stone. 

Today is Memorial Day. I still have no BBQ plans but the Inland Empire Commemorative Air Force decided to honour the fallen of past wars as well as current frontline COVID fighters with an 18 plane flyover of Southern California. Several of us from the building got on our roof to watch. These WWII era planes are much slower than the Air Force Thunderbirds from a few weeks ago but no less thrilling. Here's a video I took. 

Beach day

Today was our last full day and Vicente had planned an outing to take us to a beach club about an hour away from the city in Coronado. We hit the road driving over the Bridge of the Americas. On our way, we stopped at a super nice rest stop (like European ones) as well as a famous and very busy dairy stand, Queso Chela for a rice milk drink. We learned that cows are let out of trucks at the side of road during daytime because there is a 1 hour limit for them to be in the truck. The stand was also a place to buy lottery tickets and fruit from different vendors. The first stop at our destination was the club house and the pool, with beautiful warm water and lounge chairs in the ankle high shallow area. Lunch at the club was a Panamanian chicken soup called sancocho which was delicious. After a short pool break, we hopped on a shuttle to the beach, passing some fancy houses on the way that are primarily used for weekend retreat. A beautiful beachside bar with cabanas on the black super soft sand greeted us. The water was as warm as a bath if a little murky. 

On the drive back, we swung by Vicente's families old home here and made a brief pit stop back at Queso Chela to meet Vicente's daughter, who was heading out of town. We had a smooth drive over the new Centenario bridge until we hit bad traffic, even coming to a standstill for awhile. For our last meal, we headed to Diablicos for traditional Panamanian food. The food was only so so but the room was wonderfully decorated with devil masks and there was entertainment of folk musjc and dancers doing traditional dances in full costume. It was a nice way to end our last evening.