1/31/2014 The New Shanghai Circus

(Arizona City, AZ)

Bob and I, along with about 34 other Quail Run residents went to a show held at Central Arizona College.

The New Shanghai Circus started in the very early 1950’s.  Winning more gold, silver and bronze medals than other Chinese acrobatic company these young people are polished to perfection.

This is going to be a mostly pictorial post but I’ll throw in some history of Chinese acrobatic tumbling here and there.  Enjoy, we sure did!




(From the Playbill)  The Chinese acrobatic tradition dates back to 700 B.C., that’s over 2000 years of tumbling, balancing and juggling.  Ancient stone carvings, earthen pottery and early written work trace the ancestry of today’s spectacular acts.  Relics tell the tales of famous acrobats like Confucius’ father, who is believed to have lifted a pair of one thousand pound city gates to let an army storm through.

(From the Playbill)  The art of Chinese acrobatics developed out of the Lunar New Year harvest celebrations, where the village’s peasants and craftsmen would hold a kind of Chinese Thanksgiving.  Acrobats would use household tools and common items found around the farm and workshop as a part of their exciting feats.  Performers passed their skills down from generation to generation and great acrobatic families of China entertained everyone from city rulers to village people, performing at ceremonial carnivals and public theaters across the country.

 

(From the Playbill)  Over the years, as China plunged into economic and social upheavalm any fine arts were lost and acrobats found themselves on the verge of extinction.  Since the Revolution in 1949 the government has made great efforts to foster that develop traditional arts and culture in China and acrobatics has enjoyed a new life.

(From the Playbill)  Today only a few descendants of the old and famous acrobatics families remain.  These individuals have organized China’s traditional entertainers into professional acrobatic troupes with formal academies for training young promising entertainers and internationally renowned companies.  Modern-day Chinese acrobatics reflect the industry, resourcefulness an courage of the Chinese people.  At present there are over 120 professional acrobatic troupes across China and more than 12,000 performers.




They can spin anything on the their feet!






And they TOSS IT too!


It was a great show!

1/26–1/30/14 A Luncheon, A Play, A Street Fair

(Arizona City, AZ)

We have been very busy! 

Bob is always finding something around here to do and playing golf.

I enjoyed time with friends from the park for our January Ladies Luncheon.  Thirty eight ladies from our park gathered for a fine meal, interesting conversation and a ton of laughs.

We went back to Chris’ Diner because its close to the park and quite of the few ladies are committed to Helping Hands which is an activity in our park and it was taking place that afternoon.  Long time readers will recognize this as the group that sews chemo caps for women who are going through chemotherapy treatment.  That is just one of the many wonderful things they do.






 
I have some friends that do really, really strange things.  That’s all I’m going to say, you figure it out.



Bob and I and half of Quail Run went to the Casa Grande Street Fair.  We had the perfect day for it, sunny and warm.

A staple at this street fair is the car show.  Here’s a few that really liked. 

Everybody loves a 57 Chevy.


This is one of my all time favorite cars,,,a 64 Chevy Impala and this one was very nicely restored.


You could never NOT find your truck in the parking lot if it was one of these!


We made our way into the main part of the fair and one of the first booths we stopped at was selling BBQ mats. 

We listened to the fellow talk about these pieces of black material and were intrigued.  Bob loved the idea of not having to  clean the grill and I loved the idea of shrimp not falling through the grill grates ever again.

 

So of course we bought a pair.  They have a 5 year warranty, clean up with a wet paper towel, the food they were cooking looked good, so we went for it  Twenty bucks for two of them.  We’re looking forward to using them.

Four friends and I went out to lunch and then to a play called 39 Steps.  It was billed as Hitchcock meets Hilarity.  Eh, not so much,,,,but lunch was good!

 

1/19-1/25/2014 Bluegrass and a First For Me

(Arizona City, AZ)

I did something that I’ve never done before.  Something I never did because I just knew I wouldn’t like it.  You know, like I know I don’t like coffee, I’ve never tasted coffee but I just know I don’t like it.

If I wasn’t in such pain with this hip and leg I wouldn’t have done this even now.  I went for a massage.  First time ever.  Only thing I can say now is….WHY HAVEN’T I EVER DONE THIS BEFORE?
Oh my gosh, heaven on earth!  My friend Bonnie has been several times and highly recommended it.  I was at a point where I would do anything for relief.

My appointment was for 10 a.m. and I only had to travel 2 blocks away.  Willie, a nickname, has her shop in a small building behind her house.  She was waiting for me and took me right away.  She showed me where to undress and told me to lay on the very well padded, very soft and comfortable  table with a heated  pad and a heated cover and to call her when I was ready.  Pan flute music was playing softly in the background and I think she waited five minutes to come in to make sure I had a chance to really relax.  This woman has magic hands.  Did she hurt me?  Oh hell yeah.  Well, maybe hurt is too strong of a word, but I could feel her follow each muscle and it wasn’t always pleasant but by the time she was done it was relaxed.  Did I feel great when I walked out?  No, I can’t say that because she really, really had to work some of the muscles hard because they were so tight.  Will I go back?  YES!  Next time will be for a  relaxation  massage  though and I’ll get the hour and a half session.

The massage didn’t take the pain completely away but it helped.  My pain medication helps me get through the night.  Sciatica is a pain in the butt!  Literally!

Bob and I went to a Bluegrass Festival in Eloy, the next town over.


 
It was held at the Pinal County Fairgrounds.


I’m not really into Bluegrass Music, in fact, I don’t even like bluegrass music let alone be into it, but Bob is and he wanted to come to this.  I didn’t want to go but I thought about all he does for me so I said, “Sure, I’ll go.”  Little did I know that he was perfectly content to go alone anyway.  I’ll remember that next year!

There was a large model train display so I wandered around and looked at that for awhile.  I’m not really into model trains either.

 

Well, you get the idea…..

There was also a quilt display.


This one made me dizzy!





From here I wandered to the Tractor Pull.


 
Look at the tires on this tractor!  Or lack thereof.



I have to admit, I do like a good tractor pull!



I saw only one woman driving the tractor and she did quite well.


And of course wherever there is a crowd you are going to find classic cars with their hoods popped.




And of course there was food!



Inside the biggest building there were lots of things for sale.

Need a cowboy hat?


 
In the market for a new potato bag?



And of course there was music!



Both indoors and out.



All in all, it was a nice day to be out of the park and a good place to do some people watching.