Golden Gate Park

This past Saturday I played with the Pleasanton Community Concert Band at the Golden Gate Park Concert Band Festival in San Francisco. I haven't been to Golden Gate Park in quite a while now, so it was fun to go back and see it again. We were one of six bands playing on Saturday, and another six played today. Its an annual event put on by the Friends of the Golden Gate Park Band, and its free for people to come see some of the bands that play in their communities. The weather was absolutely gorgeous (I'm glad our uniform is short sleeved polo shirts) and I got to play at the Band Shell on the Music Concourse, which was very cool.

Check out the detail on the frescoes:

I got to the park a few hours before we were scheduled to play, because I wanted to be sure I'd get parking (which turned out to not be an issue after all, but better safe than sorry). I wandered around the Music Concourse, which has many statues and was filled with people doing Tai Chi. Its flanked on either side by the California Academy of Sciences and the de Young Museum. The Concourse is undergoing renovations right now, but there are still trees and flowers, including this particularly beautiful-smelling rose:

Since I had some time to kill, but not enough to really enjoy either museum, I headed over to the Japanese Tea Garden. Its a gorgeous Japanese-style garden originally built as the Japanese Village for the 1894 California Midwinter International Exposition, with pathways winding through beautiful foliage, koi ponds, a small waterfall, pagodas, statuary, and a tea house. And so early in the morning, it was nearly empty.

Crazy bridge

Pagoda and crane statues

Stepping stone bridge

Pagoda peeking through the trees

Rock garden

Pagoda

Stone pathway

Iron Buddha

I liked his hand, it reminds me of how you hold your hands for ballet

Fountain in a large granite boulder shaped like a canoe

Self-portrait and koi

What a beautiful day, and what a great experience!

Busy Bee

I've had an eventful couple of weekends lately. Last Sunday I played with the USS Hornet Big Band aboard the USS Hornet. That is a huge ship, but I'm told that today's carriers are much larger. I had the benefit of having friends come to watch, and they spent a lot of the time taking pictures, which they shared and for which I'm very grateful. After the show I took a tour of the flight deck and island. Never having been on a ship before, I did not wear the most sensible of shoes, but me and my patent purple 3-inch pumps with silver buckles did just fine on the ladder-stairs, thank-you-very-much. We also really threw the docent off, which was funny.

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This past Saturday night Stef and I headed up to Walnut Creek to find some trouble. :)

We started at Pyramid Alehouse for dinner and beer tasting...

Smiley beer; Stef has a waiter in her drink; five beers tasted; salut!

Then we meandered over to Va de Vi for wine and dessert.


I had the Sparkling Wine flight, and Stef had the Master Blender. My flight included a Domaine Carneros Brut, which we tried up in Napa, and which made me a very happy girl. Stef's 2007 Odisea "Veritable Quandry" was very, very good too. We also had the dessert tasting for two, and the whole experience was decadent and fun. Stef and I do this type of thing well. :)

Seated on the patio; sparkling wine flight; along with Stef and the Master
Blender; me smiling because of all the wine in front of me; cheers!; the Domaine

Then we went to the theater to sober up and saw Paranormal Activity, which I had heard was terrifying. It was mildly frightening, but even better was the audience's reactions to the movie. Put a bunch of scared people together and they tend to be vocal as a means of assuaging that fear, which turned this movie into a very entertaining communal experience. People were commenting quite loudly throughout, and it was really funny. Although going back to our car in the empty parking structure was a bit frightening - as soon as we got in and turned it on, the lights in the structure went out. Where are those door locks?

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Today was another music day for me: I played with the What's Up Big Band in Hayward. This and the previous time I played with them, they have me play a solo of "Misty", and they seem to get a kick out of announcing that the person playing "Misty" is actually Misty. :) They're a fun band to play with, and I'll have more opportunities in the future. Unfortunately, their rehearsals are the same night as my concert band rehearsals, so I won't be a full-time fixture with them. No pictures this time! :)

I have more recipes to post, for dessert this time! Check back later this week...

A Long Weekend

It was very nice to have a long weekend, though we didn't do much. Valentines Day we went to Costco (romantic!) and Chris attempted a lemon meringue pie since I cannot for the life of me make a good one any more. His failed, and I am secretly gratified and validated that its not me that is the problem. I don't know if its the recipe either, since I've tried a couple. I need to do some research and find a good contender. In the meantime, I've picked up a box of Jello Lemon Pie filling (no gelatin!) to try out. Or we can just admit defeat and resign ourselves to picking up our pies at Nob Hill Foods or Marie Callendar's.

Sunday was Christopher's 31st birthday (Happy Birthday!). He spent the day gaming with his friends while I made him the requested bechamel lasagna and garlic bread, and bought him a pie from the store since he said it would be a great present if I didn't attempt to make one. Monday Chris took me to lunch at Pleasanton House Thai Cuisine. It was spicy and good, and Chris really liked the hot Thai tea so I need to find a source to have some at home. We went to the pet store to get toys and treats for the dogs, because they are spoiled. We took the dogs to the park since they hadn't been outside in a quite a while due to all the rain. And then we relaxed at home. A Good Day.

Its been raining a lot lately, so to perk up our spirits a bit I made Mai Tais and White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies. Tropical!


I used a recipe over at Baking Bites, and omitted the lime (I'd add it in next time, just for a new taste). These are really, really good. I toasted the macadamia nuts a little long, so there's an unexplainable faint taste of popcorn, but they're still good. Definitely do not over bake these, so they stay chewy.

Its been a good, if busy, week so far:

- I finished A Lion Among Men, loved it and am looking forward to the next book (I can't imagine Maguire doesn't have another in the works). I'll be sending this on to you, Mom. Luckily, Liz sent me Philippa Gregory's The Other Queen so I have another book in the wings. I'm also looking in to the Ender series by Orson Scott Card. I think I might have bought the first one for Chris already, I'll have to check.

- I started (and re-started) a new knitting project, the Soap Bubble Wrap from the Spring 2009 issue of Interweave Knits. I knit on this last night while watching Evan Almighty, which I recommend, it was quite funny.

- I played with the USS Hornet Band at the Union City senior center today and we had a big crowd, probably 30 or 40 people. One of the regulars asked me about my parents attending the other week, and said they are beautiful people. :)

I leave you with a picture of Gretel, where she looks enormous. She's a big cat (and a little overweight, though she'll tell you she's starving). In this picture she's completely flattened herself so she looks even bigger. I have a kitty blanket.

Stay warm!

Holiday and Music

I've been quite busy with music lately. Yesterday the Pleasanton Community Concert Band held our holiday concert. We played a lot of holiday music, and my favorite piece was "You've Got a Friend in Me" from Toy Story - not necessarily holiday music, but a feel-good song nonetheless. The day before I played in a saxophone quartet as a VA hospital - more Christmas music. The Wednesday before that was my usual weekly performance with the USS Hornet Swing Band at a senior citizen's center where I got to play lead. And the Saturday before that the sax quartet played at a local holiday parade. Phew! I have one more Hornet Band performance this week, and then I'm done for the season.

We got together with some friends last night to watch the Survivor: Gabon finale. We haven't followed it for a couple seasons, but this time we had to watch since Matt Whitmore was a contestant and we know him. He did really well, and if he had actually learned how to make fire with a flint (how do you not practice making fire when you know you're going on Survivor?!), he would have won the game and the million. Its been really fun watching this season. Congrats Matty!

I took our friends a bottle of Armenian pomegranate wine that I found at Whole Foods around Thanksgiving, and a Fair Isle Snowflake Ornament that I knit with some yarn from my stash:




This was a fun, quick knit (a couple of evenings). The red yarn is sparkly and the white is a bouclé, so its fluffy. You are supposed to put a Styrofoam ball in the center, but all I could find last-minute at Michael's was an egg shape, so that's what I went with. I'll definitely make more of these. Perhaps next holiday season I can make a bunch to send out with presents.

Speaking of presents, I have just a few more to get. How's your holiday shopping going?

Up the Hill

Spiky purple pine cone flower-thingy

Does anyone know what this is? The leaves on the plant are very spiky and the purple is actually quite vibrant. Since it is darker earlier in the day I didn't have very good lighting when I was taking pictures the other evening while I took the dogs up the hill behind our place.

Autumn in the Bay Area is nice: everything greens up once we have some rain and respite from the hot summer. The hill is sprouting tons of new grass, which Mac and Ayla love to eat.

Bits of green

The weather is a little cooler, which means the dogs run around like wild banshees when they are outside now. Mac is a fast little bugger and chases Ayla all over. He's probably faster than she is, but she has more staying power. Mac's more of a sprinter.

And they're off!

Ayla always looks so happy when she's running around. And she's got such a pretty white smile too. Even though I've managed to put a few pounds on her, you can see she's still skinny. Yes, those are her ribs. I'll feed her treats all day in addition to her kibble, and she gets our food mixed into that kibble, and she's still a slim little lady. Must be nice to have such a metabolism.

Hamming it up

I finished up my Voodoo Wristwarmers (size M) over the weekend. These were an easy and fast knit. I used about two-thirds of a skein of Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Fuchsia (I think; I've lost the band). I learned how to knit small-diameter in the round on two circulars with this project, which was much easier than it seemed at first. I made the thumb holes with an 8-stitch button hole instead of the recommended 6-stitch... I must have freakishly large thumbs? This first picture is fairly true to the actual color - they're hot pink.

Wristwarmers with bonus possessed dog in the background

This shot isn't as fuzzy, but the color is off. (See my favorite Fat Bastard Wine shirt?!) These should keep me a little warmer walking the dogs in the cooler weather, and at an upcoming outdoor concert I'll be playing in.

Wristwarmers with bonus dog torso

Music is keeping me quite busy lately. This past Sunday I had a concert with Pleasanton Community Concert Band. We played music geared toward children, accompanied by narrators and picture slides: Carnival of the Animals, Pictures at an Exhibition, Peter and the Wolf, and Star Wars. It was an eclectic combination, but I think it went over well and I had a good time.

I had my usual Wednesday afternoon performance with the USS Hornet Band today at the senior center. On our break I chatted with a 90-year-old man who told me about his days in the Navy during WWII, his experience being the only Mexican on a cruiser of all white men, and boxing. Fascinating! Tomorrow night is PCCB practice (our holiday concert is Dec. 14). Friday night I've got a gig with the Hornet Band playing at a Lion's Club dinner. The following Friday we're playing at a city tree-lighting ceremony. I was given some flute music to play too, and since I haven't played flute since college I'll need to practice a bit so I don't pass out trying to play the thing. It takes a lot more air than other instruments it seems. Busy busy!

Hobbies

I think I've always been an avid reader. Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time is probably what really kicked off this hobby for me, somewhere back around the fourth grade. Ever since then I've very often had a book in my hand. In fact, my freshman year in college I remember sitting on campus and reading a 700-page book in two days during finals... I just couldn't study any more and sought refuge in my roommate's copy of The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. A consequence of reading something so heavy so quickly seems to be that I can't remember the story any longer, but it definitely served a purpose for me at the time.

I just finished reading Nobel-laureate Jose Saramago's Blindness (1997). This is the best novel I've read in quite a while. That said, it is most certainly not an easy read. It is graphic and raw, and written in an almost stream-of-consciousness style with page-long "sentences", little punctuation and no quotation marks, just capitalization to indicate a new speaker. The style is mostly dialog interspersed with thoughts and philosophy, both of the characters - who are never given names - and of the author, in the form of clauses joined by commas. And its all translated from the original Portuguese. If you can get through the difficulty of the actual reading, the story is disturbing and incredibly rewarding. For a synopsis Wiki it here.

A film adaptation came out this year starring Mark Ruffalo and Julianne Moore. Unfortunately, Metacritic gives it rather lukewarm reviews. I can understand though, if its true to the book at all it would have to be quite an ugly film. I'll definitely rent it when it comes out on DVD, if only to be disappointed. Saramago wrote a sequel in 2004 entitled Seeing, and I've written about my love for series-books, so I'll be picking up at my favorite used book store on my next trip. This was an incredible book.

So, what do I read next? I have a stack waiting to be read: a lot of sci-fi, some David Sedaris, Gregory Maguire, the newest Phillipa Gregory is out now... but Liz has me thinking of revisiting Beckett. What are you reading?


I've been busy with music lately, which I'm still ecstatic about. This past Thursday I played with the Hornet Band at another senior center, this time in Fremont. There was a larger crowd and we had a singer with us (I wasn't the only girl!). And I got paid again... I've made $9 as a professional musician so far! Getting closer to that new sax by the week, only 18 years and 11 months to go at this rate. That same evening I had rehearsal with the PCCB again. Our next performance is in two weeks and we're nearly ready for it. The lead alto from the band invited me to sit in with his jazz band next week while one of their altos is on vacation. I know that when I play with musicians a lot better than myself, I get a lot better, so I'm very excited about this chance. That said, I was practicing early one morning at work and didn't hear someone come in. He asked me later that day if that was my "musical stylings." I'm not that bad, am I? I've since redoubled my practice efforts. Funny how much of a hit my self-confidence took from one comment by someone who admitted to knowing nothing about music.


I'm still chugging away on the Cable-Down Raglan, working on the left sleeve now. I'm more and more convinced that it isn't long enough, so once I finish the sleeves I think I'll go back and lengthen the body by another inch or two. Still happy with it!

And the close-up:
I might put this project on the back burner for the weekend though. The Hornet Band has a gig after Thanksgiving for a city tree-lighting ceremony, and I'm told its always cold since its outdoors at night. I want to knit a pair of wristwarmers to keep my hands a bit warmer that night since gloves would be too bulky for playing music. I've seen quite a few really nice patterns, but I think I'll go with Knitty's Voodoo Wristwarmers since they are basic and I should be able to finish them in plenty of time.


Here's Mac and Ayla at one of their favorite hobbies: bone/rawhide chewing!

Veteran's Day

Yesterday was the Twelfth Annual Tri-Valley Veteran's Day Ceremony in Pleasanton, and the Pleasanton Community Concert Band provided the music for the ceremony. This was my first concert with the PCCB, and I think its very cool that it was for this occasion (though the other saxophones tell me at the last concert they played "Pirates of the Caribbean" so I'm quite jealous!). The ceremony was honoring the Air Force this year so we played many Air Force-inspired marches. Uncle Sam sang "The Star Spangled Banner" and "God Bless America" with us.

One of the most interesting parts of the ceremony was the proclamation and award given to a local man who was a paratrooper at Utah Beach. He was not long ago contacted by a French memorial who had tracked him down through the serial number on the belt buckle on the pair of pants that had fallen out of his pack so many years ago. That prompted him to finish his service record, and he found out he had been awarded a bronze star.

Another part I quite enjoyed was when we played a medley of service songs. Each branch would stand up and cheer when we got to their song (Semper Paratus, Air Force, Anchors Away, Marine Corps Hymn, and Caisson Song). The audience was about 100 people, half of them in uniform and the other half families and friends. I couldn't see them since I was looking at my music, but hearing the cheers during the songs was very moving. .

All in all it was a wonderful performance. At the last minute it was moved into the VFW Hall instead of Veteran's Park due to rain the previous day, so we didn't get the fly-over that was scheduled. But I was sitting directly in front of the big bass drum, so I got enough loud sounds in my ears I suppose.

Walking back to my car after the performance I was quite surprised by how many people would stop to thank me for playing. I was honored to do so. Its the same when I'm playing swing and jazz at the senior centers. I feel a little bad to have other people appreciate it so much. Its almost like community service, but I'm enjoying it so much that it doesn't feel like I'm giving anything at all. If anything, I'm getting back far more. I am so very happy to have music back in my life again... it feels like coming home.

Postponing and Developments

Hey Barefoot Bloggers - I'll post Thursday's entry this weekend. I've had a busy week and I'm getting used to a new schedule, so I wasn't able to get the ingredients in time. However, if everything goes according to plan - and when does it ever? - I should have something pretty cool to share.

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So, remember when I said I was breaking out the old saxophone again? After about a month of practice on my own, I have indeed joined the Pleasanton Community Concert Band! I've been with them for three weeks now, and have three performances coming up: November 2 we're playing at a Veteran's Day Ceremony, marches and military music. November 16 we're playing at a family night geared for children, so it will be Peter and the Wolf (with the story narrated), a few other pieces, and Star Wars. And we have a Christmas concert in December.

I sit near a tenor player named Ken who has brought me into another band (and lent me a soprano sax to play around with!). In addition to the PCCB I also play with the USS Hornet Swing Band on Wednesday afternoons at a senior center. This week was my first time with them and it was fantastic. Its literally a bunch of old men and me, and I sit front and center. They're really nice guys, and the entire afternoon I heard:

"You're the best looking sax player we have."
"You probably bring the average age of the group down to about 60."
"What do you think about playing with a bunch of old guys?"
(this from a senior in the audience)

And since my name is Misty, we had to play the song (unfortunately it wasn't a very good arrangement, but I was happy nonetheless). While I'm at it, check out Ella Fitzgerald singing Misty here. That woman is amazing; I could listen to her forever. Anywho, I had a great time playing jazz and Latin standards with the band and watching the senior citizens dance. And they paid us at the end, a whopping $2! I felt bad taking it, but everyone else took the proffered money so I couldn't refuse. I suppose it buys a 2/3 gallon of gas. Chris says I should save it up to by a new sax. At $2 a week, it would only take about 19 years.

Tomorrow Ken is taking me with him to perform at what I think is an Octoberfest at a Masonic Temple. I'm guessing we're playing polkas and oom-pah music? They are giving us lunch and beer, so I'll play whatever they want. I'm off to iron my outfit for tomorrow and find my music and sax stands. I think they're in a box under my bed somewhere...

Before I go though, here's tonight's dinner:

Delicata Squash Bisque from Vegan Yum Yum (I used real cream instead of cashew cream), mixed salad with Balsamic vinaigrette, cheesy garlic toast, and since its Steak Friday, I grilled up some skirt steak for Chris in my cast iron pan.

As Time Goes By

We've got a good crop finally going in the garden. There's herbs: way too much basil and mini basil, oregano, dill, and chives. There's many, many late-summer cherry tomatoes just ripening. Why do they taste so good fresh off the vine and warm from the summer sun? There's a prolific jalapeño plant that has taught us that the longer you leave the peppers on the bush the hotter they get. And I was just given a jade plant from a friend that I have to trim and pot, and keep Mac from eating.

Cherry tomatoes basking in the sun

Jalapeño forest

Its been quite hot over the last week or so, so its been difficult to get the dogs out to exercise and they were beginning to drive us batty at home. So, over the weekend, I took them to the dog parks first thing in the morning. Sunday morning Mac, unfortunately, was attacked by a dog about 4 times his physical size. He was playing with a ball that the other dog had been playing with, and about five minutes later the other dog went after him. She must have been holding a grudge because Mac didn't even have the ball at that time. She grabbed his face and he immediately rolled belly-up - smart boy knew that he would be overpowered so he calmly submitted to the other dog. Right afterward Mac wasn't even phased about it and still acted like the happy little guy he is. The other dog had it in for him though and stalked him, snarling. I intervened a few times so she wouldn't go after Mac again, and finally got to check Mac out. He has a scrape above one eye, a couple cuts by his right ear, and another cut on his neck, but no puncture wounds. I informed the owner that Mac was bleeding, though it didn't appear serious, and took him home to clean him up. Of course, Mac could care less about the whole incident. I'm very glad it didn't cause him any mental trauma (one mental dog is enough, thank you very much). I hope the scrape above his eye doesn't leave a scar.

Guess Mac won't be winning any beauty pageants

I've started a new knitting project since finishing the scarf. Its the Cable-Down Raglan from Interweave Knits Spring 2007.

A diamond cable

I've spent the last week starting and restarting the blasted thing. Its knit in the round and I'd either twist my stitches when joining (mobius isn't great for a sweater) or mess up on the cable chart. I think I've restarted it four or five times. I've got it now and am enjoying seeing the cables form. I'm using an inexpensive yarn (Lion Brand Wool Worsted) since this is a big learning project for me. Wish me luck!

As for the title of this post, As Time Goes By... well, time has certainly passed. I've decided that after about a decade (seriously, how did that happen?!) I'm breaking out my old saxophone. I went to the House of Woodwinds the other day and picked up an exercise book, a fingering chart, and some Vandoren Java 2-1/2 reeds. I still read music just fine thanks to playing flute in undergrad with the Cal Wind Ensemble, and my sporadic piano playing. With help from the fingering chart I'm quickly picking up how to play again, but boy did I forget how strong your mouth and lungs have to be! I can play only about ten bars before gasping for air right now, but with practice I expect to have my wind and chops back soon enough.

"Hello Bundy, my old friend..."

Once I'm back in playing shape I plan to join the Pleasanton Community Concert Band. I used to play with a community band back in high school and really enjoyed it. I am very much looking forward to getting into one again. I'll have to buy a new mouthpiece once I'm up and running (a Meyer 5M or 6M, depending on the band's repertoire - the 6M is a jazzier sound), and I'm checking out a better instrument than my old student-model alto, maybe the Yamaha YAS-475 or the Yanagisawa A901. That's a ways off since I should be able to get a decent enough sound with a nice mouthpiece, and the Yamaha and Yanagisawa cost a couple grand that is better spent paying down our mortgage.

Now I have a case of the I-wants. I want a digital piano - I sold my keyboard a year or so ago with the intention of getting a better instrument, but haven't done so yet. I've been drooling over the Yamaha Slimline Clavinova for a number of years now, but I can get a Casio digital piano for under $1k at Costco. Why is everything I want so expensive? Wait, that's not true... I want a small Canon Powershot (new model) digital camera to take everywhere since our G5 is quite large, and that's only a couple hundred... *sigh*

Enough dreaming for now, I'm off to make pesto with our bushels of basil.