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As to what I have been doing over the last week or so, I have been taking Thursdays and Fridays off since the beginning of the year. I had to many vacation days left over from last year and had to use up a number of them up before the end of February. Unfortunately I must admit that they were wasted. The only thing I accomplished that I wouldn't have without them was getting my bathroom painted.
This past weekend was mostly spent with David. We no longer seem to just hang out. If we don't have specific events planned we don't seem to get together. This weekend we had two planned events. First on Friday we went to see past members of the Romanian Gymnastic team in a dance/ performance art production the costumes were designed by the woman who designed The Lion King production on Broadway and the choreography was done by the man who choreographed _______________. I must say that the show as spectacular. David and I had great seats and a perfect view. I brought binoculars that I have borrowed from John L. to see the details and I must say the details were well worth seeing. After the show we went out to a late dinner at ________ and had good food, good service, good conversation and good company. The end of a very enjoyable night.
I ended up not doing much on Friday. Watched a couple of movies and read a great book. It was a relaxing day at home. Sunday I once again spent w/ David. We once again went to the symphony as part of our season tickets. As too often is the case David was running late and I was unsure if we would get there in time. He for some reason has gotten stuck on the idea that the symphony starts at 2:30 not 2:00. I must remember to call him an hour or so earlier to remind him. We all ended well we just barely made it. He dropped me off and parked the car. I got in just as they were closing the door. David missed the first movement but came in before the second piece, the best part of the performance. There was both a guest conductor, who he was I never found out but he had a style quite different than our resident conductor As her style is precise, tight and elegant his style was verbose, strong and demanding. Each a joy to watch but for different reasons. We also had a guest Contrabassist, Edgar Meyer. He just won a Grammy Award along with Yo-Yo Ma and violinist Mark O'Connor for their Album "Appalachian Journey". For this collaboration they won the Grammy for Best Classical Crossover Album. They combined classical music with bluegrass and other traditional styles. Some of which he played for us. He played a piece called "Concerto for Contrabassa and Orchestra" that was just unbelievable. Truly beautiful and a great example of a real American musical form in the European Classsical tradition. With every note you could hear the traditions of Bluegrass, Jazz and American Folk wrapped in the framework of traditional European Stylings. It was truly a joy to listen to. We capped our day by going out for a late lunch. All in all it was a very good weekend. Good music and good shows both times.
This coming weekend will be the opera La Traviata at UMKC. Getting together with all three boys to check out this version of the opera. As a matter of fact this is the first opera David and I ever saw. We saw it back when we were at university together. I'll let you know how this production turns out.
ciao
