December 31-January 12
written January 11+
OK, it's a new year ("New Year"?) and I need to keep up our 18-year internet diary tradition. Why? Who knows, but traditions need no justification, I suppose. Besides, my memory definitely needs the crutch, and now it is continuously available on the fact-checking device in my pocket.
We
ended 2014 by finally taking delivery of our new car. It's big,
red, and comfy. That's the good part. The bad part is that
it was delivered with a problem - the "check engine" light was on, so
we have been back to the shop a couple of times already to get that
fixed. Tomorrow (Jan 12) we hope to get it back in good
shape. If so, we will try a trip up into Yosemite for a couple of
days. I will report.
After
checking out the new ping-pong table, New Year's Eve was spent with
Mamo, a quiet start of the new year, although at 95 she probably had
more late-night energy than we did. In Pommersfelden, we would have
been looking out across the valley at the fireworks of Muhlhausen and
Steppach, but here in Fresno we were under the covers listening to fire
crackers and gunshots. Sheesh.
On
the weekend, we drove our new car (with "check engine" light on, of
course) down to Monterey for a visit with Marianne's other mom,
Klare. We enjoyed some time with her and then Klare worked in a
family dinner with Chris, Leisa, Adam, and Spencer. At widely
spaced intervals, we have watched the boys transform from little kids
playing in the dirt in our Bavarian back-yard to fun and spirited
pre-teens. (I'm afraid I was unable to catch the boys still
enough for a picture. In fact, when I looked at how little I had
used a camera to capture any moments on this trip, I resolved to do
better next time. Especially for people we see too infrequently.)Back in Fresno, things are "as before", including the significant distraction of Marianne's visits to the Kaiser Medical Center. She feels great right now, but faces gallbladder removal on the 22nd. And, probably, new treatment for sleep apnea. And heart ablation some time in February or March. THEN, we will be able to restart our travels, we think.
We did manage to go to the January Art Hop, the monthly Fresno open-studio event that offers Marianne inspiration for her art and even reminds me to re-start taking photos, just for the fun of it.
Our
first stop was at Clay Mix Gallery/Studio, a local ceramics
workshop. We were particularly interested in the work of David
Hicks, a local ceramicist experimenting with complex shapes and
surfaces. Interesting.     The next stop was "M Street", a collection of several studios, guarded by a metal lion.   Here is work from two of the studios (forgot the artists' names).    Our final stop was at Richard Silva's studio. We had admired his work on earlier visits and this time we were able to walk away with one. We had contributed to a Fresno State University radio station fund raiser and were given a Silva work of our choice. Thanks!   |
John and Marianne