Saturday, the movers came. Everything that we are taking is on its way south, if not already there in storage. We plan on getting in the car on a week from today, March 16. I had originally planned on leaving work on March 15 because I thought it would be appropriate, but, the politics continued, and after the election earlier this month, It was pretty clear that my decision to leave earlier was the right one.

Oh god, what am I doing. If you got this far, I give your credit and my apology. So, our plan is to leave Livergultch on the 16th and drive to Paso Robles to spend the night. The next day, we are on our way to Santa Barbara to visit with Walter and Lynne. That would put us in Palm Springs on the 18th to 19th. We may make a stop in LA on the way to PS.

Loads going on, and it has been way too long since I have written. I tried about a year ago, but had technical difficulties. Don’t ask. Finally today, I was able to spend a couple hours with the Helpdesk to fix the problems.

First things first – we are moving back to Palm Springs. I won’t go into too much detail, but you can read more about it here. To boil it down, the political battle was more than we needed at this point in our lives, and Livermore’s loss will hopefully be Palm Spring’s gain. Why is it that people get most vicious when there is so little at stake? It is sad that we are leaving some amazing friends and the staff and volunteers at Livermore Arts.

Now to happier news. David is doing well and looking forward to getting to Palm Springs. I am busy getting rid of things we have collected over the past twenty plus years. How do you fit three houses into one?

Oh, did I mention I turned 60 a few weeks ago. I really feel like the hip replacement was more of a milestone than 60!

I will be quick.  A lot changes in thirteen days.  David is not making a solo trip back east.  Sorry.  I think we will plan a visit in the fall though for both of us.  Nothing terrible happened, and actually, he is doing better – back up to five time around the block.  He is just nervous about traveling on his own.  We may fly to Palm Springs and I will let him try to do as much as possible without me.  Harder for me, I think, than David.  I still have to remind myself that he doesn’t need me to do everything for him.

Otherwise, things are good.  It is getting warmer in Livermore.  Tomorrow it is supposed to be 90 tomorrow.  Sorry about the snow for many of you in the Northeast.  We are working on finishing up our season for 2016/17 and I am very pleased with how it is looking.  Lots of great artists and it has a little bit for everyone.

The other night, I came home and David tells me he wants to go to NY.  A friend here in Livermore was telling me about an upcoming theater trip to NY, and David thought that was a great idea.  So, we are planning a solo trip for David to NY!  I will let you know what date we pick, so any east coast folks who want to rendezvous with David can make that happen.  Also, any theater suggestions will be most appreciated.  That will be the main purpose.

Speaking of Theater, the SF touring season was just announced, and while Hamilton will be the hightlight, they are also presenting the pre-broadway showing of Roman Holiday.  That will be fun.

Alright, I did not write the next night, as I had hoped, but let’s just be happy it was days, not months.  A lot happened in a few days though.  On Saturday we went to test drive a new car.  With the beetle and the convertible, we were realizing that we needed a four door car.  It was getting tired (mostly for our friends) to have to squeeze into the back of the convertible or the beetle.  We decided we would try and follow Ed Begley Jr’s lead and look at an all electric car.  And that is what we did.  Leased a Nissan Leaf.  We traded in the beetle and kept the convertible (you have to have one in CA, right?)  Now we have a great little car to take drives around the area (it goes about 120 miles on a charge).  It is lovely to drive and blue, although one has nothing to do with the other.

The best part of getting the car though was, while we were in Dublin, we found what will now be our favorite Chinese restaurant.  We have Uncle Yu’s here in Livermore, and it is good, but a little upscale.  We had so much food at this place and it was so good.  We will be going back regularly!

Well, it has been too long, and recently I have gotten some emails asking when I would start this back up again, so, here’s an attempt.  It has been a challenging couple of weeks.  Two weeks ago, David had a fall.  He was getting up and coming into the kitchen and just lost his balance and fell.  Initially, he was just a little shaken and sore, but the next day he was in real pain, so we went to urgent care, and they sent us to the ER.  He got checked out, and not internal bleeding and nothing broken.  So, home we went with some pain medication.

A week later, he passed out while on the toilet, so I called 911 and they came and took him to the hospital.  This time it was a drop in his blood pressure caused by dehydration and constipation.  So, home again.  The most unfortunate part was it shook his confidence.  Just before the fall, he had worked up to walking around the block five times.  Today he got back up to three times.

So, things are going OK here in Livermore.  Aside from needing to sell more tickets, we are doing great.  David is not in love with the town, but folks are very nice and I really am enjoying work.  David has two folks who are friends through the theater who come to read to him each twice a week, and the daughter of our Director of Finance comes and tutors him on the day when they don’t come.  I actually think they don’t do so much tutoring, but just have fun.

In June, we will be heading to Paris for a week to see Alex, Claire, Theo and Vincent, and then return to San Francisco with Claire, Theo and Vincent.  Alex will be coming back in July for most of the summer.  Both of us are really looking forward to Paris and the summer with them.  We have a house a Donner Lake for a week, which I hear is beautiful.  We have a subscription to SF Ballet and on Sunday we are going to see the next program.  Two pieces – Dances at a Gathering and Swimmer.  I am excited for David to see Swimmer.  I saw it last year, and it was amazing. We are also going out to lunch at a place we walked by that looked great called Monsieur Benjamin.

As I said, I can’t complain.  Life is great here, and I can’t say it enough – the weather is great.  Just getting warmer, not that it really got cold.  Although David does complain about the cold, and we did have about five days of rain (mixed with sun).  It makes everything look green, so it’s a good thing.  The house is great and close to downtown, so we stroll a lot, and I can walk home from work in about three minutes.

Well, that’s enough for tonight.  Tomorrow, I promise I will write and maybe about the next season or the film festival which is coming in May.  Tomorrow we are going to the Livermore Valley Opera’s production of The Italian Girl in Algiers.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.  I do think it is my favorite holiday.  It is still pretty universal and it is generally pretty easy to avoid the folks who have turned it into Christmas Part I, but I won’t get into that.  Most of the stores are closed and everyone is focused on family and just being happy with what they have.

Speaking of family, we recently tend to be the interlopers at family celebrations and tonight we went to friends nearby who were having family over.  It was a very nice evening with some terrific people, and we all had a good time.  Food was great.  Wine was delicious. Dessert was a virtual buffet of delights.  Before dinner, we made the usual round the table list of things to be thankful for.  Lots of family, which is right and appropriate.  When it came to my turn, it was simply being with people who care, but mostly, that David was still able to critique me and give me advice on work, life and everything.  I also mentioned that both of us were thankful that our family in Paris were safe and seemed calm and happy.  Then it came to David’s turn, and he sort of summed it up as usual and just said Hillary.

Now, I know I shouldn’t get into politics, and like her or not, I am very thankful that she reminds me that there are sane and caring people trying to take positions of power.  The Republican corral of donkeys scare me with their mean spiritedness or their downright incompetence.  I will be more thankful this time next year after they have gone down in flames.  I would say it has to happen, but to honest, I though George W didn’t have a snowballs chance in 1999.  Please, if there is a god, please.

I should stop.  Not sure if I have mentioned this, but have begun rehearsals for a production of Pirates of Penzance in January at the Bankhead.  Playing the Major General again.  The producer keeps on reminding us that we are doing the Joe Papp version, and while it is different in style, the text is pretty much the same, except for the song borrowed from Ruddigore.  I have been enjoying the work.  It feeds my soul.

Next year we will have Thanksgiving here at the house, I promise.

So, it has been too long, and I have been getting loads of emails asking about Alex, Claire, Theo and Vincent in Paris, and wanted to let everyone know that they are OK. I think that the world is a bit shaken by the events yesterday and we are all thinking about the people who are in Paris and France.  I won’t go on, but it is crazy that there are people who can hate so much.  I will leave it at that.

We are good here in Livermore.  Work is challenging, particularly hiring in the east bay.  The competition is so fierce and when you are up against the likes of Google, etc it is hard to find people willing and able to take on some positions.  In NY and DC, there were always a pool of artists who were eager to take on challenges at a relatively low pay.  We don’t have that pool in Livermore.

David is doing well, and his speech is improving.  He has been keeping a small diary to help with his writing, which in turn helps with his speech.  David was in Palm Springs for the month of October, and liked the independence, and the warm weather.  Not that it is terribly cold here, but it does get chilly in the evenings.  Days are generally in the low 60’s to 70’s, which is not so far off from Palm Springs.  10 degrees different is normal.

David, as you can imagine, is beloved by all the staff and volunteers at the theater.  They seem to tolerate me (sometimes).  It is great to be able to walk to the theater, as we did last night.  We also can’t really go out anywhere without running into someone who wants to come and say hello.  I keep chalking it up to living in a small town.  We went last night to see Richard Glazier, a pianist who did a presentation called From Broadway to Hollywood about the great composers, but a lot of Gershwin.  The audience loved it, and even David, who you won’t be surprised has a high bar set for entertainment, loved it.  He did miss quite a month in October with Rosanne Cash, The Wailin’ Jennys and Paula Poundstone.  We are planning the season for next year, which is lots of fun, as well as being kind of nerve wracking!

I will keep this brief, and will try to write some more tomorrow.  I have missed this.

OK, I have been absent.  Well, absent here.  On this blog.  Things had gotten pretty distracting.  First, I went down to Palm Springs, packed up enough stuff for the summer, and got David and me in the car and we drove to Livermore.  We spent one glorious week in the cottage, and then moved into The Pickle House.  We hit the ground running, of course.  We drove into Livermore on Tuesday night, went to Rotary lunch at the very muddy rodeo grounds and Valley Study Group on Wednesday, a cultivation event for LVPAC (Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center) on Thursday, Hot Club of Cowtown at the Bankhead on Friday and the Livermore Rodeo Parade on Saturday.  We didn’t see the parade, but rode on the back of a 1944 firetruck.  David was game, but I assure you, not happy.

We have been squatting for a week in the Pickle House, because getting the closing done has been a trial.  Maybe ordeal is better.  We are closing either on Friday or Monday.  David was able to see for the first time, the poor schmuck who has to wear the Mr. Pickle costume across the street and dance and wave and generally amuse the passing traffic.  There is a lot of honking when Mr. Pickle is outside.  The Mr. Pickle sandwich shop is across the street, and I can see the darkened building as I type this.  Dark and nothing much going on, but during the day, it is the lunch mecca of Livermore.  I am sure there are others who would protest, but the lines often snake out the back door.  Think about it.  We went from saying “We are in the building across the street from the Empire State Building!” to ” We live across the street from Mr Pickle.  No, not the big white house, the green one across 4th Street!”  I will tell you that the Mr Pickle geographic reference is maybe more effective than the Empire State!

So, as you can see from the picture above, we celebrated our anniversary.  You can see that if you can read through the smeared chocolate on the plate.  We went to Jardinière in The City.  I say “The City” more to impress than inform. I am picking up the Livermore lingo.  It is often hard to remember that here the city means San Francisco and not New York.  Both great cities – don’t send me any hate mail.  When we got across the bridge, I think David almost transformed.  He actually commented that the people look different in the City.  Beautiful restaurant and David was very pleased.

It was a great meal, and we both agreed that neither of us regret the events of three years ago.  Well, the July “event” we do both regret.  At one point during dinner (I think it was between the Foie gras pasta and the wagyu beef) David said, “I’m sorry”.  He was apologizing for the stroke and the past three years.  I suddenly thought (and said) “no, I should be the one who is sorry.  You shouldn’t be sorry”.  This was one of those moments when I thought, life is so complicated.  There has got to be a Norwegian word for this”.  I’m sorry, but I am not sorry.  I’m sorry I couldn’t make it different.  I’m sorry I needed to get back to work (but I’m not really sorry)  I’m sorry to desert you (but, I’m not really.  Well, sort of).  I’m sorry I forget to put things on the schedule (Joy will understand that one).  I’m sorry our lives aren’t perfect.  Life is messy.

On the drive home we were listening to John Waters on NPR.  I think John Waters would like Livermore.  I think he would find a new charm city.  While listening to him, I did think, we have to get him to the Theater.  He could stay in the Pickle House, circa 1952.  Did I tell you that the original wall oven – a stainless steel thermador – keeps almost perfect temperature?  Wouldn’t that be fun.  We saw him in Palm Desert and I think his was the best show I have ever seen there!

Sorry, I’m rambling and that isn’t polite.  You will begin wishing I were more absent!

Well, I was chastised over the weekend for not writing for such a long time.  Still not in the Pickle House, but hopefully by mid June.  I met with the painter and have the floor work scheduled.  David is anxious to get up to Livermore.  Yes, I said David is anxious to get up to Livermore.  I think that he will like it.  Things are busy, but I have still been going to Palm Springs every other week.  Was down last week and we had a nice time.

David has been a little tired, but I think it is because Blade has been pushing him.  He appreciates it though.  He has graduated from the cane to a walking stick and is now spending two days completely on his own.  He gets up, makes breakfast, showers, makes lunch and light dinner and watches TV.  He also has been sitting out in the sun on his own as well.  It really is amazing that six months ago this autonomy seemed so far away.  David has been great, and as always, very positive!

Things are going great here at the theater.  I am posting a recent article that was in the regional paper.  I thought he did a good job and got the sense of what I am trying to do.  In a few weeks we have our season launch and members party.  It should be fun.  I am hoping that the community comes along and enjoys the artists that we have booked next season.  We have a couple big names – Pink Martini – and some more unusual performance – DhakhaBrakha.  I expect comments on both.  We are also hosting LA Theatre Works production of Dracula.  I will fill you in on the rest of the 40+ performances we are presenting after the 27th.

A year after it was threatened with foreclosure, Livermore’s Bankhead Theater is making a comeback

Source: Livermore: Bankhead Theater recovering well in second act after near-closure – ContraCostaTimes.com

I just read that Richard Glatzer, the co-writer of Still Alice passed away, and was saddened by the news.  David, Donovan and I went to see the the film when they were visiting last month.  There were many moments in the film that David and I related to, and I heard an interview with Wash Westmoreland and his Husband, Richard on NPRwhile I was driving back from San Francisco.  There was something inspiring and hopeful about the way they continued working even while fight Richard’s ALS.

I wrote this over a week ago, but never finished or posted it.  Since then, I have been back to Palm Springs, and David and I performed at the SongShine performance of Carousel.  Did I ever mention on here that I have a new found respect for Leslie Uggams and her going up on the lyrics of “June is busting out all over”.  What a song!  Here is a clip from the performance.   David will kill me when he sees that this has been posted.  Or I think he will, perfectionist that he is.  The sad part is that I taped this from my lap and all you can really hear is my voice.  I was a sort of ringer.

Things are going well here in Livermore.  I am really (no, really) on the road to buying the Pickle House.  I think that I will be in by around the first or second week of May.  I am looking forward to having a real closet.  Simple joys.  We are also working on a Film Festival at the Bankhead and I may be producing some sort of play next spring.  That will be fun/terrifying!

A livermore story:  I was walking to the theatre tonight to see Ukrainian pianist, Stanislav Khristenko at the theatre, and as I turned the corner, there was a crowd of cowboys raising money for the Livermore Rodeo.  Did I ever tell you that the Livermore Rodeo is the fastest rodeo in the world.  We also have the longest burning light bulb in the world.  I get the light bulb, but I am not sure what the fastest rodeo even means.  Hopefully someone explains it to me.  I think I want to rewrite the lyrics to “The Farmer and the Cowman should be friends” from Oklahoma! to  “The Physicist and the Cowman should be Friends”.  There was also a half marathon today in town, and there were crowds and crowds of people.  I might add, that  by the look of many of them, they weren’t running a half marathon or even for that matter a quarter marathon.

Tonight at the theatre, there was a lot of talk about the Steinway and the work that I had approved to make it ready for this concert.  Stanislav gave the piano quite a workout! I can say that the work was a success, but still a work in progress.  I thought the concert was wonderful.

It has been too long, I know.  I have been busy with the new job, which is going great.  Don’t want to rub it in to east coast friends, but the weather is sunny and warm most days.  We are in the middle of planning next season, which will be very exciting, I think.  It is a bit of a tightrope to walk – balancing while still trying to push the boundaries.  Just have to keep from falling.

David and I went to Ashland Oregon for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, which was lots of

fun.  Saw four plays in three days – Much Ado About Nothing, Pericles, Guys and Dolls and Fingersmith.  All were really interesting, but all around, and this may not come as a surprise to everyone, Guys and Dolls was my favorite.  Not my favorite musical, but in the hands of Mary Zimmerman, it was pretty delightful.  I highly recommend a trip to Ashland, and we may even go back over the summer for another chunk of their season.  It was opening weekend, so there were lots of events, and Joan and Lynn were terrific hosts and kept us busy.  I was worried that David would get overdone, but he was very willing and able to keep up.

Before we headed to Ashland, we had a great visit from Alex, Claire and Theo.  It was a great time and Theo loved the pool.  We got haircuts, ate (maybe too much) and just had a terrific visit.  David and I are beginning to figure out when our next visit to Paris will be.  I think sometime in the fall.  I have been making regular visits to Palm Springs and David has been up to Livermore twice now.  He still hasn’t warmed up to the town, but I think when I get into a new house (I am in the process of buying a house in Livermore) he will feel more comfortable.  The lovely cottage that I live in now just doesn’t do if for him.  Mostly, it is the adjustable bed that he misses.  Hopefully soon, I will be in the new house.

The house was built in 1952, and it is perfectly located (I can see the roof of the theater

from the dining room) and it is in very good shape, but still retains a lot of that 50’s charm.  The Thermador oven and stove top are a trip.  Still trying to figure out if I want to keep them or redo the kitchen.  David and I had fun picking out colors on my last visit to Palm Springs while Joy was there.  I can’t believe that I didn’t take any pictures during that visit, but it was pretty short for me – only a day and a half really.

Well, I will publish this now, and will try to keep to at least a weekly schedule of postings.  I have missed our moments together!

Alright, it was ten, but not bad.  Yesterday it was quite foggy in Livermore and a bit chilly, but at ten in the morning, the sun broke through and burned the fog off.  Once the fog had gone, I picked up my car, went to work for a while and then hopped in the car and drove to Palm Springs.  It was pretty foggy all the way through the central valley, but cleared up as I came across the pass into Los Angeles.  A bit of traffic, but I made OK time and it was so nice to see David!  We both went to sleep pretty early and got up early this morning.  He is doing much better and shooed me away when I tried to help when he was ready to shower.  To think that a month and a half ago he wouldn’t have thought of trying to shower by himself.  I have to say, I was a bit surprised when he came walking down the hall all dressed.  The only thing that he couldn’t do was tie his shoes.  I know, I know, velcro.  I will see if he will go for them.

We had his workout session with Bill at noon, and he really put him through the wringer.  I was worried because we had Occupation Therapy right after Bill was done.  David was fine though.  He laid down for about ten minutes and then we were off to OT.  There was an intern working with him today, and she played cards with David.  It was really pretty good to do.  He had to say the suits that he was playing and had to hold the cards in his left hand.  I now have the cards out and we will start to play more.

Sorry it has been a while.  Work has been great.  Lots to do and most of it is really great.  I have to say, it is nice to be back in my element!  David and Donovan come up to Livermore for a visit the first week of February, which will be lots of fun.

Merry Ramachanakwanzmas!  It has been quite a while, I am sorry about that.  The new job is great, and I am really enjoying the town and the folks who are there, but it has been quite busy.  I was there for a few days at the beginning of the month, and then back in Palm Springs for a week, then back for another four days, here for Christmas now, but heading back up north on Saturday and will be there for a while.  Not back in Palm Springs until mid January.

I will start with today, and pick up any interesting stories that have happened since last I wrote.  We got up this morning and David and I exchanged gifts.  David got me a beautiful scarf because he expects me to be cold in Livermore.  It will come in handy.  I picked up a few things in LA when we went to see a concert last week.  His favorite was the clarinet pin, which I thought was very nice too.  I added to that a violin pin and coasters to match some place mats that David bought last year from MOMA.  Then, we went to see Into the Woods at noon with Donovan.  I thought it was delightful.  Perfect casting and I particularly liked James Cordon as the baker and Emily Blunt as his wife.  Both very charming.  The princes were pretty funny too, but the cast, all around, was terrific I thought.  As with the original Broadway production, I loved Red Riding Hood.  I am a sucker for sassy little girls.

This evening we splurged and went to a new restaurant at the Ritz Carlton called The Edge.  Called this because it sits on the edge of a hill and overlooks the valley.  We had a delightful evening.  While we didn’t have a view of the valley, we were seated right in front of the kitchen.  That was a little dangerous because when David saw the lobster, he asked the waiter to change his order for lamb shank to lobster, which the waiter was pleased to do.  Great staff and a beautiful evening.

I was in Livermore for a couple of days earlier this week and made my first curtain speech before the Chanticleer concert on Tuesday night.  I had hesitated about doing it, but then thought, why not just do it and get it over with.  I walked out on stage and the audience started applauding, and quite enthusiastically I thought.  I started by saying that I hadn’t done anything yet and then introduced myself.  Even more enthusiastic applause and I said, “I reiterate, I haven’t done anything yet!”  I felt like I was home again.  The rest of the evening was great.

The odd thing was, last week I flew from San Francisco to Burbank (yes, beautiful downtown Burbank) and met Donovan and David at the Walt Disney Concert Hall to see Chanticleer.  What a spectacular building that was!  And the acoustics there are almost as good as the Bankhead in Livermore.  But the seats are better at the Bankhead!  On Saturday we participated in the Santa Paws 5K – I ran and David biked.  We were together on our way up the hill, but once we started back down, he left me in the dust.  David finished in 35 minutes, and I came in at 38 minutes.  I can’t lie, I didn’t run the whole way, I took a few walking breaks, but It was good.

I don’t want to make excuses for not writing, but I have been feeling pretty bad with a pinched nerve in my neck.  I finally went to a chiropractor in Livermore on Monday, and saw him twice that day and again on Tuesday.  I go back on Monday as well.  It gets a bit better with each visit, but is still very tender and sore.  Heat and cold and stretching and glad to have written this.

Merry Christmas and I will write before the New Year arrives!

Yesterday we went to Indian Wells Tennis Garden and David played tennis.  Now David has a regular tennis outing every Monday with a group called Incight.  He also started riding a bike with a group on Saturdays and will join them on Sundays too.  Angie, who we know from the Stroke Recovery Center got David involved in this group.  On the 20th, we will be participating in the Santa Paws 5K for Guide Dogs of the Desert.  I will run (or maybe walk) and David will ride with his group.  I wasn’t there for the riding, but Donovan took him and by all accounts he had a great time.  Tennis was also fun, and while the video doesn’t show it, I was pushing

him for a lot of the time.  The pushers are volunteers from the Palm Desert tennis team.  There were also some wheelchair players there, and I think it might be a fun thing to get involved in.

I was in Livermore last week, and met lots of folks.  It is still feeling very exciting and lots of challenges, but with such rewards it is all worth it.  I am here in Palm Springs this week, but head back up north on Monday.  Also doing a lot of work from here – calls and responding to emails and setting up meetings.

Well, I promised some news, and some folks know this already, but yesterday at 4:30am, I got in the beetle and moved some of my stuff up to Livermore, CA to begin work as Executive Director of the Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center.  I would have to say that they made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.  Well, to be honest, the place was so intriguing to me that, while I don’t think I would have paid them to do the job, it would have been pretty hard to pass up at any price!

I am now sitting typing this in a delightful little cottage, a five minute walk from downtown Livermore, while David is watching Peter Pan LIVE! in Palm Springs.  I am only slightly jealous and look forward to watching it with him next week when I am back in PS.  David is going to stay in Palm Springs and while very nervous about this major change in our lives, has been very encouraging and supportive.  So, I arrived yesterday at about noon, took a look at this little studio cottage that is perfectly located and, while small, is really nicely appointed.  It also has the benefit of only being slightly less expensive than a NYC studio apartment.  The good part is that for this price, it isn’t up five flights of stairs!!  Once I get settled into the job and get a better sense of the town, I will start to look for something a little larger.

As I said, David has been great, and in some ways, my not being there, or the prospect of my not being there, has made him more independent and I think his speech is much better.  We have been going to Occupational Therapy, and Carla has taken him to his appointments while I have been here.  I will be working half time in December, but begin full time in January, so we have the benefit of a little bit of ramping up.  Next week when I am back in Palm Springs, we will finalize arrangements for David’s caregivers.  We interviewed an agency and some individuals and Donovan has been great about filling in and spending time with David.

The night before I left, we went to the McCallum Theatre to see A John Waters Christmas.  It was pretty funny, and even though the theatre seats about 2,000+, it felt like you were at a cocktail party with John Waters and he was just sharing Christmas memories and thoughts.  I will say, if you were thinking about it, don’t send John an email Christmas Card.  He doesn’t like them.  He would prefer that you bought cards at Goodwill and drew rude pictures on them!  I was disappointed that there was only one Divine tribute drag queen in the audience, but was happy that the audience, while mostly gay, was not completely gay.

Anyway, wish us both luck on this new adventure!  Yes, yet another new adventure!

It has been a while, and next week you will understand why it has been a while.  Until then, you will just have to trust me that the reasons are good.  You might be able to guess what it is.

We had a great Thanksgiving and hope that everyone else did too.  Even with the snow in the east.  It was 84° today in Palm Springs.  Donovan joined us for dinner, and we had, in my opinion, a great Indian feast.  Lamb Rogan Josh, Turkey and Sweet Potato Korma, Daal, Papadum, naan and yogurt sauce with mint and raisins.  I make the Lamb, Turkey and Papadum, and Donovan brought the rest.  We also had some champagne and a lovely riesling that we bought last summer in Napa.  And for dessert, Donovan made a pumpkin pie with cinnamon curry whipped cream.  Delicious!

We went to our SongShine rehearsal on Monday, and have been working on the music from Carousel.  At a certain point, the director was handing out parts, and he said, “David, you can sing this line” and David looked at me with such panic and desperation, I actually had to laugh.  I reassured him that he shouldn’t worry and I would sing with him.  His line is the title of this posting.

We had a great pre-Thanksgiving visit with Jonathan and Sheryl.  We caught up and then went to one of our favorite restaurants in the valley, Catalan.  Dinner was very good.  We have Lynn, Randy and Julie coming on Saturday, which will be fun.  Nice relax by the pool and a great dinner.

We also had our wall unit installed on Tuesday and Wednesday and it looks great.  I have to have the TV mount moved on the wall, and once that is done, I will share a picture.  Anyway, I won’t keep myself up for too much longer, so Good Night!

90 years.  We had a birthday celebration in the speech group we go to every other Thursday.  It was Henri’s and Betty’s birthdays this week.  Both 90 years old.  Henri has been with his partner (now husband) Peter since 1984 and Betty’s was married to her husband for 63 years when he passed away.  Both of them are such lovely people, and Arlene had gotten photos of each of them when they were younger – Henri at 17, handsome in his uniform when he joined the Navy in the UK and Betty at 18 when she graduated from High School.  David and I argued about who Betty looked like.  I say Dinah Shore and David says Loretta Young.  One of us is very wrong!

We also had tennis today, and David does really well.  He and Bill had some nice rallies.  It is all very good.  We also started back with OT yesterday, which was great.  She gave David some more exercises to do.  One of the things that she is stressing that he look at his right hand and arm when he is doing something, even if it is being moved by his left hand.  She also did some tests on how much he neglects things that are on the right side.  One of them was a sheet of paper with various shapes on it, and he had to circle all the bells.  He got all (or most) of the bells on the left side of the paper, but missed lots on the right.  She has suggested that he also start doing word search puzzles to help with his scanning and get better at reading.  That was a first as well, and it makes perfect sense.

Otherwise, things are great here in the desert.  Nights are cool, or almost downright cold, but the days are mild and the sun is bright and warm.   Such a great time of year here, aside from the birds that keep flying into the windows.  No other news to report, yet.

Since I have been making these trips out of town, there has been a change in David.  He has been much more self reliant and his speech has improved quite a bit.  I actually think that because he has been forced to deal with different people, he has had to communicate more.  We have a sort of non-verbal shorthand that is easier, but probably not helpful.  The real improvement is that he is able to string more words together and his reading is better.  Don’t get me wrong, there is still a long way to go, but so great to see such progress.  Needless to say, part of this is his trying to make the prospect of my moving a bit easier for me.  I don’t really care what the motivation is, as long as the progress continues!

We are hoping to begin another round of Occupational Therapy soon.  Our PT and Speech sessions have been exhausted, but as I said, Medicare lumps Speech and Physical together, for some strange reason, but they put Occupational Therapy in a different category.  It seems pretty odd to me, but this is the system that we are dealing with.  He has also been getting more and more strength in his arm, so I think the OT is just right for now.  If nothing else, they will teach him some techniques to make everyday tasks easier.

Had softball practice last night, which went well.  It is getting colder at night, and we have practice now from 8pm to 10pm.  Hopefully we will win one or both of our games tomorrow.  In any case, I am enjoying playing, and loving playing first base.  I find it much easier and much more engaging – the outfield is full of anxiety and boredom, all at the same time!

Got back this evening from the East Bay.  The third and, I think, final interview/visit/horse show happened.  It was a wonderful visit, and I met lots of folks.  Met with some more Board Members, staff and the city manager.  Then, today, I gave a presentation to the search committee about my findings and answering specific questions that they had given me.  I have a good feeling, but don’t know what the outcome will be.  All I can say is that I was very pleased with what I said and pleased with their reaction.  The headhunter told me over lunch that she thought I had struck the perfect note on many of the key issues.

One of my impressions from speaking with the staff was that the Board was too involved in the day to day.  Now, that is completely understandable because they have been leaderless for a while, and the Board has had to step in.  l had the same positive feeling about the facility and the town after this visit, which was good.  I had to stay a bit longer because the Board President wanted to have one last unscheduled meeting with me, which I thought was a good sign.

Their timeline, while they asked repeatedly, “when could you start?”, seems to be not so rushed, and I think they are looking for someone to start after the first of the year.  That would be perfect timing for us.  Giving me enough time to get support in place for David.  Anyway, I didn’t sleep well for the past two nights, and am about to pass out, so I will sign off now.