Yo Yo Ma, up close

While I don't much care for the affluence of all-white Vail,(I never see people of color there, but rather, wine drinking, men with slicked-back hair, in their polo shirts, with their wives that expose far too much sunburned, wrinkled cleavage below gaudy gold necklaces), I appreciate being able to attend concerts there. For a hundred bucks I could maybe get a ticket at Carnegie Hall to see Yo Yo Ma, they sale out fast, but it would be far, far from the stage. For the same $100, I was seated 45 feet from him, could see and hear perfectly. He began with "Gabriel's Oboe" from the DeNiro movie "The Mission", one of my favorite pieces, and continued with other fine music. He is a consummate performer. For example, the wind came up, blowing his music off his stand. He had his stuff memorized so well that he merely played until he had a break, then leaned over and picked up his music and replaced it. Also, his cello's end pin slipped 2 or 3 times on the stage. When that happens to me I panic. But he merely re-adjusted his cello, while playing, as if nothing had happened. He plays so vigorously that the horse-hair on his bows often was seen floating in space, back and forth as he bowed. Again, when he had a break, the pianist only playing, he quickly grabbed the loose hair(s), wrapped his fist around it, jerked/broke it off.
He's a couple of years older than me, and so I'm encouraged by the pace he keeps. I like his fun sense of humor. His two encores were graciously done after an already difficult concert repertoire, the very one he'll be doing at Carnegie this fall with Kathleen Stotter, his British pianist/collaborator, who is equally gifted.
I'm glad I had a chance to see him perform live in concert. I like New York City, have been there several times, and would have returned to see him at Carnegie, on the same stage where my son performed a couple of years ago, but I preferred this outdoor venue. He has a great web site, merely google Yo Yo Ma to learn more.
Be well, do good...

Danish Hygge

I remember this time of year in Denmark, evening walks by homes in St.(pronounced "store") Magleby near Dragor, both on the island of Amager, on the Baltic coast. (Dragor is an amazingly wonderful little fishing village, a story in itself for another time!) Sweden was in sight. The sun didn't begin to set until 10 p.m. Inside homes, or in the small summer glass enclosed patios, one could see people having pleasant conversation, eating and drinking beer, Carlsberg most likely. I was invited into one such home while walking. No television blaring. Plenty of good cheese out. Bustling Copenhagen is just a bike ride away, Amager being an Island only because of a small river/canal that separates it from mainland Copenhagen, but actually, it's a suburb of this old world city. The Danes have a term for these relaxed evenings with good food and good conversation: Hygge (pronounced Who ga lee) The best English translation is, "So Much More Than Mere Cozy". My wife and kids have come to tease me as I've replicated this here in our home. Evening candles, soft music, conversation. But American's are too uptight, too on the go. I've gotten away from Danish Hygge because our lifestyle is too hectic. Until recently......

My doctor put me on the South Beach Diet. Not because I need to drop pounds, although that has happened, but rather, to gain control of my increased Triclycerides and blood sugar. I'm a runner, and so this low carb, (very low carb) diet is messing up my training. But it's forcing me to look at the food I eat, how I prepare it, and consequently, how I now enjoy it. My summer strings instruments quartet group gets together once a month at someone's home for a meal and to practice. Joy Plesner, retired first chair viola Houston Symphony, hosted: boiled red cabbage (yum, a Danish thing), green salad with strawberries and raw almonds, baked ham (with a small bit of sweet raisin sauce), and because I don't eat desserts anymore, a real treat was a small slice of chocolate roll. Prior to the Low Carb news I would have snarfed it down, taking this for granted. Not now. This was a great evening of "hygge"

I find I cook more than in the past. And while I tried and tired of cauliflower (smashed to substitute mashed potatoes, yuck), I'm getting use to a diet of mostly protein now. I cut meat & veggies into smaller pieces, eating slower and enjoying the taste. Smaller portions forces me to slow down and actually taste my food. Anew. My son and I were in the city getting him an apartment for the upcoming college year, we had lunch for my birthday at "The Cheesecake Factory", where to my surprise, they offered a nice low-carb meal or two on the menu, (including a fabulous low-carb cheesecake, complete with singing waiters, thanks bud, it was fun!)

Rice vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, lemon pepper......replace salt. Lots of eggs and cheeses. (The Dane in me loves this.) Cooking and doing dishes replace fast food. Grilling replaces frying. Not that I've eaten a lot of fast food hamburgers and Sees Candy in the past few years, I've actually been pretty good about giving up sugars. But not good enough apparently. And well, I could go thru a pint of Rocky Road or Black Walnut Ice Cream in nothing flat. 4 or 5 cookies with a glass of 2% milk at night, no big deal, I'll run it off tomorrow. I thought.

I noticed while in Denmark that they use a variety of color to add "Hygge" to their meals: fine napkins, candles, kind of a "finer things club" going on. And so I've begun doing this again. Because of family schedule is so busy and hectic, I often eat alone, especially lunch. Rather than gulp down an iced Slim Fast, I now prepare and enjoy a balance meal of protein and veggies. I eat out on the patio. I taste what I've taken time to cook and prepare. It's a hygge thing. And I like it. I highly recommend it, minus the Carlsberg.

p.s. Have ya followed the Danish Soccer Team at the 2010 World Cup? Go Danes!
Be well, do good...

At last......Summer

Springtime is always windy here, that's a given. To the east, the Sangre de Christo mountains show, in snow, what the old timers called "The Pigeon". "We'll have wind as long as you can make out the pigeon", they said. Actually, snow in a canyon gives the illusion of a pigeon's profile. Whether it's a cause & effect thing, or merely a coincidence, I don't know. But they're right: we still have wind, and will continue to do so until July, by the looks of "the pigeon".

I'm completing an interesting book about Captain James Cook. I've gotten use to having notes and primary source information; this current book has none. So I don't know whether the information is factual, or if the author is just a really great storyteller. But I've come to admire Cook. Like John Adams, Frank Lloyd Wright, and several other famous men, he was ambitious, making a name for himself. But as far as being a success as father and husband, -- not so much. Not that I have any room to judge, I've made my share of mistakes, and then some, in the father/husband area. But I'm merely interested in how their/his ambition, ego, and fame seem to take priority over relationships. They missed the boat, or so it seems to me.

Having said that, I have 2 required reads for an upcoming Summer Research Fellowship I'll be doing on the Era of George Washington at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. These books illustrate anew the unique character of Washington. Of all the founders, I still maintain he was the greatest. I look forward to this research and learning opportunity next month. Soon after, I'll be sailing on The Mary Day Schooner, a wonderful two-mast sailing ship harbored in Camden, Maine. I've wanted to sail for some time, so am taking advantage of a week long "Wooden Boat Sailing School" tour where I'll be an abled seaman. We're to have 4 different responsibilities on a rotation basis: 4 hours watch on/ 8 hour off. Obviously there is no engine, so the winds will determine our exact location, but the Atlantic Coast of northern Maine will be "home" for a while, which is fine: I love New England. For the last 20 years I've had some sort of feeling that I have a link to the sea: past life as a sailor? Ha. I don't know, but I'm really looking forward to this.

We have had wonderful Memorial Day Weekend ushering in this warmer summer. It's good to work in the yard, build a new fence, take advanced level classes, do some traveling, read and write, train for upcoming races, be a part of a small string quartet until the regular symphony season starts next fall, draw and make frames for my drawings (I'm planning a small art show this fall), before the regular school year resumes in about 10 short weeks from now. But unquestionably, having our granddaughter in our home for her first time, has by far, been the best part of the spring and/or summer. She's a light in our lives.
Be well, do good...