Every year since our arrival in 1999 December has been the coldest, wettest, grayest month of the year, or so it has seemed to me, and 2019 has been no exception. But, in addition to one blizzard and lots of night rain, there have been balmy springlike days thru December. The sun’s rays even felt warm on the skin, the clouds have been glorious, and night skies often clear. Climate Change is upon us. It is now December 31, 2019 is just about over and 2020 promises to be full of events, from international to personal. So let’s cap off 2019.
Pepper Trail, Jim Chamberlain and I have met for lunch at least monthly ever since I retired from volunteering at the Forensics Lab, which was when I turned 90. I had volunteered for 14 years, Jim had already retired and Pepper is still working, altho he is almost ready. We continue to be good friends. Our most recent lunch was in mid-December, and Pepper invited us to tour the new addition to the lab adterwards. It is huge, and contains space for the entire Morphology department, including the offices of the curators and the specimen collections of birds, mammals and reptiles, much of which had been housed in an out-of-town warehouse. These creatures have been confiscated over the years at Ports of Entry, illegal private collections that included Endangered Species, etc. They were housed in an off-site warehouse, being too numerous to be stored at the lab. Lab personnel have not yet moved into the new space but the mammal collection has, and is sprawled over a huge space, waiting to be organized. It is pretty impressive, as these photos show. I haven’t heard yet if it will be open periodically to the public.
The Britt Festival had an event the week before Christmas to which I was invited, and which Jenny and I attended. It was at the home of Ted and Denise Latty in Medford and turned out to be quite a sensational experience. The house was incredibly large, in a gated enclosure on a hilltop near the Country Club. We circumnavigated it several times before we found what seemed to be a stairway to the entrance. Jenny climbed it and was greeted by the owner who told here to drive around again and go into the open garage. There he met us and we ascended to the house by elevator. The party was on the first level and 4 levels were above it! (I found out later that it was the 2nd largest dwelling in the Rogue Valley. (The largest is a sprawling, untenanted, hotel-sized building in the Talent hills.) We were escorted to the area where the festivities were to take place and provided with champagne. Jenny brought me a plate of delectable goodies and I decided to relax and observe. I chatted with several rather dull board members and then Teddy Abrams and the guest of honor arrrived. The party was to introduce the Composer in Residence, Caroline Shaw, apparently a renowned young composer, and they were to talk about next summer and the composition she is planning for it. It will be an outdoor event in the Jacksonville Woods, and is in the very early planning stage. So far it is just an exciting prospect, which they are all thilled about. ( A similar outdoor musical event was staged by Terry Longshore in Lithia Park at an SOU Fringe Festival a few years ago.)
Teddy talked for awhile about the 2020 season and how he loves the orchestra, and was getting to play for us. But we had to leave, unfortunately, as Jenny had an RVS rehearsal at 6:30. So we don’t know what he played and were sorry to miss out. The photo was taken after we left and sent out to us by Britt.
Classical music in the valley is thriving and the various organizations are undertaking unusual projects, thanks in large part to James Collier, our generous donor, who loves financing new and innovative musical creations.
I was unable to do any Christmas decorations and was delighted when
Sooney appeared one day with a lovely spray she had made for the front door.
Christmas was family time, with 11 of us at table, out of a possible 21. Heath rented a 3-bedroom house back in the spring and she and Phoebe and Yael/Sam/Isiah/Orli all shared it. It was up behind the library and the views of Grizzly thru bare branches were quite wonderful. Lolly, Keith and Sam stayeded with me, along with their almost-perfect dog, Sequoia. Jenny was at Ashland Springs Hotel because she wanted a downtown location for the fantastic and festive experience that is Christmas in Ashland.Christmas was family time, with 11 of us at table, out of a possible 21. Heath rented a 3-bedroom house back in the spring and she and Phoebe and Yael/Sam/Isiah/Orli all shared it. It was up behind the library and the views of Grizzly thru bare branches were quite wonderful. Lolly, Keith and Sam stayeded with me, along with their almost-perfect dog, Sequoia. Jenny was at Ashland Springs Hotel because she wanted a downtown location for the fantastic and festive experience that is Christmas in Ashland.
On the morning of Christams Eve we (Grandson Sam, Lolly and I) met Frances Oyung and her two kids at the skating rink. Frances is my oldest friend in the valley, as we met before I ever moved here. I was in Ashland for a month’s stay in the fall of 1997 (I think) and saw a notice in the Northwest Nature Shop from Frances that she was going to check bird use of the Applegate for the Oregon Bird Atlas and would like company. I called her and we spent a day together birding, and have been friends ever since. She is a Field Biologist and has worked for several of the local water agencies and NGOs. Since we met she has married, survived Leukemia, had Annika and Kai, divorced and changed jobs several times. Her daughter Annika is a year younger than Sam, and this year is a freshman at Claremont in Southern California. They played together when they were practically infants, but have no memory of it, of course. Frances and I had coffee a few weeks before Christmas and thought it would be fun to have them reune. Sam is here several times a year and doesn’t have anyone his own age to pal around with. Frances’s other child, Kai, is a junior at Ashland High and a very personable teenager. They all had a good time cautiously circumnavigating the rink. Frances also got on skates and was far better than the kids.. Here are some photos.
We set up a jigsaw puzzle in the rental which was almost finished before they all left. It was quite beautiful, an owl illuminated in the moonlight moonlit backed by a snowy Half Dome. Sorry it does not show up well.
Christmas Eve supper was an elaboration of our traditional deli and it was simply sumptuous. The Christmas meal was also new – noone wanted turkey so w had another sort of potluck with a pasta from Jenny, an egg dish from Lolly and numerous sides. The dessert was a delectable pear trifle made by Lolly.
Some of the family:
Left: Grandson-in-law Sam, his son Isaiah, Heath, Keith.
Right: seated Great-granddaughter Orli, Granddaughter Phoebe, granddaughter Yael,
Right behind: Jenny, Lolly
I finished the mosaic I was doing for Heath’s birthday, which was
October 30, so it was promoted to a Christmas present. It was
the biggest and hardest one I’ve done but that’s OK because it turned out well.
And now on to the new year, already mixed with hope and anxiety, nail-biting and laughter, and above all LOVE.