White Christmas

For you in the North, this is no big deal But here in the Dallas area, it really is! A white Christmas made for scary driving home from work last night, but a pretty sight this morning.

Just wishing you all a Merry Christmas.

More French Press Slippers

One more night of Christmas music (4 Christmas Eve services at a big church) and then we will rest. It has been a fabulous season - making beautiful music with good friends in (some) lovely surroundings. No mishaps ~ knocking on wood ~ everyone made it everywhere.

Mom is here :-) too, so all is good.

And I couldn't resist knittng more of the French Press Slippers. The black ones are for Mom and the purple (though they look blue. Why is that??) are for a friend.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas. May you and your family be blessed, happy, and healthy.

Hanukkah is here and Christmas is a coming

Hi y'all! I can't believe Thanksgiving was just two weeks ago. It seems like a very long time yet just a moment ago. How can that be?!

Since last time, I have knit and stitched together two more pairs of the French Press slippers but have yet to felt them. I did some mods on one pair - knit the sole doubled (like the FT Clogs). We'll see what if any, difference it makes.

Last weekend I played for a really sweet group of singers. We had mixed meter (counting in 4, then 6, then 3) and the conductor was, um, well shall we say - really nice. It makes the musicians' lives difficult when the leadership is tenuous. But they are really, really nice. So we play it year after year, knowing full well what we are in store for. It is a very small group - maybe 15 singers and 12 musicians.

This weekend is the opposite end of the spectrum. I am playing at a very large church with an amazing and glitzy Christmas show. It is thoroughly planned and executed - like a Broadway show. We all have earphones with a click track (like a metronome) running constantly to keep us all together. The orchestra is situated on both sides of the stage (yes folks, a stage ~ not an alter) and there would be no way to play as an ensemble with out the click. Every instrument is miked so they control what the audience hears. This has no relation to playing in a symphony - totally electronic instead of acoustic.

The singers are amazing, dancers, speakers, quite the production. We have 2 shows tomorrow and 2 Sunday.

Monday, I listen to my students' juries at the university, then home to teach for 4 hours. Tuesday fly to NY, Wednesday fly back with Mom. Thursday and Friday are my regular students, Sat and Sun more church work: Bach Magnificat and another Messiah. Monday night is a rehearsal and then Christmas Eve - we play 4 services.

One day soon I will get back to some knitting content. Right now, when I get home, I am too brain dead to hold the sticks and string.

In the meantime - I hope you are all knitting up a storm, have all your Hanukkah or Christmas decorations cheerfully displayed (we have none, yet,) and your cards all written (we have done none. And probably won't.)

Have a blessed weekend - Happy Hanukkah!