YOU’RE GOING ON

from Northwest 50 Plus South Valley Edition March 2020

SEED STARTING BASICS

ENTERTAINMENT SPOTLIGHT

YOUR GUIDE TO STAGE ENTERTAINMENT IN THE WILLAMETTE VALLEY

Pink Martini on stage

PINK MARTINI, FEAturing lead singer Storm Large, will perform at 7:30 p.m. April 30 to raise funds for da Vinci Days, Oregon’s premier summer festival for science, technology and the arts.

Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. at the LaSells Stewart Center on the Oregon State University campus.

Hailed as a “rollicking, around-the-world musical adventure,” this 12-member orchestra transcends national and musical boundaries. Their captivating sound blends Americana with music from all over the world, thrilling audiences from Sydney to London to Cannes to Cleveland. Crossing genres of classical, jazz and old-fashioned pop, Thomas Lauderdale founded Pink Martini in 1994 in Portland. He wanted to provide more beautiful and

inclusive musical soundtracks for political fundraisers sup porting causes such as civil rights, affordable housing, the environment, libraries, public broadcasting, educa tion and parks.

Twenty-five years later, Pink Martini still tours the world, singing in 25 lan guages at opera houses, concert halls, film festivals, museums and fashion shows. In 2014, Pink Martini was inducted into both the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame and the Oregon Music Hall of Fame.

Tickets are $55 to $80 and are available at tickettomato. com. Refreshments will be available for purchase from Block 15 Brewing Company, 2 Towns Ciderhouse and Lumos Wine Company. Ticketholders must be 21 or older.

The summer da Vinci Days festival is scheduled for July 18 at the Benton County Fairgrounds. ◊

Cottage Theatre presents

April 3–26

700 Village Drive, Cottage Grove 541-942-8001 www.cottagetheatre.org Music and Lyrics by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson And some songs with Stig Anderson. Book by Catherine Johnson, Originally Conceived by Judy Craymer The seductively fun musical sensation

saving old

photos By KIM KELLY

HERE’S HOW I TACKLED THE MOUNTAINS OF MEMORIES Y OUR KIDS DON’T WANT YOUR OLD PHOTOS. And neither do your friends. They have their own. We have enough old photos in this state to stuff Autzen Stadium many times over.

On the cusp of a new era — aka downsizing — I attempted to gather and sort photos from 50 years of collection, newspa per clippings nearing the crumble stage and even high school publications. I added in those 15-pound college yearbooks as well. What was I thinking with those purchases?

And yet they have all traveled with me across the country. I kept them because I did not want to let go of the possible memories they would rekindle — like a really, really old flame. And like that old flame, they are no longer welcome in my home; the time has come to let them go.

But wait, I can now store them digitally. I discovered that I can take pictures of everything and store them in the cloud, to access whenever an old memory comes to mind or to see that cute outfit I wore to the Twerp party in high school. Here’s how I went about it. First, I researched apps online that allow you to take pictures, edit and store them. I chose Photomyne because it also cleans up and sharpens the image. Bonus — some of the old black and white photos from the ‘60s look better after the

SOUTH VALLEY | MARCH 2020 scan than before. This made it emotionally easier to let go of the originals. The app is free, but I was so pleased with the result that I paid $20 for a yearly subscription.

All told, I probably went through at least 2,000 photos of all shapes and sizes.

Second, I purged. I threw away bad photos, ones with people I didn’t know or family I had never met. It seems there were a lot of those. As I went on and I honed my selectivity skills, the elimination process became easier. I say this because, once you have the photos you want to keep, there will still be too many. Third, I decided it would be easier to arrange the photos by time periods in my life. For instance, “before Kim” were family photos taken before I was born. “Obits” was for relatives that have passed away. And then the usual delineation of time, including places we lived, school years and so forth. I inherited photos from my sister and mother, and through this process I found that we were all collectors of memories. I was not alone but, as I am the youngest by far, they all fell into my hands.

I arranged photos on a large expanse of floor along with the above labels.

Then, I rested — for a week. Fourth, I went back through and purged again. Did I need the photo or the newspaper with the same photo? It got easier. Fifth, I began using the app and scanning each one, using my phone. I could arrange five photos in one shot and the app would scan each photo separately. So instead of taking five scans, I could do more photos with just one scan.

I got about halfway through my piles and then I rested, again.

What I had scanned went in the trash. This is very important for that is the purpose in the first place. Resist scan ning the photos and then keeping them. If you lived in a certain era you may also have slides. Holding onto these is useless as it’s hard to find a slide pro jector that works anymore. Luckily, we were able to borrow one from a neigh bor. I simply projected the image on a piece of white wall and scanned the projected image into the cloud.

It’s not perfect but I’ve had them for 40 years and not looked at them. I’d rather easily access a bad picture of a slide than move them again. Since I am the proverbial “end of the line” in the family, I have no one to please but myself.

This story has a very good outcome as, not only did I rest many times in order to ponder the meaning of let ting go of the physical as well as the emotional (this was a larger issue than I had imagined), I now have all those memories in the cloud and accessible anytime.

Of course, this means I can’t lose my phone. I will cross that digital bridge when I get to it. ☸

(Kim Kelly is an insurance agent in Eugene.)

Kim Kelly sorts through more than 2,000 photos, newspaper clippings and yearbooks.

Come see ifthis Caring Place feels like home...

(541) 961-3237 www.CaringPlaces.com

Devoted Caring Professional Staff Funerals • Burials • Cremations Monuments • Keepsakes • Video Tributes Personalized Memorial Packages Newly updated facilities with a warm and comfortable environment, on-site reception room, conveniently located with a reputation of excellence. Pre-planning available — Medicaid approved plans Newly updated facilities with a warm and comfortable environment, n-site reception room conveniently located with a reputation of excellence. Family owned since 1961