Some of My Favorite THD Photos and the Newton's Sound Boards

I moved here at THD last June, 2023. I participated in a lot of activities ( excursion and special events),  besides my 4-day bridge playing. THD has a website and FaceBook Page and has an excellent on-line presence ( Fantastic Advertising). As a result as of this writing date, THD has 100& occupancy and several names in the waiting list.  

This posting is a collection of events that I have participated and my photo included, There are other numerous events that I have attended, but have not been documented with  photographs.   Here are some of my THD Photos from my collection.

Dinah and I on Father's Day Dinner

Excursion to Pier 39, San Francisco via Oakland Ferry

Italian Dinner at the Comet Room- Add-On to Newton's 

Sterling Vineyard Tour

Ugly Sweater Day

Tea Harvest Party with Cydney Carbah

Christmas Time with Santa Claus ( Eric Cox)

Hawaiian Luau with Sue and Hisako

Dancing with Marsha in one of our Happy Hour Event on Fridays 

Halloween with Norman Nelson

Dean Elias and I, Octoberfest Celebration

 My New Haircut from In-House Barber Shoppe

Sea Food Cioppino with My Dinner Bibs for Protection

Jenny ( Leasing/Marketing) Shively and I 

My THD Talk about the Philippines in My Light Green Polo Barong 

Halloween Party with Martha Rodrigues

Valentine Dinner with Sue Bramson, Mary Ann  DeWald and Jay Pollack

My Harris-Waltz T-Shirt and Pin

Mary Ann DeWald and I at Sam's Chowder House, Half-Moon Bay Lunch Excursion

The Larimores ( John and Carol) and Mary Fenelon and Me

THD Residents Lunch Excursion to Sam's Chowder House, Half-Moon Bay, CA

Lunch at FOB- Award-Winning and Michelin Rated Filipino Restaurant, Temescal District, Oakland, CA

Brunch at the Claremont Club and Restaurant, Berkeley, CA

Lastly, THD News: Ted Treat is now our Activities Guru!  I talked to several residents in the 2nd Dinner Seating. A majority told me the sound boards are working. So today I took 2 photos of Newton with the sound boards as follows:

 

I posted in my previous blog my initial comments/suggestion about the unhealthy noise during dinner time at Newton's and the possibility of Sound Boards. Again, my million thanks to THD Management for improving our Quality of Life Here at THD. https://chateaudumer.blogspot.com/2024/02/suggestions-for-improvement-on-quality.html

Newton's Restaurant before Sound Board Installations and removal of the Plastic Olive Tree in the Center. 

Ditas 60th Birthday Party at Le Moulin de la Galette in Paris, France

I am getting old. My youngest daughter, Ditas Macrine Katague turned 60 years old yesterday. 

Carenna treated her Mom's 60th Birthday Dinner at Le Moulin de la Galette Restaurant💚 This is the  Famous restaurant where the Renoir painting was painted.  Here's a short video of this world famous restaurant in Paris, France,

https://youtu.be/da7Jdh078fw

From L to R: Carenna, Ditas, Yuka Maeda (first cousin) and Kiko Lenio( best friend) in front of the Restaurant.   

The Painting:  Bal du moulin de la Galette (commonly known as Dance at Le moulin de la Galette) is an 1876 painting by French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir.

It is housed at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris and is one of Impressionism's most celebrated masterpieces. The painting depicts a typical Sunday afternoon at the original Moulin de la Galette in the district of Montmartre in Paris. In the late 19th century, working-class Parisians would dress up and spend time there dancing, drinking, and eating galettesinto the evening. Like other works of Renoir's early maturity, Bal du moulin de la Galette is a typically Impressionist snapshot of real life. It shows a richness of form, a fluidity of brush stroke, and a flickering, sun-dappled light.

From 1879-94 the painting was in the collection of the French painter Gustave Caillebotte; when he died it became the property of the French Republic as payment for death duties. From 1896-1929 the painting hung in the Musée du Luxembourg in Paris. From 1929 it hung in the Louvre until it was transferred to the Musée d'Orsay in 1986.

Here are some photos taken during Ditas 60th Birthday Dinner and Vacation in Paris, France, March 16 to 25, 2025.   March 23 is Ditas 60th Birthday.  

Here's are Ditas three videos of the Dinner and Celebration and sight seeing in Paris and vicinity

https://www.facebook.com/reel/3838755243102780

https://www.facebook.com/reel/546715627933418

https://www.facebook.com/reel/653335870964455

Meanwhile, Did you Know that....... 

Lastly,  here's my Poem of the Day -Keep Me Fiercely Kind!

💚https://www.moulindelagaletteparis.com/

Le Moulin de la Galette est un restaurant emblématique situé au cœur du quartier historique de Montmartre, à seulement quelques pas du Sacré-Cœur et de la célèbre Place du Tertre, dans le 18ᵉ arrondissement de Paris.

Ce lieu chargé d’histoire incarne l'esprit convivial et festif des guinguettes d'autrefois, parfaitement en harmonie avec son riche passé et son environnement pittoresque. Un véritable havre de vie où tradition et authenticité se rencontrent pour offrir une expérience inoubliable..

Personal Note: I know of several THD residents who have either travelled or resided in France during their younger years. I will be delighted to hear of your experience traveling or residing in  France. France is the most visited by tourist in the world. 

Belly Dancing Activity in THD- Moroccan Night

Last Thursday night ( March 20), a well-attended ( enthusiastic audience as well) THD activity featured a belly dancer, Nicole Maria.💚   The Lobby was overflowing with a very appreciative audience including myself. 💚(https://www.bellydancewalnutcreek.com/)

Belly Dancing is not new to me. During my younger married years, My wife, Macrine ( RIP) took belly dancing lessons as part of her exercise activity to lose weight after the birth of our youngest daughter. She took the class for 6 months and was able to gain back her girlish figure.  The Health benefits of Belly Dancing is discussed as follows:     

Belly dance is a low-impact, weight-bearing exercise and is thus suitable for all ages and levels of fitness. Many of the moves involve isolations, which improves flexibility of the torso. Belly dance moves are beneficial to the spine, as the full-body undulation moves lengthen (decompress) and strengthen the entire column of spinal and abdominal muscles in a gentle way.

Dancing with a veil can help build strength in the upper body, arm and shoulders. Playing the finger cymbals (sagat/zills) trains fingers to work independently and builds strength. The legs and long muscles of the back are strengthened by hip movements. 

I took some pictures during this activity and very happy to share it with you.

Here's a short information on the history of Belly Dancing from Wikipedia 

Belly dance (Arabic: رقص شرقي, romanized: Raqs sharqi, lit. 'oriental dance') is a Middle Eastern dance^[ that originated in Egypt, which features movements of the hips and torso. A Western-coined exonym, it is also referred to as Middle Eastern dance or Arabic dance. It has evolved to take many different forms depending on the country and region, both in costume and dance style; with the styles and costumes of Egypt being the most recognized worldwide due to Egyptian cinema. Belly dancing in its various forms and styles is popular across the globe where it is taught by a multitude of schools of dance.

Belly dance is primarily a torso-driven dance, with an emphasis on articulations of the hips. Unlike many Western dance forms, the focus of the dance is on isolations of the torso muscles, rather than on movements of the limbs through space. Although some of these isolations appear similar to the isolations used in jazz ballet, they are sometimes driven differently and have a different feeling or emphasis. For Details read:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belly_dance

Meanwhile, here's a photo of Filoli Gardens in Woodside that is in THD Schedule of Activity for March 26.  

Lastly, Did you now that....

In 1983, First Lady Imelda Marcos went on a legendary $5 million shopping spree in just one day during a trip to New York and Europe! She reportedly splurged on luxury jewelry, designer clothes, and fine art, all while millions of Filipinos lived in poverty.

Shocking fact? She once bought an entire building in Manhattan on a whim and even sent an assistant to buy the world's most expensive perfume—because she liked the bottle!

Her lavish lifestyle became a global scandal, cementing her reputation as the "Iron Butterfly" with a taste for luxury.

Personal Note: Sound Boards ( Circular) have been installed in Newton's Restaurant. They look very modern and beautiful. They seemed to work during dinner time in the First Seating. Thank You, THD Management for this improvement. I remember very well the first time I suggested this in my blogs.

 https://theintellectualmigrants.blogspot.com/2024/07/newtons-restaurant-noise-and-its-health.html

https://chateaudumer.blogspot.com/2024/09/newtons-renovation-redecoration-and.html

https://chateaudumer.blogspot.com/2024/02/suggestions-for-improvement-on-quality.html

If you are assigned in the 2nd Seating, I like to know if the newly installed circular sound boards have helped diminish the noise levels in Newton's. Your response will be highly appreciated.