Decking The Halls

I really enjoy putting up my tree and decorating for Christmas.  I've been collecting ornaments for years so each one that goes on the tree has some special memory attached to it.  When I was growing up, my Mom started a Hallmark ornament collection for each of us and added a new one every year.  Mine are all hockey players.  Wayne Gretzky is the first ornament I put on the tree and Eric Lindros always goes in the back because I don't like him.  I also try to find an ornament when I travel every year.  My favorites are the hand carved wooden ornaments from Germany.  My new ornament for this year is a hand painted egg from Russia.  I always put my tree up the day after Thanksgiving because I like to enjoy having my house decorated for Christmas for as long as possible!  I love this time of year!

Thanksgiving 2014

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday.  I certainly did!  I had Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' house with my immediate family and my cousin Emily and it was delicious!

My sister Marilyn made the cornucopias at each place setting and my nephew Sean made the place cards (he was very proud of them).  We had Honey Baked ham, turkey, cheesy potatoes, stuffing, rolls, pomegranate salad (a tradition). and a relish tray with dip.  Everything tasted so good!  After dinner we played shanghai rummy (it was Emily's first time and I think we traumatized her a little bit).  This game gets really crazy but we love it and usually play it every holiday.  Then we had pie!  It was a lovely day!

Mockingjay Part 1

I had to wait until yesterday to see The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1.  If you know me well, you know that it just about killed me not to see the first screening at midnight!  For this reason I told my students not to say one word about it on Friday!  But I eventually caved and asked a few who saw it if they liked it.  I got mixed reviews.  Some of them really loved it but most thought it was one long advertisement for the final movie.  Hmmm.  In the trilogy, Mockingjay is my least favorite book and I am not a fan of turning the final book in a series into two movies (gotta keep that gravy train running as long as possible).  So I was musing out loud about whether I would even like the movie when one of my students told me not to think about it so much and just go and enjoy myself.  What?  Even though I can never turn off the inner critic in my head, I actually did really enjoy this movie.  In fact, I think I liked it for the exact reason that many of my students didn't: it is more cerebral and less action packed than the first two movies.  I liked the fact that Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) is suffering from PTSD and that we see her struggling to come to terms with everything that has happened to her (the same can be said of Finnick).  I liked the fact that she is reluctant to start a revolution and takes time making a decision about becoming the Mockingjay.  I liked the fact that she spends a lot of time thinking about her relationship with Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and lobbying for his return.  I don't think this makes Katniss weak;  I think it makes her human.  The slower pace of this movie allowed for more character development, especially Gale (Liam Hemsworth) and his role as a rebel leader, Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and his role as a master manipulator, and Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks) and her role as a fish-out-of water in District 13.  I liked the casting of Julianne Moore as President Coin and I loved her Eva Peron-like speeches to the citizens of District 13.  I had tears in my eyes when Katniss visited District 8 and the wounded saluted her.  I also loved the propaganda film she made there (Jennifer Lawrence is an amazing actress who gives an incredible performance).  The rescue of Peeta (comparisons to Zero Dark Thirty, notwithstanding) had me on the edge of my seat as did the reunion of Katniss and Peeta.  I will admit that I am now very eager to see Part 2 but I do not feel the least bit slighted by Part 1.  In fact, it was worth the wait!

Dvorak's Symphony No. 7

If it is Friday night, you can usually find me at Abravanel Hall listening to the Utah Symphony and last night's performance was wonderful!  The concert began with Mein Heim by Antonin Dvorak.  This piece is based on two different Bohemian folk songs and I thought it sounded rather nostalgic, like someone who is longing for home, and I really enjoyed it.  Next, the orchestra played my favorite piece of the evening, Concerto No. 3 for Violin by Camille Saint-Saens, with the incredibly talented Fumiaki Miura on violin.  Saint-Saens is a composer that I have recently discovered and this particular piece is lovely.  The opening notes played by the solo violin are so plaintive that I had tears in my eyes almost immediately.  Then, in the second movement, the solo violin played a beautiful theme which was echoed by the woodwinds and then echoed by the entire orchestra at the end of the movement.  It was most affecting and I really loved it!  The third movement was quite dramatic and I especially loved the fanfare by the trumpets and trombones.  Miura was simply amazing and the audience agreed with me, giving him a rousing standing ovation.  I really enjoyed watching him because he made it look so effortless.  After the intermission the orchestra concluded the concert by performing Dvorak's Symphony No. 7.  I particularly loved the theme played by the woodwinds (the woodwinds were featured prominently last night) in the first movement.  I found the second movement to be very somber and atmospheric and I had goosebumps through much of it.  In contrast, the third movement seemed almost ebullient.  I imagined young girls waltzing in an opulent palace with ribbons flying.  The piece ended very dramatically, almost triumphantly.  In my opinion, it is a fitting metaphor for the turbulent history of Dvorak's native land.  This beautiful music will be featured once again this evening and I highly recommend getting a ticket.  If you have never attended a Utah Symphony performance before, you can get half-price tickets for this concert, as well as the popular Messiah Sing-In concerts next weekend, by using the code everyone at check-out.  Go here for more information and to purchase tickets.

How The Grinch Stole Christmas

Last night I went to see the musical How The Grinch Stole Christmas at the Capitol Theatre.  I didn't know if I would like this show because I am not a fan of Seussical (in fact, I hated Seussical so much that I would have left at intermission if I hadn't been with friends).  Since this show was a part of the Broadway in Utah season ticket I decided to go.  I'm really glad that I did!  Unlike Seussical, this musical actually has a plot and it is incredibly sweet and heartwarming!  It definitely got me into the Christmas spirit.  The story is narrated by Max the Dog (Bob Lauder) as he reminisces about his time in Whoville when the Grinch tried to stop Christmas from coming.  It reminded me a bit of the movie with Jim Carrey, although the actor playing The Grinch (Stefan Karl) definitely made the iconic role his own to the delight of the many children in attendance.  Actually, much of my enjoyment of this show came from listening to the laughter of the children.  My favorite moment was when The Grinch performed "One of a Kind" complete with high stepping kicks in front of a shimmering green curtain and then returned again and again for curtains calls milking the audience for applause.  Max begged the crowd not to encourage him!  I loved it!  I'm not sure how much of The Grinch's role was improvised but he was absolutely hilarious!  I loved the adorable young actress who played Cindy-Lou Who (Raleigh Shuck).  She had the sweetest voice and it was easy to see why The Grinch was so affected by her song "Santa for a Day."  Of course the crowd loved when Max sang the ever popular "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch!"  He even had the audience sing along during the reprise.  The scenery looked like the illustrations from the original Dr. Seuss book and the Who costumes were like a big pink confectionery dream.  The choreography was a lot of fun, especially when the Who children performed "Wha Cha Ma Who."  I had such a great time, which was just about the exact opposite of what I was expecting!  It runs at the Capitol Theatre until Sunday, November 23 and I recommend getting a ticket (especially if you have children).