Tuesday, January 15, 2013
The Music 214 concert was last Saturday night, and it was a huge success! During the Fall semester, harpsichordist Wendy Young and I were co-teaching Music 214 – projects in vocal performance, as a Baroque Solo Cantata class. Continue reading
Thursday, December 27, 2012
I finally have some time to write about Dragon Mother. The whirlwind of the Fall semester has settled a bit over the holiday break and I can look back on the whole process of bringing this project to life. It started almost two years ago in the interval between semesters when I felt restless without enough to do. I decided to ask various composers to write pieces for me in the coming years. Continue reading
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Here is Hugo, our new rescue dog, his first day in his new home on Opossum Road. We picked him up on October 24th, in Aston, PA from a foster home in the Mid-Atlantic English Springer Spaniel Rescue system. He was found poking in an ally in Lancaster, PA and taken in by MAESSR – a very impressive organization all around!. Continue reading
Friday, September 28, 2012
Heading to Kansas to sing High Holy Days again, I decided to go out there a day early and visit the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. I had seen an article about it in the National Parks magazine and it looked incredibly beautiful. About an hour and a half north east of Wichita, in the Flint Hills, it was a bit too far to go back and forth in one day. Continue reading
Thursday, August 30, 2012
I have seen David five more times since the beginning of May. It has worked out to about 3 or 4 weeks between lessons, with various non-singing vacation/retreat weeks in there as well. Each time, he gave me new and different exercises. Usually I had just about gotten used to the previous set of exercises when it was time to learn others. Continue reading
Sunday, August 12, 2012
It has been two years since I sat a regular retreat at IMS. During the ISPP year, I spent study retreats at the BCBS Farm House down the road, did two self retreats at home (see “Beagle Retreat” on the writing page) and discovered the deeper quiet of the Forest Refuge. Now I was back to sit with Steve Armstrong and Kamala Masters and 100 other new and old students of theirs. Continue reading
Thursday, July 26, 2012
There I am, sunning on some rocks, somewhere in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, writing in my travel journal as my wet clothes dry, watching the Middle Fork of the Salmon River flow by and by. Michael and I flew to Boise, and drove three hours into the mountains to arrive in the tiny town of Stanley, Idaho, nestled at the foot of the magnificent Sawtooth Mountain range. Continue reading
Sunday, June 17, 2012
After hearing about sesshin at the Rochester Zen Center for 30 years, I finally went to one with Michael. What a wild ride! Michael and I drove up in two days, staying overnight in Cortland NY where we enjoyed a lovely dinner at an outside cafe.
When we arrived at Chapin MIll the next day, Michael loved showing me all his favorite spots. The country property is beautiful and the retreat center is open and spacious, yet compact and comfortable. Continue reading
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Family from all over the country gathered today at the Salt Creek Grill for a 90th Birthday party for my mom and dad. It was amazing that all the arrangements worked out: Susanne came from LA, Sarah, Jeff and the kids from Boston, Harold and Linda from Florida, Gary and Kathy and Roy from Florida, Michael and Isabelle from RI, other friends of my parents from RI and Stonebridge. Gil and my dad were comfortable in wheel chairs and the staff at the restaurant made the day flow smoothly. My mom was giddy with delight and everyone had a great time and enjoyed being together for the first time in many years. They also loved seeing the slide show of historic photos I put together for the occasion. I’m so thankful that everyone made it to and through the day healthy and happy. What an event!
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Michael and I spent three glorious days in Cape May for the NJ Audubon Spring Migration weekend. The weather was perfect, not too hot with bright sun and blue skies. We stayed at the Angel of the Sea B&B again and enjoyed the overstuffed parlor, overstuffed breakfasts and sunny porches. All the guided birding walks were fantastic and we usually got completely overloaded after two hours of mindful seeing and hearing. Highlights included piping plovers with babies on the beach, indigo buntings in the fields, pine warblers in the trees and many more. I especially loved meeting NJ Audubon legend Pete Dunne. What a character! He said when you see a bird and can name it, then you own it. Yes, there is definitely a feeling of grasping in the seeing, when you are trying to get a good look at the bird and see it clearly enough that you can really identify it. We definitely have to get better optics! Too bad the weekend was clouded by Emily’s troubles with Henry. We tried to be as supportive as we could over the phone.