Our Thanksgiving Weekend

We had a very quiet Thanksgiving this year. John woke up sick on Tuesday morning, putting the kabosh on our IHOP/Harry Potter date. (We still haven't seen it, so don't tell me anything!)

Wednesday I got off work early and went home to catch up on all my TV shows and knit some stuff.

Thanksgiving day John was finally able to keep his food down, so we went ahead with preparing our dinner. We had Cornish Game Hens, mashed potatoes, peas, and salad, finishing with Southern Pecan Pie for desert. The pie is a Lady & Sons recipe and boy is it sweet! John really liked it, but Pumpkin Pie is still my favorite. I was able to finish all but one Christmas gift after dinner as we listened to The Carpenter's Christmas album. Best Christmas album ever, in my opinion.

Friday I finished up my Christmas shopping before going to the Wong's for another Thanksgiving dinner. John was still down so I went alone. I made Pumpkin Pies for the party, which are the best ever! Later, we watched the last of The Lord of the Rings while eating more pie.

Saturday I had an early rehearsal and late concert. We spent 3-1/2 hours waiting to rehearse and then sing 5 minutes at the end of the concert. The upside was that we were hidden backstage and didn't have to wear our concert dresses! Somewhere inbetween rehearsal and the concert I dragged out all the Christmas decorations and slowly started putting them up.

Sunday we were tired and lazy. John finally felt human again, so we went over to a church close by to get our tree. It's a really nice White Pine, so soft and homey-smelling. I had another concert in the afternoon and then came home to a long bath and home-made pizza.

Today it's back to the grind of reality and the beginning of Christmas Concert season.

Live On Stage!

The Cleveland Orchestra season opener was last night and included the Chamber Chorus ensemble for Bach's Mass in F major. The concert was an odd mix of new modern and classical genres. John was able to come with a friend of his and they both seemed to enjoy it. We are performing the same concert again Saturday night at 8pm (EST) which will be broadcast live on the internet at www.wclv.com. Listen in and hear me live on stage!

The concert program:
Takemitsu - Dream/Window
Bach - Mass in F major (BWV233)
DeBussy - Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
Stravinsky - The Rite of Spring

FYI, the Chorus began rehearsals 10 days ago for this concert. This is one of the most challenging soprano parts I have sung, but also one of the most fun. My first glace at the second movement, I saw only lots of black notes running together. At the dress rehearsal, everything finally came together for us and my voice felt like a violin running over all those notes. It's so fun to be able to do great music with a great orchestra. Even though it's taxing and exhausting, I will miss it when we leave Cleveland.