Sal Enjoys Sophia's First Christmas

Sophia brought her Mommy and Daddy to our house for a holiday visit, and of course Sal had to get in on the fun.

Two lovely ladies getting to know each other better.

As cute as Sal is, I must admit that Sophia is even more so!

The next meeting of Sal and Sophia is coming soon!  Looking forward to another fun photo session!

The Cleveland Fleaharmonics Perform a Holiday Singalong (with Sal in attendance)

On Tuesday, December 16th, there was a Holiday Singalong at Fairview Park Library.  The performing branch of the Cleveland Jumping Fleas led the audience in a selection of jolly wintery tunes.

This was the first time our performing group called ourselves The Cleveland Fleaharmonics!  Now audience members will understand that if they want to get a ukulele and play with a bunch of fun people, they can come to any Cleveland Jumping Flea meetup.  If they want to book our band of performers, they can contact The Cleveland Fleaharmonics at clevelandfleaharmonics@gmail.com.

The last slide in the Holiday Singalong PowerPoint -- showing most of the evening's performers.  Sal is standing in for me.

The Cleveland Fleaharmonics about to start the singalong!

It was a super fun night, and, as usual, there are lots of thanks to be given!

First of all, to everybody in the group for all the hard work, practice, dedication, long-distance travel, and everything else you do!
Special thanks to...
Jeff:  for working on arrangements, steering us in the right direction, bringing Emily Ann, etc.
Lisa:  for the fantabulous artwork, xylophone playing, etc.
Terianne:  for working out songs on the flute and playing them so beautifully.
Nicole:  for fantastic count-offs.
Tabitha:  for helping make our elf-tastic hats.
Holly:  for putting together the very merry jingle bells.
Emily Ann:  for the very cool melodica playing.
Thomas:  for being so agreeable!  ;)
and, last but not least,
Anne:  for your powerful performance with the PowerPoint!

A very merry time was had by all!  Looking forward to doing more holiday shows in 2015!

Sal Attends Two Jake Shimabukuro Shows

A few months ago I found out that Jake Shimabukuro was going to be performing at Hill Auditorium at the University of Michigan on my birthday!   As you can imagine, I decided immediately that I must go.  A few days later, I found out that he would be coming to my home town the very next night!  After some inner debate -- and discussion with others -- I decided to go to both shows!  And I'm very glad I did!

My sister and Sal in our seats.  So close to the stage!  :)

Seated in the row in front of us were these folks.  What a small world!  As avid ukers, we seem to run into each other quite a bit -- at Elderly Instruments workshops and the Midwest Uke Fest.

As always, Jake was amazing!!!  WOW!!!

The hall seemed a bit strict about photography, so I mostly just enjoyed the show, but I did sneak in a few quick shots.  Most were terribly lit and out of focus, but I like this one of Jake tuning his uke.  He had a bass player playing with him for part of the show, but I didn't get a good shot of the two of them.

I have a uke signed by Jake from a previous show -- a pretty little bamboo uke -- a Paulele -- which occupies a proud place in my collection.  I did not have him sign Sal before, as I thought she should remain pristine.  There are so many cool ukers who pose with her, and I didn't want to make it seem like I was playing favorites, but after having her signed by James Taylor this summer, I decided to ask Jake to sign her, too.  I am very happy to have the autographs of these two amazing musicians on my little uke.

After the show, Anne and I waited in line to get a photo with Jake.  I brought a print of a previous picture I had of him and Sal together, and took this meta shot.  Jake was very cool about it!  What a nice guy he is!  Anne and I discussed trying to get a print of this picture and waiting in line after the show the following night to get the next shot in what I hope will be a Jake series of meta pix, but decided it would seem to stalk-ery.  Next tour!

Anne and I stayed overnight in Lansing, and drove back to Cleveland the next day.  We each went to our respective homes for a few hours, and met up again in the evening at the Music Box Supper Club for that evening's Jake show.  Accompanying us was Lisa, a ukulele afficcionado extraordinaire!  It was her first Jake show -- Anne's third, and my fifth -- and we knew she would be blown away.  I believe she was!

Anne, Lisa, and Sal before the show. 

Another case of "it's a small world."  I heard someone calling my name, turned around, and saw Dahmia -- another lover of the uke.  She very generously taught some of the Fleas the hula motions for Beautiful Kawaii a few months ago!

I didn't get many pictures at this show, either, but here's one.  What beautiful music Jake played...

I can't wait 'til Jake's tour stops here again!  Come back soon, Jake!

Sal Goes to a Hey Mavis House Concert

On November 6th, my friend Heidi and I were lucky enough to attend a house concert at the Hines Hill Conference Center  in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.  The performers were the immensely entertaining Hey Mavis. 

Hey Mavis with Sal after the show.

The show was wonderful!  If you are interested in future house concerts or other events in the park, here's the  winter schedule of events.

Sal Spends a Lovely Fall Morning at UkeToberFest

On Sunday, October 19th, a bunch of intrepid Cleveland Jumping Fleas got together for the second annual UkeToberfest!  At last year's event our fingers were stiff from the cold, so this year we picked a location where we could have a fire.  Luckily one of our members is an experienced fire maker and made us a wonderful warm blaze. 

Thomas building the fire.  His efforts were greatly appreciated!

Fleas began to arrive, and to munch on doughnuts and drink coffee and cider.  After much pleasant conversation about ukuleles and all manner of other things, we took the traditional group photo with Sal. 

Sal hangin' with the Fleas in the beautiful East River Park in Olmsted Falls.

The traditional "silly" shot of the group. As usual, it's hard to tell which is the silly picture, and which is the serious one.  ;)

After the photo session, the Fleas gathered in the pavilion to play and sing.  There were a couple of individual and small group performances, but mostly the whole gang played and sang together.

The Fleas happily playing and singing.

The incorrigible banjo uke section.

Despite the chill in the air, a good time was had by all.  Looking forward to next year's UkeToberfest!

Sal Meets an Author

On October 8th,  Middleburg Heights Library hosted picture book author James Horvath.  Sal came to the presentation, too, and a good time was had by all!

Sal with James Horvath.

If you have little ones at your house -- especially little boys -- I highly recommend checking out James Horvath's books.

Sal Visits the Adorable Sophia

The first weekend of October was an exciting time for Sal -- and for me!  We went to visit the adorable Sophia! 

Here's the cutest baby in the word with her own ukulele.  It looks like she'll be playing it soon.  :)

Sophia's in-depth study of the ukulele continues.

Of course I had to take photos of Sophia with Sal, too.   In this one she is wearing the t-shirt that was presented to Sal at the 2014 Midwest Uke Fest.  As good as it looked on Sal, I've got to say that it looks much better on Sophia.

As I drove home, I stopped to take photos of something I pass by on each visit to my favorite baby.

Every time I pass this, I think I should stop and take a picture.  This time I did.

Sal Does the Full Cleveland (but not fully...)

Hooray for Peet McCain!  He had a terrific idea and made it happen -- The Full Cleveland!  On the morning of October 11th, a bunch of people gathered on the far eastern edge of Cleveland, with the goal of spending the day walking all the way to the far western edge.  Sal and I wanted to be a part of this, and were able to spend the first half of the day doing so.  In the afternoon we had to go get ready for Music for the Millwheel, which you can read about here, but the morning was all about participating in The Full Cleveland! Because of some clock issues, I missed meeting up with the group at the starting point -- the Stokes/Windemere Rapid Station, but found them at Lakeview Cemetery.  

The Full Cleveland group -- including Sal -- at Lakeview Cemetery.  I am taking the photo, but am represented by the bright yellow ukulele.  A couple of us brought ukes along to play as we traveled across the city.  We did find a couple of occasions to play -- and it was fun!  Gotta spread the uke joy!

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Peet had planned a really nice route for us, including a stop at Coquette Patisserie, where we had beverages and fantastic goodies. 

Sal with the fabulously decadent treat I selected from the plethora of delicious-looking choices.

Yes, I ate it all!  And it was fantastic!

After a very pleasant interlude at Coquette, we walked over to the Case Western Reserve University radio station and had a very cool behind-the-scenes tour.

Radio lovers!

Walking through the CWRU campus toward the Cleveland Museum of Art, we came across this statue.  It was an obvious place for a Sal photo!

The Full Cleveland group by the fountain in front of the Art Museum.

Sal's portrait at the Art Museum fountain.  For some reason I always feel the need to use iPhoto effects on fountain shots of Sal. 

The group was librarian-heavy! Sal was hanging out in my bag for this photo.  (She doesn't have a finger to shush with!)

Sal and I were having a great time!  We enjoyed stops at a couple other locations, and wished to continue, but our Full Cleveland ended at Gallucci's -- where everybody was getting something to eat.  It smelled heavenly in there, and I was wandering around trying to decide what to get, when I checked the time.  Uh-oh!  It was time to rush off to meet my performing chums and prepare for Music for the Millwheel!  I'm hoping that next year Sal and I will be able to do the full Full Cleveland II!

Sal Goes to Flanagan's Farm

It was October 11th -- a very chilly, but exciting, night!  The Cleveland Jumping Fleas performing group was taking part in Music for the Millwheel.  (See this post for a bit of backstory.)   The show was taking place in Flanagan's very cool (in more ways than one) barn.  The ambiance was perfect and the acoustics were great.  (Music for the Millwheel was a historic occasion for our group, since we had never before used microphones or had a sound guy helping us.  Some of the Fleas thought it was really neat, but others -- including me -- found it to be quite intimidating!)

Our merry band during the sound check.  From left to right:  Terianne, Lisa, Nicole, Bruce, Thomas, Holly, and me.

My sister took this great shot of Sal on stage!

We were followed by the Backroom Boys Bluegrass Band, whose peppy music kept our toes tapping, thereby keeping us from freezing to death in the barn.

The show ended with a terrific performance by Tina Bergmann and Bryan Thomas.  Tina played hammered dulcimer, and Bryan played upright bass with his hands and all kinds of percussion with his feet.  All I can say is WOW!

A highlight of the show for me was when Tina asked if she could borrow somebody's ukulele.  I gave her mine, and she and Bryan did When I'm Sixty-Four.  Very cool.

Tina Bergmann and Bryan Thomas with Sal.

There is a happy ending to this story.  It looks like Crowell Hilaka will not be developed!  WOO HOO!!!

Sal Does Some Hiking at Crowell-Hilaka

Who wants to see beautiful forests cut down and housing developments and shopping malls going up?  Not Sal and me!  We are tree huggers, so when The Cleveland Jumping Fleas performing group was invited to participate in a benefit for The Friends of Crowell Hilaka, we were on board!  The benefit, which was to take place on October 11th, was intended to raise money to prevent two former Girl Scout camps from being developed.  Since I had gone to camp at Julia Crowell and Hilaka, I felt a special attachment to this land, and was more than happy to participate, as were the rest of the performing Fleas!

On September 14th, there was an Open House at Crowell Hilaka.  To make a long story short, Sal and I went to take photos, and Bruce, a fellow Flea, went along, too.

Sal with one of the many helpful Open House volunteers.

Sal and Bruce in the dining hall.  I ate many meals in this room when I was a Girl Scout.

I spent many spider-phobic nights in the platform tents at camp.  The tents are gone, and the platforms are crumbling.  It was sad to see...

Jim Kirby -- of vacuum cleaner fame -- owned the land a long time ago, and built this house.  In the stonework on the chimney, one can find the year "1921."  Of course I wanted to take a picture of this, and to find a way to get Sal into the shot, so I stuck her headstock in a vine and felt pretty good about it until I noticed a bunch of very large bees...

There was a hole right next to the spot where Sal was hanging on the vine, and lots of unhappy bees were flying out!  How the heck was I going to retrieve Sal without getting stung!?  Happily, I had a hero with me, who bravely retrieved my little uke without incident.

Sal leaning on the fence by the old mill.

Since the benefit was titled  Music for the Millwheel, I had to include a photo of the wheel in question.         .

It was a beautiful day to spend in the great out-of-doors.  Coming soon... all about our performance at Music for the Millwheel.

Sal Goes to Peninsula to See Dom Flemons

On September 27th, Sal and I drove to Peninsula to attend a concert by Dom Flemons at the GAR Hall.  During the course of the amazing evening he played guitar, banjo, harmonica, bones, and quills.  And sang.  Wow!  He was accompanied by a charming bass player, too.  What a great show!

Sal on the GAR Hall stage before the show.

Another shot of Sal on the stage.  She always enjoys being in the limelight.  (She's even been called a camera hog!)

The show's opening act was Grace and Tony.  The themes of their songs were quite dark, but as a fan of true crime, etc, I enjoyed them quite a bit.  Their last song - Let You Down - really got me where I live.  As a matter of fact, I bought a whole cd just to get that song!

Grace and Sal.

Tony rockin' out with Sal.

Dom Flemons and his bass player - happy to be with Sal.  The show was so fantastic that I bought a vinyl record -- even though the cd was on its way from Amazon and I don't have a record player set up.  Just had to have that record!

My apologies to the very cool bass player -- whose name I have forgotten.  He wanted to try a more serious pose with Sal - and here is the resulting shot.

Sal and I are looking forward to Dom Flemons' next visit to our area!

Sal Misses a Night of Theatre and Music

Poor Sal!  Life seems to be getting busier and busier, and Sal is being sadly neglected.  The date is currently January 3rd of 2015, and I'm finally getting around to finishing a whole bunch of blog posts that I started and left unfinished.  Because there are so many, I won't be writing much.  Let's just say I'm going to be letting the pictures do most of the talking for the time being...

But, first, a little backstory...  My friend Heidi and I tried to pack two big events into one evening on September 19th.  First we went to the Cleveland Playhouse and saw a wonderful production of The Little Foxes.  Then we rushed to the  Beachland Ballroom to catch a show of a different kind!

After missing a couple of opportunities to see Danielle Ate the Sandwich in the past, I was hoping that this would be the night I finally got to see her perform! Unfortunately, because we saw The Little Foxes beforehand, we arrived at the Beachland after her set was over.   ARGH!  I bought a cd and took a photo of her holding Sal's card by the merch table.  Knowing what a rushing around sort of evening it was going to be, I had chosen to leave Sal at home.  Big mistake!

We did arrive in time to see  Pomplamoose  -- and the show was terrific!  And when, afterwards, I asked them if they would do something goofy -- like posing for a photo with Sal's card -- they did!