Festival of Trees 2015

Yesterday I volunteered at the Festival of Trees for the seventh year in a row!  It is a wonderful opportunity to help raise money for Primary Children's Hospital.  Various individuals and groups decorate trees, often in honor or remembrance of a patient at Primary Children's Hospital, and donate them for auction.  After the auction, they are put on display for the general public at the South Towne Expo Center for several days.  I volunteer as a hostess and I am assigned to a particular area to answer questions about the trees and to keep them from being damaged.  Here are some of the trees in my area.

Most of my trees were in remembrance of premature babies who had died so, when people would ask me questions, I would tear up a little bit.

This "Angel Tree" really made me emotional because all of the ornaments were in honor of children who had died.  One mother asked to find her daughter's ornament for her and take a picture of it.  What an honor!

This "Superhero" tree was probably the most popular tree of the whole festival.  It was across the aisle from me and there was always a large crowd of people around it.  After my shift was over I walked around to look at all of the other trees.  Here are some of my favorites.

My very favorite tree was this "Travel" tree!

And, of course, there was the usual BYU/Utah rivalry tree!

The Festival of Trees runs until Saturday, Dec. 5 at the South Towne Expo Center.  Go here for more information.

Youth

Last night I had the opportunity to attend a free advance screening of Youth, a film by Italian director Paolo Sorrentino.  Fred Ballinger (Michael Caine) and Mick Boyle (Harvey Keitel) are long time friends vacationing at a luxury spa in the Swiss Alps.  Fred, a well known composer and conductor, is being lured out of retirement by an emissary of Queen Elizabeth to play at Prince Philip's birthday celebration but he repeatedly turns down the offer.  Mick is working with a group of young writers to develop the screenplay for his next film which will only be financed if Brenda Morel (Jane Fonda), an actress he discovered, agrees to star in it.  They share the resort with a group of eccentric characters, including a young actor (Paul Dano) who is trying desperately to be taken seriously after playing a robot, Miss Universe (Madalina Diana Ghenea), an overweight former soccer star (Roly Serrano) who is never named but modeled on Diego Maradona, and Fred's daughter Lena (Rachel Weisz) who has recently been dumped by her husband Julian (Ed Stoppard), who happens to be Mick's son.  The story is told through a series of vignettes, some of which are absolutely hilarious and some profoundly sad, as Fred and Mick reflect on their lives, their regrets, and their uncertain futures.  The theme is developed very slowly but, ultimately, the characters learn that they must live life to the fullest.  There are so many things that I loved in this film: the series of horrible performers at the resort each evening, the cameo of European pop star Paloma Faith (playing herself) as the woman who steals Julian away from Lena, all of the swans made of towels, a couple who never speak to each other until they are surreptitiously observed by Fred and Mick in an intimate moment, the Queen's emissary literally begging Fred to come out of retirement, and the young actor playing Hitler at breakfast.  I laughed and laughed through most of the film but it is quirky and a bit unsettling (think Fellini), particularly the many scenes of bored people mechanically participating in activities at the resort.  There is also a fair amount of nudity which may be off-putting for some.  However, Caine and Keitel give incredibly affecting performances in a beautifully crafted film.  It is most definitely not for everyone but I certainly enjoyed it!

Spotlight

I'm not a big fan of Black Friday shopping because I don't like crowds.  I decided to see a movie instead but, ironically, I think half of SLC had the same idea!  The Broadway Theatre was just as packed with people as any mall!  Luckily, I chose to see Spotlight, which is one of the best movies I've seen this year, so it was worth waiting in the long line in the frigid cold to buy tickets!   This film portrays The Boston Globe's investigation of the sexual abuse of children by priests and the cover up of these crimes by the Catholic church.   The new editor of The Boston Globe, Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber), wonders why the paper hasn't written much about the sex abuse case against a defrocked priest and assigns the Spotlight team to investigate.  The Spotlight editor, Walter "Robby" Robinson (Michael Keaton), reluctantly agrees.  Michael Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo) interviews the mercurial attorney for the victim (a brilliant Stanley Tucci) and discovers hundreds more victims while Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams) interviews the prosecutor (Billy Crudup) and learns that the Catholic church has settled multiple cases against many more priests out of court in return for confidentiality.  Furthermore, researcher Matt Carroll (Brian D'Arcy James) learns that the majority of these priests have merely been moved to new parishes rather than removed from the priesthood.  As the team pours through clippings, reads endless directories, and knocks on doors looking for potential witnesses, the suspense builds and builds until it is almost unbearable.  The story is much more than a procedural drama because each of the members of Spotlight must grapple with how these revelations affect their own faith and it is very compelling.  The ensemble cast is absolutely incredible!  Lately, I'm becoming more and more impressed with Michael Keaton and Liev Schreiber.  This thought-provoking film is getting quite a bit of Oscar buzz and I highly recommend seeing it!

Hallelujah!

On Saturday night Marilyn and I continued the tradition we started last year by going to the Messiah Sing-In at Abravanel Hall.  This performance featured the Utah Symphony, the Utah Symphony Chorus, and some amazing soloists including Jessica Jones, Sarah Coit, Christian Sanders, and Markel Reed.  The audience is invited to sing along during the choruses and you can even purchase a copy of the score for $9.00.  Last year Marilyn and I had no idea about this tradition and we were basically just spectators.  This year we were prepared (we bought our copies before the performance) and I will tell you that it is a lot more fun to be a part of the action.  It actually brought back many wonderful memories of singing in the choir when I was in college.  Handel's Messiah is such a beautiful and stirring piece of music and it is so appropriate for the upcoming Christmas holiday.  It definitely gave me a big injection of Christmas spirit!  All of the soloists were amazing but I absolutely loved Markel Reed's rendition of  "The trumpet shall sound" and so did the crowd because he got thunderous applause!  Of course I also loved the "Hallelujah" chorus because it sounded so incredible with the acoustics in Abravanel Hall.  It was a lovely evening and I hope it will be a tradition for many years to come.

Note:  I may have been a bit boisterous with my hallelujahs because Marilyn gave me a look!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

I usually get pretty excited to pull out the Christmas decorations but this year I was even more excited because I got to decorate my new house!

I like to put up my decorations the day after Thanksgiving because I like to enjoy them for as long as possible.  This year I started decorating at 11:30 pm!

It took me a while to decide where to put the tree because I had a few options in this house.  I decided that I liked it best in front of the window near the fireplace.

My sister found these poinsettias for me at the Home Depot for only $12.99.  I absolutely love them!

My sister Marilyn has started making the cutest quilted table runners.  This is the Christmas one she made for me.  I love it!

The tree skirt that I made last year!

A few more views.

It makes me so happy to sit in this room and look at the tree!  I love the holiday season so much and I am looking forward to many fun activities in December!

Note:  If you are interested in one of these cute table runners (she makes them for all holidays), you can contact my sister at thequiltingbeellc@gmail.com.