Year 2015 in Review

2015 was a challenge for me health wise. It is my second year of trying to manage the return of my cancer. Six years ago I had colorectal cancer that was treated with surgery. It has now spread to my lungs and I am on constant chemotherapy. The chemo treatments are hard and exhausting. The side effects can be debilitating. Just a couple of the side effects I have had are an acne/hive-like spots all over my body, an anal fissure caused by constipation, on going neuropathy (numbness) in my hands and feet, and blood clot in my leg. Despite all these challenges, I have kept busy and active.

I am still working nearly full time at Stanford doing computer support. I walk to and from the university campus when I can, a 2-mile trip.

My husband Eddie and I have had an active social calendar. Here’s a brief recap of the trips we took:

January: Return from a 2-week holiday visit in Fort Lauderdale, FL;

A getaway weekend in San Francisco;

A wine weekend in Healdsburg, CA with friends.

February: A week long LGBT cruise around Cuba.

April: Another getaway weekend in San Francisco.

May: Long weekend in Dallas, TX visiting friends;

Eddie travels to Nashville & Paris, TN for a wedding;

Ed spends the weekend in Santa Cruz, CA with 2 of his kids.

June: Pride weekend in San Francisco.

August: European vacation. Week in Rome, Atlantis Mediterranean cruise: Naples, Crete, Mykonos, Santorini, Bodrum, and Ephesus, 3-days in Istanbul and 4-days in London.

October: long weekend in Sacramento, CA with a visiting friend.

November: Thanksgiving week at a beautiful Bed and Breakfast in Mendocino, CA.

December: back to Fort Lauderdale, FL for a 2-week holiday.

Throughout the year we visited 34 museums both locally and abroad. While in Italy, Greece and Turkey we trekked around countless archeological sites. We also attended the ballet, SF Giants baseball games and several benefits and fundraisers. We hosted several large diner parties and visiting friends. However, our biggest accomplishment is seeing 144 live theatre and opera productions in 2015. 
While we usually see 80 to 100 shows a year, this has been a record for us. For 131 of the shows, Eddie has written a full review which he posted on Theatre Eddys.  Of those 144, we rated 53 as “5 E” (our top rating), representing 21 different theatre companies.  This year, the most “5 E” ratings went to American Conservatory Theatre and TheatreWorks (5 each), followed closely by San Francisco Playhouse and Berkeley Repertory Company (4 each).

Choosing “Top Lists of the Year” is made complicated by so many outstanding productions in a region blessed with so many phenomenal companies of all sizes (over 300 stages in the SF Bay Area).  Skip over to Theatre Eddys for a take on the best of the best for 2015.