this is blog number what? i don’t know, but i think seriously it’s number four. still have another that’s quite hidden (or several) if being hidden can happen in cyberspace.

christmas was lovely. simply lovely. so happy to be back in the city that i love (of course, would prefer to be in paris, but alas, have not quite been able to get a job that would sustain me there, so must stay here for the moment)

(and oddly, this city has also been called the city of light, as is paris)

the two best things about my return home this year are of course being close to my friends and family, and singing. singing with the philharmonic chorus and with my church choir. we did rachmaninoff’s ‘the bells’ back in october and then the holiday pops in december and then the messiah after that (which i rehearsed for but then couldn’t handle the concert due to my arm and issues there) (sigh, i know it was sublime, at OLV and all that).

last night was the big annual christmas eve church service lasting almost two hours. it’s basically singing, orchestral chamber music, and readings, no sermon or any of that. they ended with actual lit candles, which was really special. they’d never done that before when i sang with them but now they do it and it brought back all sorts of good memories from childhood of our parents taking us to christmas candlelight services. the church is always packed and i inevitably see people i don’t see very often, which of course i did last night.

two things: i missed my grandparents during all of these events, because i was used to them attending when i was in before grad school. it’s been a year for my grandpa (last xmas eve morning) and almost that for grandma (jan 13th). sometimes i feel they haven’t died at all, but it’s only been awhile since i’ve seen them…

and the other thing: i do believe i have a crush on one of the violinists from last eve. (he’s in the philharmonic too). well, it just wouldn’t be me if i didn’t have a crush on SOMEone.

tee hee.

dinner at my sister’s today was great. i love seeing the kids. i can’t believe how old they are–j will be 20 in less than a year (soph at U of R) and little j will be 15 in march. wow. time flies. my mom was fake-moping about not having any more little babies to play with.

well. i can’t help that. i did write a poem about that recently. i’ll see if i’ll post it on poem periphery.

i’ve moved as well, finally, to a three bedroom flat in the city, quite close to my beloved music hall (i can see it from one of my bedrooms). it’s a great space, which i will detail in another post.

peace on earth, people.