7/30/09 Bear Valley, Traditional Mountain Dinner

I take my time in the mornings.  Well,  I'm on vacation and since I can't sleep well at night,  (too small a bed) I have to get my sleeping done when Luke gets out of bed.   

Our condo this year  opens on a heavenly scene.  The pine trees and wild grasses and flowers are like an enchanted forest with the play of light and shadow.  Voices of Bear Valley regulars ring across the beautiful forest.  I know these voices from years and years of coming here for the music festival.  I hear the same kids splashing in their pool,  and growing up.  I wouldn't know them to see them,  but I know their voices and their parents voices.  It's strange.  

The air here --I know I've said this before--is fresh.  Still unspoiled.  

I'm losing some fun flow,  but I can't write at night as usual.  There is no way that I can get on line in the condo.  Like--- the night of the concert,  the powers that be close off the road that leads to my condo.  I have to get out of the car and move the barrier which is a pain in the  . . . 

Two days ago,  I finished working here and quess what . . .  the men were just putting up the barrier and they moved it aside so I could drive through--that's the fun of being in the flow.

Back to yesterday.  The Lodge of Darkness was set up for a concert.  We don't go to the extra concerts here.  It would have to be Elvis raised from the dead or come down from heaven.   Then maybe .  . .   We get so much music here,  especially Luke.

We drove up the mountain to the little rustic restaurant that we have been going to for so many years.  There we met 15 other musicians and family members--mostly principle players.  The rule is that you have to bring some raunchy jokes.  I get mine from Matt but I forgot them at home in Indy.   

First everyone catches up.  I sat next to Luke and to Matt our flutist friend who created a miracle around his own health.  He did it with research and self effort and I admire him. 

One of the women that I've know for so long told me that she's had a rough winter--her husband and son were diagnosed with a form of asbergers (there is no spell check on my blog) and her son became her daughter.  Why I should never complain about my family again.  So sad and hard to bear.

Then Matt showed me his China photos.  Amazing and colorful and filled with the mystery of another culture.  The temples are red and gold--bright and brilliant with color and oriental design.  Also,  I used to read my girls books like "Ping" about kids and animals in China.  Ping is a duck that gets separated from his family who live on a river boat.  He is almost a families dinner but the littlest son lets him go.  Here in Matt's pictures I can see real fishermen and their boats.  

The jokes flew back and forth.  I recalled parts of the jokes I got from Matt,  I was missing lots including punch lines.   People are used to my bad joke telling skills and laugh anyway.  Luke was like the M.C. and he was funny.  He and David tell the same jokes year after year and they are still funny and I still laugh.

Well,  it's concert night and I'd better get going.  

The Lodge of D is filling up with people.  One of the computer phone people was trying to book tickets for a European tour with a friend.  It's fun to hear these conversations  Well,  I'm a writer,  so I have to eavesdrop.