On Friday night, Steve and I joined with friends from my relay running crew (the Foxy Soles Too; we have become friends outside of race day) to go listen to the Portland Gay Men's Chorus sing a holiday show. It was funny and campy, it was occasionally mystifying (and bad -- the robot number needed help), and it was often sweet. It was mostly just fun to get dressed up in fancy clothes, to meet up for drinks ahead of time, and to attend a live performance at the Newmark Theatre, a jewel of a space downtown.
Anna, Cassandra, Kelly, and me.
A funny story about this crazy sequined dress... my friends and I were texting in the morning about logistics for the show, and one friend mentioned that she was wearing a new dress. I texted that the occasion called for sequins and glitter, but my closet was sadly lacking. Three hours later, my doorbell rang and Cassandra was standing there with this black sequined dress that she had just picked up at H&M. Liesl thought it was, "the ugliest dress ever", but I wore it anyway because participating in the joke was better than conforming to my own ideas of what I would normally wear (i.e., not this!). Sooo funny.
And then on Saturday afternoon, Liesl and I went to the Keller Theatre for our annual viewing of OBT's Nutcracker Ballet. Again, it was so sweet to hear live orchestral music and see dancers in person, and to return to our tradition. We had a really good time together.
And finally, on Sunday evening Liesl and I went to see the Beyond Van Gogh exhibit at the Convention Center. Denise and Arianna had very kindly given us tickets as a Christmas present. The show was beautiful -- a multimedia display, on enormous walls, of some of Van Gogh's most beautiful and well-known works (Starry Night, haystacks, irises and sunflowers, cafes).
