Wednesday Wednesday

 A dreary morning as Dad and I made our way down to the Bay for Uncle L's funeral. A stop at the office beforehand for Dad to drop off some work. I felt quite apprehensive as we drove into the city as to how I might react to the funeral given that my maternal grandfather passed away the same day as Uncle L and we have not had his service yet. I do hate loosing it in front of people. Especially on this occasion, where I have only one firm memory in my life of seeing Uncle L - and that is from Wednesday seeing him in his coffin. It would have been a little strange to sob uncontrollably about my grandfather and have everyone wondering why I was so upset about Uncle L.

Thankfully I was so fascinated by the Catholic funeral mass there wasn't time to get emotional. It had been a long time since I'd attended a mass in the States, and the first time at a funeral. Most times I've been in foreign countries when I've attended. I did have a small moment when the nice catholic couple in front of me turned to take my hand and said "Peace be with you" - without blinking I responded, "Thanks". Only when the man across the isle came to greet them did I actually realize that was not the response they were looking for. I looked behind me and my paternal grandfather was sitting there giggling at my utter confusion over the process.

After the meeting/viewing at the funeral home and the mass at the church we headed to a small chapel at a catholic cemetery in Colma where there was another service. This time the Navy was included. It was the most moving moment of the day. The bugler stood outside the chapel and played Taps, then they did the flag ceremony and presented the flag to Aunt D. If the bugle wasn't enough when the military Chaplin was thanking her for Uncle L's service I was holding back the tears, barely.

After the cemetery, which my father kindly let me wander around, we headed to lunch. I enjoyed visiting with my dad's family.

 Grandma and her oldest sister Aunt A

 One of Aunt D's friends brought trays full of homemade Baklava.

I ate over 7 pieces and had quite the pile of honey covered wrappers. 

Everybody loves a good "me in the bathroom" photo, right?

COLMA - I do enjoy cemeteries. Such great art...and equally awful art.

Glad the clouds cleared away during mass.

Favorite picture of the day, me and Dad having a lovely time at lunch.

It's that time of year - Thanksgiving

That time of year thou may'st in me behold 
  When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang 
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold, 
  Bare ruin’d choirs, where late the sweet birds sang:


In me thou see'st the twilight of such day 
  As after sunset fadeth in the west, 
Which by and by black night doth take away, 
  Death’s second self, that seals up all in rest:


In me thou see’st the glowing of such fire 
  That on the ashes of his youth doth lie, 
As the death-bed whereon it must expire 
  Consum'd with that which it was nourish’d by:   

  This thou perceiv'st, which makes thy love more strong, 
  To love that well which thou must leave ere long. 

- William Shakespeare

Hope you weren't disappointed that the post title wasn't referring to Frank Sinatra singing the Christmas Waltz.

The brief Thanksgiving break was an full one. Begun with the joyous news that we could leave work early. The Thanksgiving feast was held in Pacifica at my grandparents, comme d'habitude. The three J's and Q spent the night with G at my grandparents, and my oldest cousin D and his family of +2 was there when we arrived. Little D is just about Q's age. We got along swimmingly. Soon after arrival I had a plastic 9 inch fishing pool in hand with a magnet at the end and was crawling around the house on my hands and knees racing cars. I obey instructions well. Thankful for all the ways the babes make family gatherings enjoyable.

Czech dumplings and sauerkraut, it's what's for dinner. Thankful my grandparents share a little bit of our heritage with us for the holidays. Also, thankful that, as they get older, they speak less and less in Czech to each other so we can't understand.

There is a house on a hill in Pacifica built to look like a castle, and as Q is completely in her princess fascination phase we took a walk after dinner to show her the castle. She and lil' J were sufficiently impressed. The walk culminated in a stirring round of ring-around-the-rosie at the top of the hill. Love love love my family.

Back to the poem....

The big news of the weekend was that Papa finally died Saturday morning. I'm thankful he isn't suffering from his cancer anymore, but it's been a little bit of a shock. Of course, being us, when my parents returned from the lake Sunday evening you would have found us employing our favorite coping mechanisms, wit and hilarity. Laughter is great medicine. I freak out slightly each time someone attempts to approach me with expressions of sympathy, need to work on that.

In a natural life twist, because this would of course happen, my father's uncle passed away the same day. My only recollection of him is a photo of him and his family at my baby christening. Wednesday will be spent driving down to the bay for Uncle L's funeral. It is also my parent's 31st anniversary, and G's 14th birthday - talk about a humdinger of a day.

I'm thankful for experiences that put life in perspective, make me think, appreciate how truly amazing my life is and the wonderful blessings I have. Including the heartlessly practical gratitude I have for the five days of funeral leave the State of California is kind enough to offer me.

Documentary Round-up

As the year isn't close to over maybe it's premature for this, I'll likely add additional titles. As I've got a few posts I can't yet write without potentially hazardous repercussions, it's something.

Confession: I love Netflix. Though I rarely complete a film in one sitting. Looking over the past year's list it's about 90% documentaries - the rest movies mostly made decades before I was born.

A moment I loved - Richter painting, I was frozen.

Here is the list of documentaries I've watched over the last 12 months (Hopefully I didn't miss more than one or two):

Unmistaken Child - A Tibetan monk goes in search of the reincarnation of his dead master, Lama Konchog. A fascinating process to observe. I had some moments of disbelief, but believing in a religion many probably think is equally unbelievable myself, I did my best to erase incredulity. Still can't get over this kid.

Life in a Day - It's amazing. The small yet intimate, average but amazing, moments of life occurring as the earth completes one rotation.

Being Elmo - Also amazing. For the love of puppets watch it.

Reel Injun - Examines the way Native American's have been portrayed in film. I found it particularly interesting after working on the California Indians exhibit at the California Museum (that exhibit I did research and a little graphic design for, if you've forgotten).

The Rape of Europa - Always a favorite, makes me want to simultaneously sob uncontrollably over all the art stolen and destroyed during WWII, scream at the screen in frustration, and kiss every one of the individuals who sacrificed to thwart arts destruction.

Between the Folds - Origami. If you like paper (and I do) it's interesting, but slow at times.

Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman - Photographing architecture, it's a great pairing.

A Touch of Greatness - Albert Cullum is my educational hero; his middle school students discuss poetry and drama on a level beyond many folks in my graduate program. The black and white footage is wonderful. And the giant map - love!

Marwencol - Fascinating, though I'll willingly admit to feeling, at times, like a voyeur observing a personal world. Gist - man gets rather savagely beat-up, brain damage, he builds a fictional (barbie-size) WWII town where he processes life experiences through dolls. The Steve McQueen doll was quite a dish. Best film you'll ever watch about a man playing with dolls.

The Parking Lot Movie - Entirely about a parking lot in Virginia and the attendants who worked there. Surprisingly wonderful.

The Reinactors - Don't bother. They try just a little too hard - impersonators on Hollywood Boulevard.

The Queen and I - Relationship between the filmmaker and the Shah of Iran's wife, Farah. Good.

5 Sides of a Coin - Documentary about hip-hop, its more than just rap folks.

Romantico - Two Mexican mariachi singers from San Francisco to Mexico. Pretty heartbreaking.

Bulletproof Salesman - Fabulous film about a luxury armored car salesman, basically a war profiteer. I was riveted, and it obviously left an impression because driving around the next day I saw a duck-tape wrapped box lying in the road and the thought "crap an IED" flashed across my mind.

Pressure Cooker - Inner city Philadelphia high school students in culinary arts class. Funny and touching. I cried at the gym watching it.

American Mullet - Not the highest quality film, but need I say more than the title?

Jiro Dreams of Sushi - Foodie heaven. Amazing. Entertaining. Makes me hungry now just thinking about it.

Unusual Buildings & Other Roadside Stuff - I don't know what it is about American that produced this stuff, but I'm glad someone did. Though I don't think I could live in a giant shoe or duck.

Make Believe - Film about young magicians competing to become the teen world magic champion. Spoiler: I was glad that girl does not win. I did adore the kid who does win. Highly recommended.

Samsara - Breathtaking. An image is worth a million words in this case.

The Human Experience - I don't know that I could do some of the things they do, but I was touched.

The Rock-afire Explosion - 80's animatronic band.

Give Me the Banjo - I may take up banjo playing.

Strictly Background - More than you ever wanted to know about being a Hollywood extra.

Gerhard Richter Painting - I could watch him paint for hours. I want his studio. Adored.

Did you make it all the way to the end?

Lake Visit

Took an unexpected trip up to the lake this weekend to visit the grandparents. When it wasn't raining the scenery was divine. It rained most of the time.

I spent the majority of the visit avoiding the emotional perils of reality by playing with Q.

I'm not sure what she thought was in that cabinet, but from the way she jumped when she heard her name and the expression on her face I think she'd be disappointed to know all she's missing out on are stacks of mixing bowls.