Birthdays, Mother's Day, Anniversaries, Ed Sheeran, Concerts and more!
2025.05.12
Songs of the day:
I can’t wait for Ed’s new album later this year! These first two songs are so good!!
It’s been a minute since I’ve posted because retired life is busy!! Honestly, I have no idea how I ever had time to work. So, let’s get to the life events first, shall we?
My mom turned 81 earlier this month, and we had fun celebrating at home, dinner and a minor league playoff hockey game. The San Jose Barracuda (Sharks AHL team) were playing the Colorado Eagles (Avalanche AHL team) out here, so we made a journey north for the game. The Barracuda lost the game and the series the next night, but it was still fun to watch playoff hockey. It had been quite a while since I’d seen any.
Next up was Mother’s Day (yesterday), and we celebrated with brunch and a baseball game. The Rockies were playing the Padres so I didn’t have a horse in the race - which is actually kind of nice. There’s no pressure when your team isn’t in the game! The Rockies actually won, which was good since they’d lost 21-0 the night before. Yikes. We enjoyed the gorgeous day, got a lot of sun, and pretty much crashed when we got home.
And finally…today is my dad and Frannie’s 30th anniversary! They’re planning a fun day with a little trip to celebrate more in a few weeks. I’m so glad I got to see them for a few days when they were here last month.
Since I last wrote I’ve been to three concerts, and have been enjoying Ed Sheeran’s new music, as well as new music from Elton John and Brandi Carlile, and a new acoustic set of music from Andy Grammar (aka Boogie Woogie from The Masked Singer).
I went to a super cool venue in Boulder to see one of my favorites, Brendan James, in an incredibly intimate setting. Nothing like sitting in a room of less than 50 people for a couple of hours of exceptional music. Brendan is an amazing musician, as is his drummer, Craig, and this was a special, special night.
Over the last week and a half I got to see two Broadway legends in concert - Patti Lupone and Cynthia Erivo. Patti Lupone’s show was absolutely incredible. It was just her and two musicians, and wow. She brought the house down! Sorry, no photos allowed in that one. Cynthia’s show was good, too, but not exactly what I was expecting. She played with the Denver Symphony, and sounded incredible, but she didn’t do any of her new music or any of the Broadway songs I was expecting. So, I was a little disappointed. Still, it was incredible to hear her sing live - she really can sing anything. I was sitting at the very top of the concert hall, so she looks very tiny in my photos.
So many other things have been going on…movies, books, a fun night at the zoo. We are actually looking forward to a fairly quiet week ahead. We’ll see if we can make that happen.
Movies
Sinners - I already filled you in on my thoughts about this incredible film. I’ve seen it twice now and will likely go again this week.
The Wedding Banquet - I saw this one and absolutely adored it so I brought my mom back a couple of days later to watch it again. I loved the original, and this one is just as good, if not better. It’s a lovely story, and I highly recommend it.
Thunderbolts* - This was a great Marvel movie. I loved everything about it. These characters were not the typical Avengers-style heroes. They were broken and flawed and imperfect - which made them awesome. I’ll definitely be seeing this one again as well.
Sneaks - This is a super cute animated movie about sneakers. We saw a preview for it a while ago, but it didn’t get much press and may already be out of the theaters, but we highly enjoyed it.
The Amateur - I wasn’t sure about this movie, but I love Rami Malek so decided to go. It was generally good, not my favorite. It was a little slow in places, but overall I enjoyed it.
Books
Let’s Call Her Barbie by Renee Rosen - I loved this book! I thought I knew the story of how Barbie was invented, but I knew nothing! This is a work of fiction, but over 90% of it is true. Renee did a ton of research, and is an incredible writer. I highly recommend this one!
Becoming Madam Secretary by Stephanie Dray - Another incredible read, albeit a long one. This is the story of Secretary of Labor, Francis Perkins, the first female secretary in a President’s cabinet. I learned a TON from this book and think everyone should read it.
Currently Reading: This Thing of Ours by Frederick Joseph - So far, this is a great young adult novel that focuses on a young Black man in a mostly white prep school - there initially for his basketball prowess, but lost when a freak injury ends his playing career. I am loving it so far!
Theatre
The Wiz - The Mother and I went to this show last month, and it’s one of my favorites. It was opening night, and they had a LOT of issues - starting late, technical difficulties, people coming in late - so it wasn’t as enjoyable as it should have been, but the cast and the music were both excellent. Ease on down the road to see this one if you can!
Colorado Ballet MasterWorks - I was able to go to a fun ballet event as a friend was unable to use her tickets. The company performed three masterpiece works, and it was incredible. I’ve truly been enjoying getting back into ballet this last year!
And finally, a few pics from our trip to Glowing Wild at the Denver Zoo…so cool!
Whew! I think that’s everything. Who knows! Like I said, we’ve been BUSY!! I hope you’re doing well and enjoying some nice weather wherever you are. Until next time…
Video of the day:
Our moms are so close in age. My mom turned 80 on May 9th. Still hard to believe she's 80. Good thing is, like your mom, she's still going strong.
You said, "Retired life is busy!! Honestly, I have no idea how I ever had time to work." And now your 'work' is being retired. How wonderful life is for you.