We'll be Comin' 'Round the Mountains...

... 'bout tomorrow mid-afternoon, I figure!

WH and I are taking off tomorrow to spend three nights at a nice luxury hotel in the mountains of Prairie Province. WH has some coupons he earned from a previous stay at this chain of hotels, so our third night is free, and we get a free upgrade to a bigger room. We are looking forward to resting a lot, doing some skating, swimming, walking, and eating nice food together. My brother and sister-in-law will feed Mama Cat and Baby Cat and make sure that their ears are scratched in our absence.

See you all on Sunday! Hope your weekends are restful too.

Book Meme

I've been tagged to do the book meme by I'm still Me. This one's lots of fun!!

Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages or more.

The book is Coffee with Michelangelo by James Hall.

Find page 123.

Ok, did that.

Find the first 5 sentences. Post the next three sentences.

But Bramante, who wanted Pope Julius' last ducat to be spent on the new St. Peter's, scuppered the project, and since then various popes have monopolized my time, ensuring that in each revised contract the tomb shrunk in size.

The final version in San Pietro in Vincoli is dominated by the statue of Moses, which I finished painstakingly. There would have been many more statues like it, were it not for the impossible pressures.

Tag folks. Well, as many people have already done this meme, I'll leave it to you to tag yourself if you're interested. This was really neat!

Being the Choir Wyf, Part 2

What a joy, to be able to look in front of me to the conductor, this person who is passionate and talented and expressive and clearly overjoyed by the musical experience, and to know that I am married to him. To know that at the end of the concert, when the audience is gone, and the music stands are folded up, and the instruments put away, I get to go home with him and sit in the lovely home that we have made, and think about how blessed we are to be able to experience these musical highs together. What a gift. I am so grateful.

The concert today was very very well received. I am so excited and glad that everything went so well. The choir did a fantastic job, and all the singers were so pleased and proud of themselves. The soloists, all long-time friends of WH's, were memorable, and we had the pleasure of being able to go out for dinner afterwards and enjoy their company and celebrate this successful endeavor. Hallelujah.

And now we rest.

Looking forward to the Weekend!

Lots of reasons to expect that this weekend will be highly enjoyable!

• The weather is beautiful. The temperature has actually come up above freezing today and the air feels warm. Other than the ice that was encasing my car this morning (we had freezing rain yesterday), this weather is welcome and spirit-lifting.
• Vacation! Today is my last day at work for 10 days! WH and I will be heading off to the mountains starting next Thursday, and in the interim, I'm going to relax, and get some projects around the house done. It's a much needed respite!
• The big concert is finally here. WH is rehearsing this morning with orchestra and soloists, and I'm just sitting here waiting to hear how it went. Tonight is the orchestra and choir rehearsal, and then we have dress rehearsal tomorrow afternoon. The concert is Sunday at 3! WH is ready, the choir is as ready as they will ever be... I think that this will be a highlight of my choral experience!

The only downside is that my health is still not 100%. My speaking voice is back close to normal, but I lose about every third note when I try to sing anything. I should be fine for Sunday, but getting there will require good vocal warm-ups for the rehearsals between now and then, and good rest in the downtime.

What's up for you this weekend?

A Marriage Meme for Valentine's Day

I saw this over at Faith in Community, and took the liberty of tagging myself, 'cause it looked like fun!

1. Where / how did you meet?
WH is the music director at the church where Maternal Unit is the Rector. When I was first introduced to WH, I told him that I would be staying at the church we had previously attended, because "I was very attached to the choir director there." Ha! If only I'd know...
2. How long have you known each other?
I think since about the year 2000. That's when we first met, anyway. I joined the church choir in December 2003.
3. How long after you met did you start dating?About five years. We started dating in January of 2005.
4. How long did you date before you were engaged?A year and a half.
5. How long was your engagement?Just about a year.
6. How long have you been married?
7 months.
7. When is your anniversary?
July 7th
8. How many people came to your wedding reception?We had two receptions: At the church reception, there were probably 250 people and at the dinner reception, we had 130.
9. What kind of cake did you serve?The members of our congregation all brought cakes to the church reception, so there were many different kinds. At the dinner reception, we served vanilla and chocolate cake with meringue layers and butter-cream icing.
10. Where was your wedding?
At the church where Maternal Unit is the Rector. She actually performed the ceremony for us, one of the things that I think make our wedding so special.
11. What did you serve for the meal?
We had cakes and bits and bites at the church reception, and then served prime rib at the dinner reception.
12. How many people were in your bridal party?We had three bridesmaids and three groomsmen, and no children attendants. We had our nieces and nephews do things like read and bring up the bread and wine instead.
13. Are you still friends with them all?Absolutely!
14. Did your spouse cry during the ceremony?
We both had our moments. He cried during the procession, and I cried during a particularly poignant moment of the sermon.
15. Most special moment of your wedding day?
There were so so many. I think that if I had to identify one, it would be walking down the aisle with Paternal Unit, to the fifth verse of Praise my Soul the King of Heaven, with the choir lettin' 'er rip on the soprano descant.
16. Any funny moments?
At the reception, WH's choir friends sang their own version of Barrett's Privateers, with words changed to be specific to WH and me. It was hilarious.
17. Any big disasters?
Not a one!
18. Where did you go on your honeymoon?
We went on a choir tour with Chamber Choir a couple of weeks after the wedding to England and Scotland, so the joke is that we went on our honeymoon and took a choir with us. Somebody said that the mental picture of that made him wish he was a cartoonist. We're taking what we consider to be our "real" honeymoon this summer for our first anniversary, when we go to Sonoma Valley in California.
19. How long were you gone?
About two weeks.
20. If you were to do your wedding over, what would you change?
I don't think we would have changed a thing.
21. What side of the bed do you sleep on?Right side.
22. What size is your bed?
Queen.
23. Greatest strength as a couple?
I think that we have the same rhythm, so we've always moved in sync with each other very easily.
24. Who literally pays the bills?
WH does; he's our budget keeper.
25. What is your song?We don't really have one, other than our first dance song.
26. What did you dance your first dance to?
At Last, by Etta James.
27. Describe your wedding dress.
It was sort of Jane Austen-ish, with an empire waist, boat neck, chiffon layered skirt and train. No poof at all.
28. What kind of flowers did you have at your wedding?Roses, lilies, gerbers, all in cream and white and light pink.
29. Are your wedding bands engraved?
No. We may get WH's engraved in the future, but we haven't done it yet.

Blessed Beagle

I confess. I LOVE the Westminster Dog Show. All those beautiful dogs, who always look to me as if there was absolutely nothing in the world they would rather be doing than showing off their perfect dog-ness to the world. All those beautiful doggy facial expressions that say to me, "Didja see me? Didja? Didja? Wasn't I good??"

And what a satisfying conclusion to this year's competition. Uno, a perfect little beagle, became the first of that breed to take the Best in Show Ribbon in the history of the Westminster. And look at his cheerful face. How could you not give him the prize?

It makes me want to go home tonight and watch Best in Show again, the absolutely hilarious mock-umentary about dog shows. And while I'm watching it, Mama Cat and Baby Cat will inevitably crawl into my lap and give me that look that says, "Don't even think about it."

All is Peace and Quiet

I'm at home today, still trying to get ahead of this miserably cold. My work is actually quite portable, so I should still be able to have a productive day from the dining room table.

Sitting here watching the day break through the front windows, with the cats asleep on the couch and WH working close by, I feel wonderful peace. It's the kind of peace that makes me wish that I worked from home everyday. Everything is calm.