preparing for September, 2026

 Yesterday I spent an hour or two selecting my seats for next year in Ashland. Prices have gone up, no surprise there. My friend John is already talking "which restaurants?" and you know I'm on board there. If everything works out, the daughter of a friend will be in the cast and that will be extra wonderful.

home and happy about that

 Smooth (long) drive home yesterday and early to bed last night. Today I'm busy doing laundry and giving the girl cat some meaningful attention. No tv up in Ashland but I was still able to follow the idiot tRump and his band of criminals, however now I am back in front of the news. Sheeeeesh, such times we live in.

a happy ending

 Our final play was a delightful comedy The Importance of Being Earnest by clever Oscar Wilde. Excellent Japanese dinner at Kobe, a restaurant that has been here 19 years and we didn't know about it before. Now I will shower and we will head home after breakfast. A lovely vacation but I am ready for hearth and cat and a busy week ahead. 

an all women cast

 Julius Caesar was way better than I expected yesterday thanks to excellent acting and elocution from the cast of talented women actors. Good job! Then we hung out in the Members' Lounge and read on the back deck before an excellent dinner at Nous (middle photo) on Main Street. Always a pleasure to eat outside in this perfect weather. 

a lovely Thursday

This one was sold out and may be the highlight of the play-going here for me in 2025. The modern day Don Quixote does not want to go into assisted living in Quixote Nuevo and escapes into the desert where he meets a loyal and reluctant squire. The costumes are fabulous and the story wonderful and a bit sad as it hits on some truths about age, dementia and regrets. And then we had a scrumptious dinner at Cocorico, a new restaurant here in Ashland ~ I highly recommend it. Oh, yes, in between all of this Mary and I had a wonderful walk in Lithia Park. Now on to Friday!
 

scenes from Ashland

 I will post photos of lovely Lithia Park later this week. We saw a blue heron in there yesterday. We have a back deck here at our Inn (second photo) and it is just so pleasant to sit out there and read and listen to the gurgling creek. Dinner last night at Chateaubriand, ok, not great, but none of us had steak, so maybe that was on us? But at least outside dining again, I love that. And yay, outdoor theatre! The Merry Wives was colorful and confusing and fun and we didn't get home until midnight. Having a delightful time here.

Ashland welcomed us

 Long and beautiful drive from Oakland to Ashland and of course you recognize Mt. Shasta in the top photo. We are back at the Ashland Creek Inn and it is lovely to be right ON the creek. We walked to dinner at the Hearsay and it was warm enough to sit outside. All wonderful, truly. So nice to be with Mary and John again and a smooth ride in the (ahem) Tesla.

packing and paella

 Yesterday was spent watching the Giants and the Valkyries lose while I packed for Ashland. I leave in about an hour. Whoosh. Rob and Heidi were kind enough to invite me for dinner last night ~ a truly scrumptious paella. Came home to watch the Emmy's. I did not care for The Studio, but that's OK. Next you will hear from the heart of Ashland, or the maybe the stomach.

the play's the thing (sort of)

 Of course the town, the restaurants, walking and the friends are also very important. Very. But best I take a look at the plays for which I ordered the tickets back in November, 2024:

Tuesday, 9/16 ~ The Merry Wives of Windsor

Wednesday ~ Shane

Thursday ~ Quixote Nuevo

Friday ~ Julius Caesar

Sunday ~ The Importance of Being Earnest

And I checked the weather and it will not be too hot up there next week. Hooray!

my cat-centered return

 Non-stop purring here from Annabelle and her servant. We now have this glorious Cats for Kamala front porch sign thanks to the Blogmaid. Also a new dish towel which states correctly that "home is where my cat is" from dear neighbor Heidi. I'm busy doing laundry and attempting to restore order to my life after a delightful vacation. The cupboards are bare and I will address this issue shortly. The drive home yesterday was okay except for some heavy traffic problems which will be forgotten in about three seconds. Happy to be home!

deep tragedy, then pasta

 Macbeth was amazing and impressive and sad too  Our final play after a busy week of mostly great theatre. How fortunate we are. Lovely pasta and salad at Osteria La Briccola and now I will pack up and we will head home. Ready, set, go...

thinking about home (and cat)

 I'm starting to prepare for our trip home tomorrow and am not currently ambitious enough to rearrange the three pieces of "art" above. So I will tell you that we saw Born With Teeth in the afternoon and they nicely moved me down from my cheap seat to very near the stage and that was great as it was a 90 minute play of clever and compelling dialog between William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlow (Will and Kit in the top photo) and their (maybe) collaboration on the Henry plays. Very interesting concept. Then dinner at the Oregon Cabaret featuring Legally Blonde which was terrific with non-stop singing/dancing and fun. Oh, the weather? Hot, but not overwhelming and I do love the warm evenings.

Lizard Boy, hooray!

 Graham, the owner here at Ashland Creek Inn, loved  Lizard Boy so Mary and I bought last minute tickets for yesterday and just loved the show. John is a traditional Shakespeare-is-my-guy kind of playgoer, but we women like the new and edgy (top photo) and this was fabulous. A couple of walks, a couple of deer from our little deck-by-the-creek and then dinner at Cucina Biazzi where we discover that this is their final night. The restaurant is closing and we were sad as their patio is a delight and the food is excellent. More change. Sigh. Still a really nice day.

Shakespeare x two (and dinner)

 A couple of good walks yesterday, it is warm but not stifling. I honestly had not heard of Coriolanus, a sort of war story but done with an all-woman cast yesterday. I found it surprisingly interesting. So 2.5 hours in the afternoon. Then an excellent dinner at Alchemy on the front porch of the Winchester Inn. Obviously, the top photo. Then Much Ado About Nothing outside again on a warm and lovely night. This play was filled with fun, music and rare silliness from William Shakespeare. Another 2.5 hours and my tusch was tired. Today will be easy!

a two play day with walks

 Lithia Park (top photo) is as beautiful as ever. The weather is perfect and so was our day. Well, maybe not the evening play Jane Eyre but still outdoor theatre is just so special. The matinee was terrific, Behfarmaheen ~ the story of an Iranian immigrant; a one man, one act play that was quite powerful. The title means "if you please" or "welcome". In the bottom photo you see Mary and John and the waiter's arm at Hearsay, a restaurant I had not been to before. Such a delight to have dinner outside and the food was good. We have another two play day and then some down time beginning tomorrow. So happy to be here!

our yearly adventure

 I took a Lyft in a Tesla to Oakland to jump in John and Mary's Tesla for our trip here. Smooth. There are more charging stations this year. Top photo is gorgeous Mt. Shasta from the car window and this year I am splurging and staying in the Ashland Creek Inn which is posh and lovely and where my friends always stay.  I have my own separate room and bath and this THING above my bed but hey, who am I to complain. Dinner at the Lark Hotel last night and breakfast this morning by the creek with my delightful friends. Oh, I almost forgot ~ tea in Weed yesterday while the car was charging. More luxury,,,

six plays in six days

 It's going to be hot in Ashland and of course my wardrobe is all based on how-much-fog-and-for-how-long? I spent yesterday packing too much of the wrong thing and I leave this morning to hop in John and Mary's Tesla (we hate Elon Musk!) in Oakland for the 6 hour drive to Oregon. I do not like saying goodbye to a certain pesky cat, but she will be fine. As will I. xo

Ashland on Sunday

 Where We Belong is a one act, one person play for small theater. It was very good, the top photo sort of shows how it was staged, but the lighting gets very interesting as the character develops her story and the history of some indigenous people and how we really have never treated them in a humane fashion. Then dinner at the Indian Restaurant on Water Street where I had never been before. Way too much food, but excellent. OK, time to pack up and head home.

zero Musketeers

 It was a sort of lazy Saturday here and included the surprise cancellation of Three Musketeers due to smokey weather. It was an outdoor play and we understood that the actors suffer when the air quality is bad. During the day we visited the Farmers' Market and then had a very light lunch in the sun. Excellent dinner at Osteria La Bricolla ~ pasta, needless to say. One short indoor play today and then HOME tomorrow. Yay!

Romeo, Juliet and Roger

 Roger Achroyd, that is, last night at the fun Cabaret dinner club (bottom photo) we had a great time figuring out Who Killed Roger Achroyd? I had predicted that Romeo and Juliet would not end well, but it was an enthusiastic afternoon production. In between ~ walking and talking and reading ~ just what vacations are supposed to be.