THE END OF THE YEAR RUNDOWN

Ok.............Here we go...........

The rest of the year was filled with various doctors appointments for my father to prepare him for his Coratid surgery.

December 31st New Years Eve. Angie and I teamed up for a night on the town. There was a party at the Sage Center. Cocktails, dinner, live band and all the horns and noise makers you could use. We sure had a lot of fun. Angie is really so much fun. I had a great time. First New Years I didn't spend in Mexico in 10 years. Didn't miss it too much, but still would have enjoyed seeing all my friends at the Qualton.

December 30th was Dennis Rowland with the Jazz Experience Band. What a great evening big band music came alive. Rowland was the front man for the Count Basie Orchestra for seven years.

December 27th Bob and Donella were here so I wanted to show them a new restaurant, Kopapelli's. Great food and company. They enjoyed the new find.

December 26th was the second screening of Twilight and no I still didn't see Stephanie. I guess I'll have to go for a third time. Oh darn. EDWARD I WILL NOT TELL!

December 20th was the Duttons Christmas Show. What a talented family. There must have been 10 members that sang danced and all played multiple instruments. The little Duttons in training were cuties as elves, penguins with lots of charm and antics.

December 19th was the Arizona Broadway Theatre presenting A Christmas Carol. Dinner and show. I've seen the Christmas Carol several times and always felt it was a bit dreary and a downer for Christmas. This presentation was a musical and extremely comical yet managed to get the message across regarding Scrooge. Special effects were outstanding. Dinner was excellent and the theatre was quite large and very upscale. Nice evening.

December 13th we celebrated Mel's birthday and she was so surprised to see her gift from me. We had cake and ice cream and did lots of singing.

December 10th was Kallie's Christmas program. The chorus teacher did an outstanding job. Nary an old Christmas song did we hear. All music was fresh and new and sang with lots of enthusiasm. The speaking parts were well practiced and it showed. Can't wait for next years.

December 5th was Josh's Christmas program. All the children were wearing cowboy outfits with their slippers. Again the chorus teacher had all the little ones in single file, they all knew where to stand and everyone behaved themselves.

OH WHAT A WEEK!!!!!!!

Monday- Mel decided to do a little painting. The living room and study, so I volunteered. I did the corners, top of walls and above the baseboards. Mel, the rolling, well............when I finished I just couldn't stand it I had to get my hands on the other roller. Up and down the ladder, in and outside of the window sills and finally after running out of paint (we had all but one small wall left to paint) we cleaned and put things somewhat back in order and had just enough time to run over to Kallies volleyball game. Kallie is a natural player. She's not afraid of the ball and can really smack it over the net. Her teammates are new at the game so the frustration level is quite high. But Kallie does a great job and the girls on the team know she's the STAR.

THE PRODUCT

Sprinkle N Sparkle

Working with Chalks and Chalk Blender

Iris Folding

EXTRAGANZA OF EMBELLISMENTS & THINGS

Tuesday was an early start. I went to an all day workshop for Paper Crafts. This was an outstanding class. It started at 8:00 and ended at 5:00. There were seven stations with 3 people to a station. But my friend Sharon and I were a pair so we only had two to each of our tables, good thing I don't think I could have kept up with more at our table. The first station was working with Tombow Markers, Chalks and blenders. We worked with Pearlescent watercolors, Prisma Color Pencils with Gamsol blender that gave such a beautiful finish. The next station was Sparkle N Sprinkle which was working with LOTS of glitter. We were shown some great techniques, but it is definitely an out side project if you ask me. WHAT A MESS. But beautiful results. We next moved to the Spirelli Design table where we worked with silky metallic thread on different sized shapes. Which turned out something else. This really gives you a one of a kind design for Paper Crafts. We also learned new ways for Iris Folding. Now I can do my own designs instead of using a pattern. Next was embossing tips with brass stencils and basic stamping. I learned different ways to use stamps and stamping pads with multiple colors. Also how to make my own boxes with designs. The next station was using the Cuttlebug. If you've never used a Cuttlebug you must learn. It really makes an impression (hahaha) and puts a professional touch to your card making. The next station was on Tea Bag Folding. This was something else to learn, almost like origami. Or maybe it is Origami I don't know but it sure was fun. Very tedious when your folding the smaller pieces of paper. This gives the 3 D look to your paper crafts. What an interesting art. The final station was Embossing with gold embossing powder or other colored powder. The gold with black paper really gave a beautiful look. The day was full and I know the instructor's must have been exhausted. I had a great time and the day went by so very fast. I can't wait to start using all the new techniques I learned at the workshop.

MUSIC ART AND ESPANOL

Wednesday Barbara and I went to dinner and to the West Valley Mueseam of Art. They had the Pat Morita Quintet. The musicians were all babies. The drummer was 15, the base player 20, trumpet and cornet was 17 and the clairnet player 18. Of course the keyboard was played by Pat Morita and she was the clainet players mom. Pat also sang as well. The evening was another great night of entertainment.

Thursday was Spanish Lessons. Love the class, we do alot of conversational speaking. Anyone that really knows me, knows how much I need the practice. I miss my familia in CA. However, I'm still hooked on the Novella's and Christian gives me my Pervian fix.

2008 SHOWCASE STARS VARIETY SHOW

This was John Gamber on the left and DJ Jones. Both excellent singers.

These two groups were the Jazz Dancers and Rhythm Tappers. Could they ever tap.

These two were part of the Greased Lightning group.

Here is Frank, Barbara, Sharon and myself saying Cheesecake.

SHOWCASE OF STARS

Another Op'nin, Another Show Showcase of the stars Variety Show. Friday night a few of my friends went to the Maricopa City Events Center to see the outstanding stars & talent of the West Valley. They were performing acts & songs from Broadway Musicals and Movies. There were dancing, singing, comedy and much more we enjoyed. This was the big fundraiser event for the year. All proceeds went to Banner Del E. Webb and Boswell Medical Centers. The show included the Grandettes & Guys, Jan's Jazz Dancers, Rhythm Tappers and other Dancing.