2017

January

Meeting Adele

Hello beautiful baby!

She had allergies, runny nose, watery eyes, but she seldom fussed.

Always a smile...

The dog couch...

My beard cleaner.  Chester can lick a beard!

Score!  Got this outfit in Norway.  P for Papa Bear

Kayla

We miss you, sweetie!

February

Jan and Ashlea Skied
So Ashlea had no time to make chili.

Ashleah makes me chili.  Well, she used to.  Well, she still does when she has time.  But I beg for it all the time to make her feel guilty.  She doesn't!

A print on the wall at our doctor's office.

March

BIFF - The Annual Boulder Film Festival - We took in 5 films this year.

And we had a nice visit with Jim and Dori, and Ash and Keith

April



Adele reads and Mark sings.

May

Considering this is my PC wallpaper, Jan won't believe me that I don't like little girls!

Mike's Birthday

At Casa Alegre in Louisville - A nice time!

Cailee Wedding

Cailee and her new husband are both Geologists, as are her parents, Laurie and Chris, so the theme was --- wait for it --- Geological Formations.  Very cool.

I'm all about Cailee since I learned, like me, she likes to eat cheese in bed!

And we enjoyed spending some time with Ian, Cailee's brother.  When they lived in Louisville for a year many moons ago, Ian was in the elementary school by out house.  He would stop by and say hi on the way home if I was out in my shop.  His favorite refrain was 'Oh bother,' which I loved and still quote to this day.

Chris & Laurie at our cabin.

June

Ready for summer...

We dog sat for Ashlea's dog, Bentley.  Jan liked him.

But I kept him tied up when I was watching him.

Breakfast at Chautaqua.  Jan showing me a pic of a handsome fellow.

And oh yeah, had to call 911 when I couldn't get my breath one evening.

They put me on BiPap in the ER, then kept ma a night in the hospital, but by 2:00 AM I didn't even need oxygen.  We enjoyed Alyssa, my day nurse.  I kept the room at the temperature SHE liked rather than the lower temperature I preferred, telling her I didn't matter.  She said ok.  LOL   Then when I was getting sprung from the joint, she laughed when she removed some tape from my arm and it pulled the hairs.  She was sweet, not mean, but so real, loved her!

July

Movies Throughout The Year

Some of the movies, operas, events, etc. we've seen this year...




We go to the movies usually on Sunday or Monday night.
Never a crowd.  We've had the whole theater to ourselves a few times for a private showing!
We sneak a sandwich in, and get a jumbo popcorn.

Suite Francaise with Michelle Williams and Kristen Scott Thomas
Beatriz at Dinner with John Lithgow
The Beguiled by Sofia Coppola, with Nicole Kidman
The Immigrant with Marion Cotillard and Joaquin Phoenix
Maudie with Sally Hawkins & Ethan Hawke
Lady Bird
'Queen of Katwe' - Our friend from South Africa, Reuben, worked on this film as a chess adviser..
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Misha worked on 'Tsars of Russia' --- Misha was our tour guide on the Baltic Cruise.  We were watching a documentary, 'Tsars of Russia' and there was a segment about how people dressed in the various periods.  The host was talking to a guy, unseen in a dressing room, identifying him as 'Mikhail ...,' which was the name of the tour guide, but a common Russian name.  Well, he came out of the dressing room, and it was indeed Misha!  I emailed him to be sure, and yes it was him, and he sent me a photo of he and the host together.  Small world!

Misha is to Mikhail (the Russian form of Michael) as Mike is to Michael

Der Rosenkavalier - Renee Fleming Finale at the Met

Brava! Brava!

No Man's Land - National Theatre
It was fun to watch Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart work.

Happy Anniversary

To celebrate one of our 3 anniversaries, the Summer Solstice, date of our marriage celebration...

Le Pecheurs de Perles

July 4

Breakfast at Starbucks
A Good Movie at Chez Artiste...

And some fireworks over the East River compliments of Macy's
And Jan took a chair and watched our local display.

We love the Metropolitan Live HD live and encore streams shown in local theaters.

Opera and Popcorn!

Here we saw Elina Garanca and Roberto Alagna in Carmen.  Oui oui!

And Tom dropped by for several days...








August - September

In August and September, we prepared for our second African trip, and took the trip.
 And then there was my surgery and recovery (see the blog for the trip on our home page).


October

Jan outdid herself on her pumpkin carving this year.  That's all I'll say.

And then... and then... kids kept coming to the door begging for candy.

But it felt good to feel good.  Jan is the best caregiver ever!

November

We caught 3 films this year at the Denver Film Festival.  Radiance, a Japanese film about a photographer slowly coming to accept that he is going blind, and a woman who writes descriptive text for the visually impaired learning about who she is.  The Happiness of the World, a Polish film about life and how interconnected we are.  And Molly's Game, written & directed by Aaron Sorkin, who also did a Q&A session after the film.

Molly's Game is a true story.  As you would expect, Sorkin is well-spoken and thinks on his feet.  He was interviewed after the movie by Molly's brother, Jeremy Bloom, who was a successful athlete in his own right and co-founded 'Wish of a Lifetime', a charity to provide support for lonely and forgotten seniors.  And is currently the voice welcoming and instructing passengers on Denver International Airport's concourse train.  It was a great movie!

And now, in Feb, 2018, we know it has been nominated for numerous Golden Globe, Academy, and other Awards.  Sorkin is a master of dramatic dialogue!

And the Blooms hail from Colorado.  Molly & Jeremy were also accomplished competitive skiers.  

Jan took me for a belated birthday treat since I was just out of the hospital on my actual birthday.  She wouldn't give me much of a clue in advance, only that it was tickets to something and that it was singular and that I wouldn't guess, and I was good about not Googling around for a clue.  So I had no idea that John Cleese was even doing anything in Denver.

Well, a couple of days before the event, Jan wanted me to guess so I could anticipate and be ready.  She gave me a one word clue.  The word, 'and.'

And... and... I guessed on the first try!  I thought why such a clue, it's meaningless.  Then it hit me... 'And now for something completely different...,' which we love to quote.  Must be something to do with Monty Python and John Cleese.  I guess 36 years together will do that!

 But wait, there's more!  We went to 'Her Paris,' an exhibition at the Denver Art Museum of the works of female Impressionists.  Bellissimo!  So, it was art, and lunch at Mad Greens.

Her Paris

MY Paris

Well, she has made an impression on me!  Ok, ok, I'll stop now.

December

Apparently I was naughty.  All of these gifts are for Jan, and none for me... sigh...



But as usual, I pouted too early.  I got some good stuff.  So did Jan.

The Piece de Resistance was a canvas of this wonderful gorilla photo we got in the jungles of Rwanda.  And the Pink Flamingo canvas was from the same trip, at Lake Manyara in Tanzania...

And Charlie and Linda were in town, so it was breakfast at Lucille's the Sunday after Christmas...