Sal Experiences the Renaissance

On June 9th, The Cleveland Fleaharmonics did a singalong for the folks at The Renaissance Retirement Campus in Olmsted Township.  Sal was happy to come along and enjoy the show!

The Cleveland Fleaharmonics -- and Sal -- ready for the show to begin!

Sal's Missed Opportunity to Meet Marcy Marxer and Cathy Fink

On May 29th, I attended two workshops by Marcy Marxer and Cathy Fink at the Beck Center for the Arts.  What a great experience!  In the morning they performed wonderful music for us and taught us much about using music in our work with young children.  They encouraged all the teachers and daycare providers in attendance to learn to play the ukulele and use it with their young charges.  YES!

In the afternoon they conducted a ukulele workshop.  The group was divided into beginners and more experienced players.  I went with the beginners so I could get some ideas to use in the ukulele program I'm doing at the library this summer.  I learned a lot from both of these super-cool ladies!  Looking forward to their next visit to Cleveland!  I will be signing up for whatever workshops or classes they offer!

Rushing out of the house in the morning, I left Sal behind.  Bummer.  I would have liked to get her photo with Cathy and Marcy -- entertaining presenters and inspiring teachers. 

Sophia and Sal Meet Again

Sal and I visited Sophia in May.  As always, we had a great time.  Sal and I agree that Sophia is amazing and delightful in every way, and are doing our best to indoctrinate her into the world of ukuleles...

Sal bringing her Flea ukulele to Grandma.  She would like to hear a song!

Sophia and Sal -- two cuties!

Sal Goes To Mighty Uke Day

This post will be a challenge for me.  It's going to take great self-discipline to write briefly about Mighty Uke Day!  Six of the Cleveland Fleaharmonics attended this year, and to steal a phrase from one of our number, we had a simply splendid time!

Mighty Uke Day was actually two days long.  It started on Friday, May 8th, with a strum on the steps of the Michigan State Capital.

Sal posing on a tree in front of the Michigan capital.

Sal waiting for the Capital Strum to begin.

Sal -- a very small ukulele -- posing with a very large ukulele -- 13 feet long, to be exact!  This giant uke was seen all over town during Mighty Uke Day.

Three Fleaharmonics -- and Sal -- ready for the Capital Strum to begin!

Later in the day we attended workshops!  That evening we enjoyed a fabulous concert.  The next day meant more workshops and another evening concert.  In between we enjoyed nice meals together and had a generally wonderful time.  If you want to read about all the talented people we saw in concert, click here.

Susan Picking and Sal.  Ms. Picking taught a children's ukulele class, from which I stole ideas for our summer uke program at the library.

Stu Fuchs -- a wonderful instructor. We totally enjoyed his workshops.

This was Sal's third meeting with Victoria Vox.  What an amazing singer/songwriter she is!

The Fleaharmonics gang at our last Mighty Uke Day workshop.  What a great time we had!  Looking forward to next year already!

Sal Goes to the Cleveland Jumping Flea Spring Strum

The Cleveland Jumping Fleas love to play al fresco, so this year we added a Spring Strum to our schedule.  We couldn't have picked a nicer morning.  It was warm!  With sunshine!  Ukuleles bring out the best in people -- and weather!

The Spring Strummers - and Sal.

The traditional silly pose.

Another Missed Opportunity for Sal -- Meeting Mary Roach!

When my son Christopher and I learned that Mary Roach, an author we both enjoy, would be appearing at Writers Center Stage, we knew we had to go.  We looked forward to April 22nd with great anticipation.  When the day arrived, I decided not to bring Sal.  I was way behind in posts already, and was seriously considering giving up on Travels With Sal.  Of course when Christopher and I were waiting in line to get our books signed, I regretted my decision.  Thankfully, I carry a supply of Sal's cards in my purse, so was able to get a Sal-related photo anyway.

Note to self:  Always bring Sal! 

Mary Roach =  delightful person + entertaining speaker!
And, in the small world department, whilst discussing ukuleles, I found out that Mary Roach knows Gerald Ross!  

Sal Helps Celebrate Sophia's First Birthday!

Sophia had a big celebration for her first birthday!  Family and friends gathered for an extravaganza of gifts and Frankie's pizza and cake.  Unfortunately, in all of the excitement I neglected to get a photo of the birthday girl with Sal.  The next morning, though, we had a little photo session in front of the giant Hello Kitty birthday party backdrop.  What a difference a year makes.  Check out this post about Sal's first meeting with Sophia.  Looking forward to what the next year brings...

A serious moment of Sal and Sophia bonding.

:)