Val’s Trips
Val made two trips in December. First she went to London, then she came back for a few days, and then went to see her folks in Italy.
ACLC Auction
On Saturday, December 7, Val & I attended the Alameda County Leather Association’s Auction. People, including Val, auctioned off various goods and services as a benefit for ACLC.
J&S Visit
Jennifer & Selena came to play games with Val & me on November 24. We love these regular visits!
SCCLA
On November 2, Val and I attended the Mr. & Ms. Santa Clara County Leather Association contest.
What happened to Marilyn?
Here it is, October, almost November, and no posts since May!! Life just got away from me, so I guess I’ll just have to give a big recap of what’s happened since, roughly in chronological order.
- We had a lovely Mother’s Day brunch at Max’s.
- Val went to visit Erika and Charles in Italy May 14-27.
- I attended the Northwest Leather Celebration in San Jose May 15-17.
- Haley performed in the Taylor Spring Concert on 5/22.
- I attended the Professional Business Women of California conference on 5/23.
- Katelyn passed all of her classes (some just barely), which is great considering what a difficult semester it was for her.
- Val & Katelyn went hat shopping together on 6/1.
- I had lunch with Freda on 6/2, and went to the gym and had lunch on 6/23 and 8/18. we tried again in early October but Freda got a flat tire on her bike so after having it towed we just had lunch.
- I went to the Desire event in Palm Springs 6/7 – 6/9.
- I had dinner with my Menttium group on 6/12 and again on 10/17.
- Val represented the Exiles at the Queer Women of Color Media Access Project (QWOCMAP) film festival on 6/14.
- I took the girls to the 1st ever San Mateo County LGBT Pride Festival on 6/15 (pictures here), while Val went to shul to see her friend Karen read Torah for the first time.
- Haley participated in a swim meeting on 6/23.
- Haley attended a class on “3D Art, Modeling & Animation for Game Design” 6/24-6/28 at Stanford, through the Digital Media Academy.
- Val & I visited with Jennifer & Selena regularly, on 6/16, 8/17, 9/2, and 10/13.
- Katelyn graduated from the Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) on 6/19.
- Katelyn spent a week in New York with relatives 6/20-6/26. Pictures here.
- Katelyn attended a hat-making class on 6/27 & 6/28. She loved it!
- Val & I attended the SF Pride celebration 6/30. It was particularly crowded an exuberant because the courts had just OK’d gay marriage. SF City Hall was open and performing weddings, even though it was a Sunday.
- Val & I didn’t see much of each other in July. She traveled the first few weeks, came back, and a day later I left for 2 weeks. I went to Ireland and England.
- July 4th was a busy day. I started playing with the Half Moon Bay Site-Down Marching Band, then I took the girls to George & Linda’s for a picnic, and then to Glynis & Susan’s for fireworks.
- Katelyn got her braces off on July 8th.
- Haley went to Camp Newman July 17-31.
- I played with the West Bay Community Band at a concert in Redwood City on 7/21.
- Val & I attended Leather Levi Weekend 8/7-8/11.
- Val traveled again, this time to Tokyo and Seoul, 8/18-8/20. She’s hoping to make 100K this year!
- I did a quick trip to the central valley with my friend Rio, first teaching a class and attending a formal dance in Fresno on 8/24, then attending an off-season Passover with my friend Marcus and his lovely family on August 25th in Bakersfield.
- Val & I lent our house as the host location for our friend Rio’s 60th birthday party on 9/1.
- Val completed her formal conversion to Judaism on Monday, 9/30 at the Mikvah in San Francisc0. This was followed by a conversion service on 9/27 which was attended by friends and lots of family, and was really moving and beautiful. Just on time, so Val could read Torah the next day at Haley’s Bat Mitzvah service.
- Haley’s 13th birthday on 9/25 was a bit overshadowed by Bat Mitzvah events and the Simchat Torah holiday, but we were able to do a little celebrating.
- Haley and I continued participating in the Legacy Girls Study, which involves surveys and visits every 6 months, and blood and urine samples periodically.
- Haley, with me usually accompanying, attended a number of her friends’ B’nai Mitzvot.
- Haley worked all summer on the Mitzvah Garden at Peninsula Temple Sholom, weeding, watering, and harvesting so we could deliver fresh veggies to the food pantry at Call Primrose in Burlingame.
- Val continued to attend most of the Saturday morning services at B’nei Emunah.
- My company released InsuranceSuite 8 after over 2 years of working on it. and we celebrated with a day of reflection and fun, and a trip to the Exploratorium in the evening on 10/15.
- Katelyn took the PSAT on 10/19.
- Jann & Trev came for a visit on 10/19. We decided they need to come earlier next time so we can get a game in.
- Kathie’s 63rd birthday was on 10/22. Joanie invited us over for a fish fry, cake, and fun.
- Val, Haley & I attended the Synaplex Shabbat service on 10/25, whose theme was social action and social justice.
- My friend Lynne Angeloro visited on 10/16. It was nice to see her after many years!
- We carved pumpkins on 10/26.
And of course, the major event of the last month was Haley’s Bat Mitzvah on 9/28.
I will try my best to keep up with our events, so as not to cram everything in one message again. Thanks for understanding!
BBQ
Val attended a BBQ at the home of Rabbi Mark and his wife Hayley in San Francisco on 4/29. I was planning on going, but had a big blowup with Katelyn after picking up the kids at religious school, so wasn’t feeling up to it, and was also behind on some work I needed to do.
Jennifer & Selena Visit
Jennifer & Selena visited us on 4/27. We love their visits, where we get to catch up on each others’ lives and play some fun games. It’s wonderful having friends like them!
Anniversary Blessing for George & Linda, More Torah
On Saturday 4/17, Val and Haley and I attended Shabbat services at B’nai Emunah, where there was a special blessing for George and Lida’s 25th Anniversary. It turned out that the first Torah reading was most of what I’d read the night before, so Val asked Rabbi Mark if I could read, and he agreed. So I got to read again! Val and Haley and I also had Aliyas, so we had a great time participating in the service.
Sholom Women’s Shabbat Service
On 4/26 I read Torah at the Sholom Women’s Shabbat Service, with Val and Haley there to support me. It was a beautiful service, incorporating content from the celebration of the 100-year anniversary of the Women of Reform Judaism (WRJ). With everything crazy going on in our lives I hadn’t had time to practice my reading, so every night during the week leading up to the service, Val spent a huge amount of time coaching me. Thanks, Val!
A Weekend Away
Val and I spent a weekend at the IMsL conference in San Francisco 4/18-4/22. It was tough, with Katelyn being in the hospital, but we really needed the time away to take care of our own mental health and to reconnect with each other. We had an awesome weekend.
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